Refund

[Tla116]

I printed and mailed my taxes the first week of May (priority but can’t find the tracking receipt). My State taxes were received and refund on the way. When I put my info into where’s my refund for federal I have always and continue to get the no matching information message. I did speak to someone last month that said they had no record of my return but give it another month due to back log. Now we are going on 3 months and I have no clue if they received it & it’s laying in an unopened pile or if it’s lost in the mail & I should refile. I’m at a loss on what to do. 

[DanPaul02]

The IRS is behind in processing millions of returns.  I personally would not be surprised if some mailed in returns are still not processed when we start the 2021 tax season.  One person who I know who works for the IRS is scheduled to retire in 2025 and says that she does not think she will get through all of the returns stacked up and waiting before she retires.  Back in May, before many people filed their 2020 returns, the estimated count was 16 million waiting to be opened.  This is due to the pandemic and staffing shortages.

Attempting to refile might put you even further behind.

[xmasbaby0]

MAILED RETURNS

Per the IRS:

COVID-19 Mail Processing Delays

It’s taking us longer to process mailed documents including:

• Paper tax returns, and
• All tax return related correspondence.

We are processing all mail in the order we received it.

Do not file a second tax return or call the IRS.

 It can take 3-4 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.  Expect at least several months for complete processing of a mailed return and probably MUCH longer.

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 judgement call and decide if you want to risk further delay by sending the return again.