No records of amended refund

[crippyj]

I filed my 2016 & 2017 amended return & mailed them out around Feb. 9th, 2019. Since then, the IRS website still has no record of receiving them. However, I called the IRS yesterday & they told me that my refunds were mailed back to me weeks ago. I haven't received anything in the mail & there's still no update of them on the website. They confirmed that they have my correct address on file, so I doubt there's a problem with the post office. Anyone know what's going on?

[Kat]

I can understand that maybe the website for tracking your amended returns aren't showing up.  The IRS has been swamped, so maybe updating that site is low-priority.  But if the IRS says they mailed your refunds to you weeks ago, and you haven't received them, there are only two plausible explanations.  The first is that the checks are lost in the postal system, and the second is that your checks have been stolen.  Can you think of any other possibilities?

I'd call the IRS again to see if they can tell you if those checks have cleared.  If they have, you have the answer, and can ask the IRS how to proceed if your refunds have been stolen.

[crippyj]

I appreciate your response! I’m really hoping that it’s just a mix up at the post office. Would I be able to call the post offices to check if they have any mail of mine? We have 3 different offices in my city and I’m not sure which one to visit to check for myself.

[Kat]

That idea could work, too, if you can locate the telephone numbers to those post offices.  

I know there's likely a wait to speak to an IRS agent, but finding out if your checks are still outstanding would narrow down your possibilities.  IF someone stole your checks (unlikely, and I hope this isn't the case), they would have cashed them right away.  That would be the quickest route to discovery, I'd think.  If the checks have are still outstanding, the IRS agent would be able to tell you what to do to locate lost checks.  Or maybe they'd even issue duplicate checks?  I have no idea what their policy would be in this situation.