Paper return still not processed

[shadowwww]

I filed for paper return and I understand that this will take longer than electronic returns. However, it has been 4 months and on IRS it still shows that it is not processed. I don't have any refund and in fact owe IRS money and I have paid through direct deposit. Should I be worried? 

[xmasbaby0]

Do you have a bank or credit card statement that shows your payment?   You will never see anything on the refund site if you are not getting a refund.

Have you looked at your IRS account?

https://www.irs.gov/payments/view-your-tax-account

[shadowwww]

Hi! Thank you! Yes I have- my bank account has been credited so I have paid but I believe that date is based on when I set my direct pay to occur, so I can't tell the status of my return. I am currently tracking through the IRS account and it shows it is not processed, but it has been 4 months already. :(

[rjs]

You have nothing to worry about as long as you have paid the tax that you owed. It doesn't matter to you how long the IRS takes to process your tax return. Many returns are taking longer than 4 months to process. Your tax return is considered filed on the date that you mailed it, or the date that the IRS received it, no matter how long it takes them to process it.

[VolvoGirl]

Why do you want to know the status?   If the tax due got paid (did the IRS debit your bank account?) then they processed your return.  I can't tell if you have a refund or tax due.  You have said it both ways.   What did you pay?  The fees or a tax due?

[rjs]

@shadowwww  If I understand correctly, you used Direct Pay on the IRS web site to pay the tax that you owed, and the payment did come out of your bank account. Is that correct? If so, that's a direct debit, not a direct deposit. The payment from your bank account to the IRS is a debit from your bank account, not a credit.

If that's what you did, the fact that the payment was made from Direct Pay does not mean that your tax return has been processed. Direct Pay and the processing of your tax return are two separate events. But it's still not clear why you care whether the tax return has been processed.

[shadowwww]

Hi @rjs! Thanks, sorry I misspoke, I paid via direct pay and IRS has debited my bank account. I think I am mostly just worried about if there has been anything wrong with my return and I missed out any messages from them.. 

[shadowwww]

Hi! I was just wondering if something has gone wrong my with return given it has been 4 months and no message heard. Sorry for the confusion I owed taxed and paid IRS through direct pay

[Critter-3]

Balance due returns are at the very back of the line for processing as the understaffed and over tasked IRS work on processing returns with refunds on them and putting out stimulus & advance CTC payments first.   

When it comes to balance due returns,  if you have timely filed  and paid the balance due then it is immaterial as to when the return actually gets processed and archived for you to see in the online account.   If they find something wrong  you will get a notice in the mail ...  so the old adage "no news is good news" applies here.