My 2021 Refund is taking Very long to Come - Was something done wrong?

[mecca alim]

Hello everyone,

I had my taxes filed for the first time through the support of my family since I didn't know how to do them. They used TurboTax and sent everything out On March 27th of this year. I still have not received my refund and am wondering if there's anything else that needs to be done.

I called Intuit and the IRS phone numbers and their automated system says they have no information, so is there anything else I should be doing or should I sit tight a bit more? I understand that sometimes it can come very late.

Thank you,

Mecca

[VolvoGirl]

Was it mailed or did you efile it?  The IRS is taking a very long time to process returns this year.  Just keep waiting.   It might be 6 months or more.  If you efiled was it Accepted?  

You can check your efile status here,
https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/efile-status-lookup

When you efile you get back 2 emails. The first email only confirms the transmission. The second email says if the IRS (or state) Accepted or Rejected your efile.

When you log into your account you should also see the status and if it was Accepted or Rejected, Started, Printed, Ready to Mail, etc. What does it say?

[mecca alim]

Hi, @VolvoGirl , thank you for responding so quickly. I believe it was an efile. On the top, it says "Federal Printed" "Ready to Mail." and "NY State Printed," "Ready To Mail." My family members who assisted me informed me that they sent everything out a while ago.

Mecca

[xmasbaby0]

“Ready to mail”or “Printed”  means that your tax return has not been filed.  Either you could not e-file for some reason , or you chose to file by mail.  OR if you really did already mail your return, the software does not have any way to know that you put your return in an envelope and took it to a mailbox, so it will always say “ready to mail” in your online account.

TurboTax does not mail your return for you.  You have to print it, sign it, and mail it yourself.  When you mail a tax return, you need to sign it where it says "Sign Here" and write in the date you signed it by the word "Date".  Attach copies of your W-2 and any other documents that show taxes withheld to the left side of the papers where it says "Attach Forms..."

When you print your return, it will print with filing instructions that tell you where to mail it.  Pay careful attention to the address you mail your return to —federal and state returns do not get mailed to the same place.

It is not required, but is a good idea, to use a mailing service that will track your return or provide you with a receipt showing that the IRS got it--such as Fedex, UPS, or certified mail.  It will take about 4 weeks and then you can track the status of your return at the IRS website.

You can print your return by following the instructions below

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/printing/help/how-do-i-print-and-mail-my-return-in-turbotax-online...

To send your tax return by mail and get a receipt to see that the IRS and/or your state received it:

https://www.usps.com/taxes/welcome.htm

To track your Federal refund:   

https://www.irs.gov/refunds

To track your state refund:    

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899433

On the IRS site you are also offered the use of an app called IRS2Go

To change to e-filing:

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/e-file/help/how-do-i-change-from-mail-to-e-file-in-turbotax-online...

[mecca alim]

Hi, @xmasbaby0 , thank you for responding!

My family members said to me that they sent them a while ago, but If I don't get my refund by September should I mail the documents myself? I tried tracking them but IRS said they have no information. Hopefully they didn't get lost...

Could be due to the covid stuff too I guess, so I'm pretty anxious :(

Thank you,

~Mecca

[NCperson]

@mecca alim - be absolutely sure it was e-filed.  have you tried to access the where's my refund link or your account transcript at IRS.gov - that could provide clues on what occured.

the IRS does not want people submitted a 2nd return - that just slows everything down.

paper filing will take 6-9 months to be processed; efile, if there is nothing unusual, normally takes 3-4 weeks, that is why I suggest making absolutely sure the return was e-filed (there should be some email confirmations that it occured) ...and if efiles, there is really no way for it to get lost.

one clue - did you get the state refund back? if the state refunded and the federal didn't, at least you know the efile occured and the IRS has it.  if you didn't get the state, call them (probably easier to get through and see if they have record of the efile - if no, that is a clue that it really wasn't efiled to either the state or the IRS.  

[xmasbaby0]

@mecca alim If your account says "ready to mail" etc.----did someone in your family SIGN your name to those tax returns and mail them in?   Mailed returns have to be signed and dated in ink---by the person whose tax return it is.   Clearly that did not happen if YOU did not sign them and take them to a mailbox yourself.   Find out what your family member really did.   It sounds like they might "think" it was e-filed and it has not really been filed at all.

[mecca alim]

Hi, @NCperson! Yup, I checked out the "Where's My Refund" on the site and they could not find any information concerning me when I placed my info in.

I did not yet get any type of refund as of yet and my family sent the documents out over a month ago. It was impossible getting a human to talk to me when I spoke to the IRS but I can definitely try again.

Best,

Mecca

[mecca alim]

Hi @xmasbaby0 , thank you for responding!

I signed the papers with my signature, and then I sent it back to them. 

I fully trust my family but I think in future I'll just do it myself so that I have complete control over everything.

Thank you,

Mecca

[xmasbaby0]

MAILED RETURNS

https://www.businessinsider.com/taxpayers-filing-paper-returns-wait-6-months-tax-refund-2022-4#:~:te...

 It can take weeks  (or a LOT longer since the IRS is severely backlogged) for anything to show up on the IRS site when you mail a tax return.

If  you mail a tax return (or a payment) to the IRS, it is a good idea to use a mailing service that will track it like UPS or certified mail so you will know it was received.

When you mail a tax return, you need to attach any documents showing tax withheld, such as your W-2’s or any 1099’s. 

TurboTax will not know anything about your mailed return, and will continue to show “Ready to Mail” on your account.  TurboTax will not know that you put your tax return in an envelope and took it to a mailbox.  TurboTax does not get updates on mailed  (or e-filed) returns.

When the IRS opens its mail and begins to process mailed returns you can check the status on the IRS site. https://www.irs.gov/refunds

State returns have to be mailed to the state.

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

If you are wondering if you should send your return again——the IRS does not want you to file a second time.   Putting two tax returns into the system at the same time can lead to confusion and even more delays.   If you did not use tracking and do not know if the return was received—-you have to make your own judgment call and decide if you want to risk further delay by sending the return again.

[NCperson]

@mecca alim if you mailed the return, then it is going to take 6-9 months from the time you filed... the IRS is WAY backlogged and 80% of that backlog is paper filed 

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-operations-during-covid-19-mission-critical-functions-continue#coll...

As of May 27, 2022, we had 10.2 million unprocessed individual returns which include returns received before 2022, and new tax year 2021 returns. Of these, 2 million returns require error correction or other special handling, and 8.2 million are paper returns waiting to be reviewed and processed. This work does not typically require us to correspond with taxpayers but does require special handling by an IRS employee so, in these instances, it is taking the IRS more than 21 days to issue any related refund and in some cases this work could take 90 to 120 days. If a correction is made to any Recovery Rebate Credit, Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit claimed on the return, the IRS will send taxpayers an explanation.