@ Sam_meeks wrote:
I have waited 6 months for my tax return and have not seen it… can you help me figure out how to get it?
First, be sure that your return (if efiled) was accepted. If you used Online TurboTax, you can log in and check at the Tax Home. Or if you choose to file by mail, you would have had to print, sign, and mail it yourself; TurboTax does not mail it for you. Mailed paper returns are taking several months to process at the IRS.
If it was accepted (or if you mailed the return), to check the refund status you can use the IRS "Where's My Refund" tool at:
https://www.irs.gov/refunds
Does it show "still being processed?" If so, that unfortunately is not unusual since the IRS is way behind on processing returns that require any manual review. This is true for mailed paper returns as well as any efiled returns that are pulled for extra review and manual processing because of some item in the return.
You "might" be able to learn something if you phone the IRS, but they are not easy to reach. Only about 10% of callers get through. The best chance is when they first open in the morning at 7:00 AM. I'll also tell you below how to reach the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service, if needed.
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 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
CC: @ Hetheredge
