How to know when IRS & CA State USPS mailed returns have been Accepted or Input to Fed & State systems?

[davekro]

We are told that we need proof of 'Filing' by my spouse's government employer.

I am not asking about the timing of the refunds due for ALL the state and federal returns sent in.

How long before 2020 and 2021 federal returns, mailed 12-31-24 and 'delivered' to the IRS 1-6-25 via certified mail, will show up on our IRS website account? I assume that is the only way to prove the IRS has theses older returns.

State '20, '21, '22, '23 and Federal '22 & '23 Tax returns were sent via USPS certified mail 1/14/25, so we will know when they are 'delivered' via the USPS tracking (probably 1/17/25). What is the soonest, after the State and Federal returns are known to have been 'delivered', would we expect to be able to find proof of filing from: 1) Wheres-My-Refund, 2) IRS2Go mobile app, 3) Our IRS website account?

The IRS.gov/wheres-my-refund site   gives options to search for '22, '23, '24 tax years.

The mobile app IRS2Go offers the same '22, '23, '24 tax years.

I did not check into options to learn of proof of filing for the state returns yet. Any help to understand when I might be able to see/ prove that my '20, '21, '22, & '23 California returns are officially 'Filed' would be appreciated.

We mailed the two oldest federal returns for 2020 and 2021 on 12-31-24. USPS certified mail tracking shows these were both delivered 1-6-25. Obviously, the two above inquiry methods will be of no use for these older returns.

Thanks for any info or experience you may have in when someone is able to see when the agencies acknowledge receipt/ filing of tax returns is appreciated.

Thank you,

Dave

[Opus 17]

There is no specific timetable, and the IRS does not send notifications.  You may be able to use Where's My Refund for returns in the right date range.  For older returns, you probably just have to look for the transcript.

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript

[xmasbaby0]

It can take four weeks or more for a human at the IRS to open your mailed return.   Nothing is ever going to show up on the refund site for 2020----that refund has been forfeited and will never be paid even if the Form 1040 shows a refund.   For the couple of years the refund site has shown information for the current year--which will be 2024, and the two years prior---which would be 2023 and 2022.   Not sure if it will show anything for 2021 this year or not.

In order to use the refund site, you need your SSN, filing status, and the refund amount shown on line 35a

https://www.irs.gov/refunds  

As for your state returns

To track your state refund:    

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899433-how-do-i-track-my-state-refund

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/state-taxes/help/how-do-i-contact-my-state-department-of-revenue/0...

You can use the return receipt for the certified mail to show that you sent the returns and that they were received at the destination.   And....try checking your IRS online account or check for transcripts---but do not expect those to show up quickly if you just mailed these very recently.   It could be a month or more before you see anything at all at the IRS for these returns.

Try checking your online account with the IRS (and if you filed a joint return—check for BOTH of you)

https://www.irs.gov/payments/your-online-account

[Mike9241]

Figure a minimum of 4 to 6 weeks. They go into a mail bag on the day received and are processed on a first-in, first-out basis. So how soon they are processed depends on all the returns ahead of them and the time it takes to process them. In addition, certain items in the return may further delay processing. Unless you used USPS return receipt or tracking you'll have no way of knowing if and when they are received. Even after being fully processed it's usually several days to a week later that a transcript shows up in your account. All you can do is check each day.

[davekro]

@Opus 17  &    @xmasbaby0 

Thank you both for pointing me to the 'Transcripts' link. I was not aware of that. We will both keep checking that. Also, good to know that the envelopes may not even be opened for a month or more. I don't really care about the timing of the processing and eventual payment of the IRS '21,'22, '& '23 refunds due. I am well aware that the '20 refund is forfeited. I will check on the state links at a later time.

The main takeaway, is that the only "proof" we will be able to provide in the reasonable short term is that our returns are in the 'possession' of the IRS and State. Now we do not need to stress about waiting for our returns to show up on our two IRS account websites. We will just send the certified mail 'proof of delivery' info to her employer.

Big thanks,

Dave

[Opus 17]

@davekro 

Of course, no one here is an attorney, and if you are in a dicey situation, you may want to speak to an attorney.

If you are in a situation where your spouse has missed several years of returns and that jeopardizes their employment, the best thing you can do is keep open lines of communication.  "Here is proof we mailed them."  "Here is proof they were received."  "Here is the transcript showing 2020 is on their system."  "Here is proof the 2022 return is being processed for refund."  And so on.  So they know its all in process.

And if you are going to show them screen shots from Where's My Refund or PDFs of the transcripts, you may want to redact key items -- do they need proof of his income, or just proof that the return was processed?  you might be able to (or ask permission to) redact parts that you might not want to share. 

[davekro]

@Opus 17 

"Here is the transcript showing 2020 is on their system."

Do you have any sense at what stage a particular return shows up in an individual's transcripts file?

1) Is it when the taxpayer's envelope is opened?

2) After the return is scanned?

3) At some unknown step #'X' between scanning and confirming (or not) your return's validity and stating the amount of your refund? These 'X' steps likely happening over weeks, maybe months.

If you were to make a WAG as to a range of how long it could take for any of these returns mailed 12/31/24 and 1/15/25 to show up in the transcripts section of our IRS web accounts, what might that be. There are no crystal balls, obviously. So many variables in the process, for sure.

Even though the process to report the mailing/ filing of the returns seems it may be straight forward, I too think it may not be a bad idea to have an attorney's input on this situation, at least as a safety measure.

Thinking we may not have any concrete info from the available IRS avenues in the short term, we thought of possibly sending them maybe the first and last page of our 1040's for the years with some info redacted. My wife has a finance attorney friend she will call tomorrow for his thoughts on reaching out to an attorney practicing specifically these tax situations with government entities.

Thank you for your reply and thoughts.

Dave

"Here is proof the 2022 return is being processed for refund."

[davekro]

@Mike9241 

"Unless you used USPS return receipt or tracking..."

We sent all returns in individual envelopes via USPS certified mail.

'20 & '21 Fed returns mailed 12/31/24. Online tracking says they were delivered 1-6-25 (3 bus days). We expect we will get the actual physical green receipt being mailed back showing the proof of delivery in the next day or two for these first two returns.

'22 & '23 Feds, '20, '21, '22, '23 State returns all mailed 1/14/25 USPS certified mail. Since the first mailing took 3 bus. days, we may get online tracking confirmation this Friday, 1/17/25. Then maybe the green returned receipts, maybe a week later.

"Even after being fully processed, it's usually several days to a week later that a transcript shows up in your account. All you can do is check each day."  

OK, good to know. This speaks to my main question again. Now it seems clear that there will be no online confirmation available for quite a while. Good to know. We will proceed with submitting copies of the green paper delivery confirmations, as well as copies of online tracking info. We will be asking advice from an attorney that practices in this specific area.

Thank You,

Dave