Get your taxes done using TurboTax

mesquitebean · ‎July 9, 2020

@mrbillman wrote:
IRS accepted Fed. tax filed on 04/02/2020....
please let me know where our $413 federal return is...and why it's being held up?

Oh, my!! Your comment was full of personal info in this public Internet forum. For your privacy and security, do not post any personal info here. Luckily, it appears the forum privacy filter removed the SSN's, at least what I can see. If you want to remove more, you can edit your original comment. To do that, click the tiny 3-dot blue icon just to the right of your comment, and then choose to Edit. A TurboTax Moderator may edit it further in the meantime.

Many people are in this situation. There have even been news articles about it. I'll tell you a way to reach an IRS agent (if you're lucky), and also how to reach the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service.

Here are some things to do first, which you may have already done. If you efiled, you should double-check to be sure the return was efiled successfully and accepted. If you used Online TurboTax, you can sign into your Online Account and check the efile status at the Tax Home.

If that showed it was accepted, you can use the "Where's My Refund" tool at the IRS website below to monitor the status of your Federal refund.
https://www.irs.gov/Refunds

NOTE: When using that tool, be sure to enter the correct SSN and filing status. Use only the Federal refund amount, and not any total refund amount that includes a state refund. The amount to use is on your Federal Form 1040, Line 21a.

If the IRS tool says it is still being processed, here's how to reach the IRS, but it may not be easy. Part of it is luck. Due to the Coronavirus, some of the IRS call centers are closed, some are operating with reduced personnel, some are gradually opening back up. Some users have reported this week that they have finally reached someone. Here is the normal method to reach an IRS live agent when they are operating smoothly, and I'll also tell you below how to reach the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service.

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 still taking phone calls in most states. 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 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