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After you file
There have been a LOT of delays this year, and you'll see many folks posting with a similar situation. Some of the delays are related to the Coronavirus situation causing staffing shortages and interrupting processing at the IRS. Or your return may have been pulled for more investigation and review.
If the "Where's My Refund" tool says it's still processing, then you at least know they received it and that it's in their system. You can phone the IRS to see if they can tell you if there is anything particular causing the delay. I'll also tell you how to reach the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service, and they may be able to give you info or help tweak the IRS.
The steps below tell you 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 past week that they have finally reached someone. Here is the normal method to reach an IRS live agent (if you're lucky), and I'll also tell you 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 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. Hopefully, they can tell you what is causing your particular delay. If the Advocate office can't help you, ask them if they can transfer you to an IRS agent. A couple users reported that was a backdoor way to reach an IRS agent, at least for them.
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