It is taking the IRS allot longer to process mailed in returns.
Are mail in tax returns taking longer?
There's a high volume of tax returns with missing schedules needed to claim or reconcile credits. We're opening mail within our normal timeframes, but it's taking us longer to process it. How long you may have to wait: We're processing all responses in the order received. The current delay is more than 60 days.
But there are several reasons your refund may be delayed.
It could be stuck in a processing queue if you file a paper return. As of March 11, the IRS said it had 7 million unprocessed individual returns. The agency is still trying to catch up on a backlog because of the pandemic.
“It’s taking us longer than normal to process mailed correspondence and more than 21 days to issue refunds for certain mailed and e-filed 2020 tax returns that require review,” the agency said.
Your return may be incomplete or have a math error requiring a manual review. Your return could have been flagged as fraudulent because of identity theft or fraud.
Some returns are taking longer because of corrections needed that are related to the earned-income tax credit and the pandemic-related stimulus payments (officially termed a “Recovery Rebate Credit”).
