When Should You Call the IRS?
You should call us only if:
- It's been 21 days or more since you e-filed
- It’s been more than 6 months since you mailed your paper return
- Where's My Refund says we can provide more information to you over the phone
We'll contact you by mail if we need more information to process your return.
Expect delays if you mailed a paper return or responded to an IRS inquiry about your return.
Some tax returns take longer to process than others, including when a return:
- Is filed on paper
- Needs a correction to the Recovery Rebate Credit amount
- Needs a correction to the Child Tax Credit amount
- Is incomplete
- Is affected by identity theft or fraud
- Includes a claim filed for an Earned Income Tax Credit or an Additional Child Tax Credit using 2019 income.
- Includes a Form 8379, Injured Spouse AllocationPDF, which could take up to 14 weeks to process
- Needs further review in general
It's taking us more than 21 days (and up to 120 days) to issue refunds for tax returns with the Recovery Rebate Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit.
Don't file a second tax return. If you're due a refund from your tax return, you should wait to get it before filing Form 1040-X to amend your original tax return.
