After you file

**UPDATE**

My Situation:

I filed my 2019 Taxes on March 9th, 2020.  I have received no update other than “Still Processing.” - As of 5/5/20

I entered my direct deposit information on April 16th, 2020.  I still have the same status of “Eligible....” with no payment date. 
- As of 5/5/20

I reached  out to my local Taxpayer Advocate Support Office.  Every state has multiple locations (all physical locations are closed, but everyone there is working remotely.).  They are an independent arm of the IRS and have access to all of the same tools as an IRS Agent.  This was the best thing that I could have done!  

Backstory:  2 Weeks ago, I called the same Taxpayer Advocate Support Group and was told that my tax return was processed, but being held by the IRS.  The reason that I was given, was because I missed filing my 2016 tax return.  I was told that they had sent me a letter on April 6th, 2020, but this letter has never arrived (As of 5/5/2020)
I hung up and quickly gathered all of my 2016 paperwork and completed my return.

Today, I decided that I would call the TAS Group for a 2nd time to verify some information and see what the best path forward would be to expedite my tax returns.  This time around, they called me within an hour of me leaving the voicemail. The person I spoke to this time was AMAZING!  She took a look at everything and here is what she found:

1.)  The IRS will not hold your 2019 return for unfiled taxes for prior years.  So the first person I talked to didn’t know what they were saying...

2.). The IRS held my return because they needed to verify my withholdings from my employer.

3.) The IRS should have released my processed tax return as soon as they received the info from my employer.

4.) The TAS Group can create a Case Number for you, and submits those Cases directly to the IRS every Friday.

5.)  The TAS Group can assist you if it has been longer than 21 days since you filed your return (if you haven’t received anything from the IRS.).

6.). I asked her about my Stimulus Payment. She said that she can see if it has been processed, but cannot see the payment dates.  She had mentioned that mine had not been processed yet.

7.) I reported to her that people who submitted their DD information to the portal on the 15th, 16th and 17th have not gotten their money.  She was unaware of this issue, but she would include it in her next report.

8.) This is a big one! This group reports directly to Congress and is essentially an over-site committee to the IRS!

I would highly recommend that everyone who has filed their 2019 return, and not received your return payment within 21 days, and also has not received your stimulus, to call this group ASAP!!!  They are here to work for us, the TAXPAYERS!!!!  Good luck everyone!  I will provide updates on this path that I have taken, as I have not seen anyone else try this approach (at least in this thread.).

LAST NOTE - Please find the phone numbers for your state, they all have multiple locations.  You will have to leave a message and they will call you back within 3 business days.  The first time I called, it took them a little less than 48 hours to call me.  When I called today, it only took them an hour to call me back!  I would recommended saying that “someone left me a message to call them back at this number.”  That seems to put you at the top of the queue.  Again, GOODLUCK!!!!