I mailed and am waiting for 8 weeks to get a tax refund. "Where's my refund" says IRS didn't receive it yet. Should I wait longer?

[hnakao7]

I couldn't e-file and I don't have the copy-B of my W-2 anymore because I have sent it already.

[JillS56 · Accepted solution]

Yes, you will need to wait for quite a while if you mailed your return.   The IRS is still processing returns from  2020 and does not expect to be completed with 2020 returns until December 2022.   You may not receive a refund or see a status update for a mailed/paper filed return until 2023.   The IRS has a backlog of millions of returns.

On February 17, 2022, it was reported that as of late December 2021, the IRS still had backlogs of 6 million unprocessed original individual returns (Form 1040 series) and 2.3 million unprocessed amended individual returns (Forms 1040-X) — with some return submissions dating back at least to April and many taxpayers still waiting for their refunds 10 months.   Since that date, I have heard that the amount has increased close to 22M.