Why is my refund taking so long?

kaybabyy2two — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 05:11:04 GMT

I have recieved two sixty day letters and still no refund.

Re: Why is my refund taking so long?

mesquitebean — Sat, 11 Jun 2022 04:06:00 GMT

@kaybabyy2two wrote:
Why is my refund taking so long?
I have recieved two sixty day letters and still no refund.

Folks in a user community forum cannot know the "why". Only the IRS knows what all they are doing. We can tell you how to try to phone the IRS for more info, and if necessary, how to enlist the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service.

The IRS is not easy to reach. I have found that for me it was best to call just before closing time--about 6:50-6:55 PM and go through the steps below. I figured a lot of folks would not call that close to closing, and that if I was one of the last to get into the queue, they would finish off all the people who were in the queue at closing time. I still had to wait about 25-30 minutes. I've seen others say it's best to try on Tues, Wed, or Thurs, since more people try to phone on Mondays and Fridays. Ultimately, it likely boils down to luck.

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, or don't get satisfactory information, 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

Re: Why is my refund taking so long?

NCperson — Sat, 11 Jun 2022 10:51:50 GMT

@kaybabyy2two - I wouldn't try calling the IRS at this point. IRS.GOV says that the service reps no nothing more than is on the WMF tool. The fact that you are getting letters is better than most who are getting nothing. Just be patient.

topic Why is my refund taking so long? in After you file

Why is my refund taking so long?

Re: Why is my refund taking so long?

Re: Why is my refund taking so long?