@ mytax1123 wrote:
I e-filed my return late January and was immediately rejected due to my social security number of my dependent already being claimed for the second year in a row... I printed that off and mailed it in early February received a letter in March stating they had received my return and no further action was needed on my behalf and that's the last thing I heard and I still have not received my refund. could that mean I am not getting one?
No, it does not mean that. If you are due a Federal refund, you should eventually get it. Due to the Coronavirus, the IRS essentially shut down all manual processing in March and for the subsequent 3 or so months. They gradually started up again in late June/July. They now have a huge backlog of returns, so there are a lot of folks with delayed refunds. I'll tell you how to check with the IRS to see if they can give you any update, and if necessary, how to contact the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service.
If there's a specific phone number on your IRS letter, you might try that first. Otherwise, here's how to reach the IRS general customer service to inquire about the delay, but it may not be easy. Part of it is luck. Due to the Coronavirus, some of the IRS call centers had been closed the last few weeks, some are operating with reduced personnel, and others are gradually opening back up. Users have been reporting that they are finally now reaching 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 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
