With the irs not taking phone calls. Who can help with tax questions like whereis my refund? It's been 48 days

[z06vette2002.cn]

Can't get an appointment with local irs office cause you have to do it by phone. The wheres my refund thing just says my info must be wrong. Turbo taxi's refund tracker says no info. Calling turbo tax they just say the irs has my refund. What is going on?

[mesquitebean]

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@z06vette2002.cn wrote:
With the irs not taking phone calls. Who can help with tax questions like whereis my refund? It's been 48 daysCan't get an appointment with local irs office cause you have to do it by phone. The wheres my refund thing just says my info must be wrong. Turbo taxi's refund tracker says no info. Calling turbo tax they just say the irs has my refund. What is going on?

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TurboTax Support has no specific information about why a Federal refund is delayed.   Once an efiled return has been accepted, they don't get any feedback from the IRS as it is being processed.

Double-check that your efiled returns were indeed accepted.  If you used Online TurboTax, log in and go to the Tax Home and check the efile status.

Some people can find their refund info in the IRS tool; some can't.  

https://www.irs.gov/refunds

That IRS webpage currently says (in the first yellow box) :

"Issues with Where’s My Refund

Currently the Where’s My Refund tool is telling some users, in error, that they have entered their information incorrectly. We (the IRS) are working to resolve this issue and will update this message once the issue is corrected."

Of course, you do need to be sure you are entering everything correctly.  

• Be sure you have waited at least 24 hours after acceptance before using the IRS WMR tool.
• Be sure you enter the correct SSN and filing status.
• Be sure you are using only the Federal refund amount.   Do not include any state refund or any total refund or net refund (Fed and State) that TurboTax may have provided on a screen.  
• Also be sure you are using the Federal amount before any TurboTax fees are taken out (if you chose that option.)
• Look at your actual Federal return to get the Federal refund amount, i.e., your Form 1040, Line 35a.

• You can also try phoning the IRS refund hotline.  I've seen it work for some users when the WMR tool didn't.  800-829-1954

Otherwise you can try phoning a live IRS agent.  It's a matter of luck whether you get through to the IRS.   Some people have said early in the morning is best, but it's likely just a matter of chance. 

IRS:  800-829-1040 (7AM-7 PM local time) Monday-Friday

When calling the IRS do not choose the first choice re: "Refund", or it will send you to an automated phone line.

• First choose your language.  Then listen to each menu before making the selection.
• Then press 2 for "personal income tax".
• Then press 1 for "form, tax history, or payment".  
• Then press 3 "for all other questions."
• Then press 2 "for all other questions." 
• It may then ask for your SSN, but do not enter it.  Just wait.    If it asks for SSN a second time, still do not enter it.
• Then it will get "tired", and you'll get another menu.  Choose 2 for "personal".
• Then in the next menu choose 4 for "all other inquiries", and it should transfer you to an agent but expect a long wait.
• I usually use a speakerphone so I can work on something else while waiting.

If you continue to have no luck reaching the IRS, you can try contacting the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service for your area.    They are especially prone to help if you have an economic hardship, or if there have been continued delays with lack of info from the IRS.    At the following IRS website, find the USA map and click on your state, and it will give you the number of your IRS Taxpayer Advocate.    If the Taxpayer Advocate Service can't/won't help you, ask them to transfer you to an an IRS agent.  A couple of users reported that at least for them, that was a backdoor route to the IRS.

http://www.irs.gov/uac/Contact-a-Local-Taxpayer-Advocate

Also see this article for more info on how the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service works::
http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc104.html

[mesquitebean]

NOTE:

Also be aware that the IRS "Where's My Refund" system is not available every Monday from 12:00 am (Midnight) to 3:00 am Eastern Time (or longer).     Since this is a Monday morning, wait and try again during the day.   But it may still not find you, as the IRS admits on the WMR page.

You can see if the IRS Refund Hotline has any info:  800-829-1954, but it might have the same problem.