I have a 90 year old taxpayer who is due over $16K in tax refunds from the IRS. Her deceased husband had filed tax returns for 2018 and 2019, but after reviewing the returns and finding errors, I filed amendments in August 2020 and February 2021, accounting for half of the refunds due. She is also owed a refund for her 2020 return which was filed in March 2021. I understand that the IRS is facing delays - but this taxpayer is elderly and living on limited means. She hasn't faced an official 'hardship' only because her son is helping her. But she could really use the refunds to offset her living expenses. Is it too soon to apply for a taxpayer advocate? Any advice on how to proceed would be appreciated.
You really only filed two of those returns in 2021----the amended one in February and the 2020 return very recently. Given the backlog, there is nothing unusual about the time frame for processing those returns. Amended returns normally take at least four months and are currently taking considerably longer. Millions of people are waiting for refunds for their 2020 returns---and many are still waiting for refunds from 2019. If there is a hardship, sure, try contacting an advocate----but it may not help much.
TAX ADVOCATE
At the following IRS website, find the USA map and click on your state, and it will give you the number of your area's IRS Taxpayer Advocate.
http://www.irs.gov/uac/Contact-a-Local-Taxpayer-Advocate
Also see this article for more info on how the Taxpayer Advocate Service works::
http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc104.html
https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/TAS_CaseCriteria_061120.pdf
https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/can-tas-help-me-with-my-tax-issue/