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.
If the IRS "Where's My Refund" tool at https://www.irs.gov/Refunds says it is still being processed, you can phone the IRS to see if you can learn anything about the delay.
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 been reporting that they have finally reached someone. Here is the normal method to reach a live IRS agent when they are operating smoothly, and I'll also tell you below how to reach the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service.
If you received an IRS letter previously, it may have a special phone number for you to use. Otherwise, here's how to phone general IRS call centers:
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
