My return is in the Error Resolution System for 12 weeks now UPDATE: Today is 115...ugh

[heybrian1]

I was told this by an IRS lackey over the phone. He mentioned 10 weeks but I'm going on week 12 now. 

1) How much longer will I have to wait?

2) What if they make a correction that I disagree with? Can I appeal?

3) Is there anything I can do to expedite my refund?

[SweetieJean]

There is nothing you can do except continue to wait.  When you receive the IRS ruling, the letter will include instructions on what to do if you disagree.

[xmasbaby0]

The IRS is severely backlogged.   If your return is in the error department then a human has to deal with it, and they are short-staffed.  So, sorry, it might take longer than you were told.  No you cannot speed them up, nor can TurboTax speed them up for you.    When they resolve the issue, they will send you a letter explaining any reduction in your refund.  You will be able to dispute the change if you believe the IRS is mistaken.  

Meanwhile, if you do not know what the error is, there are a couple of very common mistakes for you to look for.

Check lines 28 and 30 of your Form 1040.    Line 28 is for the child tax credit.   If you entered an incorrect amount for the advance child tax credit payments sent to you between July and December, then that would cause a problem that will result in a reduced refund.   Line 28 should only show the remaining amount of child tax credit you can receive.   You had to enter the total amount already received from letter 6419---and if you had a joint return that meant adding the amounts from letters sent to both spouses.

Line 30 is for the 3rd EIP ("stimulus") payment of $1400 per person that was sent out in 2021.   Letter 6475 was sent to each spouse and you had to enter whether you received that $1400 per person accurately.   If you already received $1400 per person then your line 30 should have been blank.   

There are, of course, many other possible errors that could be causing the delay for your refund.   Only the IRS can tell you what the error is, and only the IRS can tell you when you refund will be issued.

  Meanwhile it might help you to check your online IRS account.

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

https://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/tax-refunds/why-is-my-tax-refund-not-what-i-expected-49240/

[heybrian1]

115 days and still no refund

[NCperson]

@heybrian1 - and there is nothing anyone on these boards or at Turbo Tax can do about it...... here is what the IRS website states YOU can do: 

What you should do: In most instances, no further action is needed but you may check Where’s My Refund? or you can view your account. If you filed electronically and received an acknowledgement, you do not need to take any further action other than promptly responding to any requests for information. If you filed on paper, check Where’s My Refund? If it tells you we have received your return or are processing or reviewing it, we are processing your return, but it may be under review. If you filed before October 2021 and Where’s My Refund? does not have any information, your return has been opened but work on it has not begun. We’re working hard to get through the carryover inventory. Please don’t file a second tax return or contact the IRS about the status of your return.

[fanfare]

IRS says prior year returns that have no errors should be all processed by now. (end of June  '22).

They never say how long it will take for returns that do have errors.

[fanfare]

IRS says:

" Last filing season, an IRS tax examiner could correct an average of 70 tax returns with errors per hour. "

With accuracy.

This statement is unconceivable and unimaginable. I can't believe it.

And now they say they go four times as fast.

"180 to 240 returns can now be corrected per hour."

Taxpayer Advocate says they must double the processing again to catch up.

[NCperson]

@fanfare - I suspect they are measuring the number of errors on the returns divided by the number of employees. 

Let's say the software is improved to detect and correct errors automatically (eg Recovery Rebate Credit where the taxpayer understated what they received)...... then the errors are resolved quicker with the same number of employees, hence their touted improved efficiency.  The 'easy' errors are fixed by the computers, leaving the challenging ones for the employees, but the overall efficiency is better. 

Having worked in large scale environments, I do beleive it - it is not inconceivable.  

and if they need to double the speed to catch up, that will mean more automation of the 'easy stuff' or the benefit of the 8,000 additional employees they are still seeking to hire. 

[fanfare]

the exact quote is "a tax examiner".  That's a human.

Also I do believe the rebate credit and child credit adjustments are done by a human.

[NCperson]

@fanfare - I would bet not.  There is "no way" they are able to improve the throughput on error resolution without technology; I worked for a firm with more employees than the IRS so understand how these large scale operations work....and they certainly didn't add but 2,000 people (and those are since March) to the equation. 

there is no reason most of the error corrections can't be automated: 

for example: RRC: # of people listed on the return less what IRS knows they were sent and compare to Line 30 for all joint returns with an AGI under $150,000 (joint) -  adjust if the calculation and Line 30 don't match....that is all that has to be done to automate that one aspect of RRC.  Rather simple. 

I don't believe for a moment that a human isn't getting A LOT more help from the technology than otherwise occured in the past - simply not enough employees to handle the millions of errors reported.   Simple technology fixes and reporting is the only way to get this done with their limited budget. 

[fanfare]

See the Taxpayer Advocate's report. 

"A second step was to automate the review of most RRC and AdvCTC disparities, as ERS’s review of RRC

disparities had required employee review in 2021. These steps made a big difference."

So, OK,  that is a recent technology assist.

The Taxpayer Advocate still has doubts IRS can clear the backlog in the timeframe claimed by IRS.

" ... current rate of 205,000 per week  ...
[IRS] likely would have to process well over 500,000 Forms 1040 per

week to eliminate the backlog this year. The math is daunting."

[NCperson]

@fanfare 

There are currently 9.2mm paper files awaiting processing per the IRS website.  To clear them ALL in the 26 weeks remaining in the year means 350,000 need to be processed per week .  Best case: if they accomplish that, the ones processed in December would have been the ones received in June, so still 6 months for a taxpayer to wait for their refund.

Another way to look at it: Let's assume it takes two months to process each month of paper files: 

February paper submissions are completed by late August - 6 month backlog

March paper submissions are completed by late October - 7 month backlog

April paper submissions are completed by late December - 8 month backlog

then the IRS hits the slower submission time of the year and can really begin to catch up: 

May, June, July, August and September submissions are completed by late January  - 4 month backlog

October, November, December submissions are completed by late February  - caught up!!

The problem with the paper files is not only do they all have to be data entered, but to the extent they were NOT created by a DIY software package, they can be wraught with math errors and other typos and missing information that a DIY package causes you to fix before submitting.  

Then there are the efiled returns.  Those probably go quicker because the software packages that created them eliminate a lot of errors before they are submitted.  The big problems, as we've seen on these boards, are RRC and CTC. 

Once the next tax season roles around, there won't be 2022 tax season issues with RRC, CTC, unemployment,etc so a larger labor force plus taxpayers who 'see the light' on electronic filing, should help the IRS 'steady the ship'...but getting all caught up by December 31, that is a tall order. 

[heybrian1]

I may never file again. This is absurd

[Critter-3]

@heybrian1    Not the wisest choice ... but you can "tax plan"   better to not have a refund at all.  If you owe you don't care when they ever process the return just that they cashed the check or did the debit.  

[NCperson]

@heybrian1 - thank your Congressman for passing tax laws that provided benefits during the pandemic, but not funding money for the IRS to process all the additional complexity that those laws brought. 

if you don't file and owe money, that is a bad choice as the IRS will eventually find you.  there is no statute of limitations when you owe tax. 

if you don't file and are owed a refund, then on some level, the IRS doesn't care as that is momey that the federal government gets to keep.  You only have three years to claim your refund otherwise it is forfeited.  

state laws may be different