Amended Return - Appears to be Lost. What to Do?

[DX-hound]

I missed several large deductions on my 2021 return, so I filed an amended return (paper..TurboTax doesn't do electronic for prior years) and mailed it to the IRS Kansas City office mid-December 2024 by certified mail.  It arrived 3 WEEKS later in early January 2025 per USPS tracking.  Despite several calls to the IRS and using their amended return status lookup (https://sa.www4.irs.gov/wmar/) I have been unable to confirm that the amended return is being processed.  I read somewhere that the on-line status check doesn't track paper returns but no one at IRS seems to know that answer either.  More than 16 weeks have elapsed and no refund or other correspondence.   I'm beginning to think IRS received an empty envelope give the unusually long USPS transit time.   What to do?  Resend the 2021 amended return?  The associated State amended return was processed in less than three weeks.  OBTW...still need to file amended returns for 2022 and 2023 for the same missed deductions.  

[JotikaT2]

If you are still having issues after contacting the IRS, you can contact a Taxpayer Advocate.  A Taxpayer Advocate will act as a liaison between you and the IRS if you are unsuccessful in obtaining answers when contacting the IRS directly.

[DX-hound]

Thanks for responding.  I should have mentioned that I already contacted the Taxpayer Advocate office and filled out their help request form.  They called me last week and said they could not tell with any certainty if my amended return was in the system or not.   They suggested refiling the return but that recommendation came across more as a suggestion than a firm recommendation.   It strikes me as strange that IRS cannot tell with certainty if a claim is in processing.