After you file

mesquitebean · ‎June 29, 2020

@ Bilger1986 wrote:
I need help getting my taxes. I've recently been forced into, what my employer calls, a reduction in force. Which means I have absolutely no income at the moment. I chose to pay your company $70.00 to get a speedy and efficient refund and i was sorely mistaken. So please do some work as you are a recipient of me paying you for a service that I have NOT received. Otherwise I will 100% file for the relinquishing of this fee so as I would attain my refund in full.

This is a user community forum, not a direct route to TurboTax Support, but we can tell you how to check on your tax refund. Many people have been experiencing delays at the IRS this year.

"I chose to pay your company $70.00 to get a speedy and efficient refund"

It's not possible to pay TurboTax to speed up a refund. Once the IRS has received a return, it's all up to the IRS. TurboTax has no control over what happens at the IRS and how long it takes, especially this year when the Coronavirus situation has impacted a lot of procedures at the IRS. We can't see your TurboTax fees here, so I'm not sure what extra fee you are referring to that you might have mistaken for that: Did you pay an extra 39.99 service fee (44.99 for California filers) to have your preparation fees paid out of your Federal refund? Or did you pay an extra fee for "TurboTax Live" for help from a CPA/EA expert? Neither of those is a fee to speed things up.

In any case, here's how to check on your Federal refund, and how to get help from the IRS or the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service:

If you efiled, you should first 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 check on 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 that "Where's My Refund" tool says your funds have been sent by the IRS, but you didn't receive them, report back for more info.

On the other hand, if the IRS tool says it is still being processed, and if it's been longer than 21 days, 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 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 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 IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service can't/won't help you, ask them to transfer you to an IRS agent. A couple of users have reported that was a backdoor way to get to 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