If an IRS Refund filed via paper check internationally was estimated for the 24th of February, what should one do to follow up on this refund (living outside of the US).

[oliver-newell2001]

Is there a way one can contact the IRS via email to follow up on their refund? The "wheres my refund" search tool does not recognise my refund.

[mesquitebean]

The IRS does not use email for customer assistance.   We can tell you how to phone the IRS International Service Call Center if necessary.   But there are some things you need to check before phoning the IRS.  We can also tell you how to use postal mail to communicate with the IRS, if it comes down to that.    You first need to be sure you successfully filed.

If you efiled, log into your Online TurboTax account and check the efile status there at the Tax Home.   Does it say accepted, rejected, printed, started, ready to mail, or what?

If the Tax Home says your efiled return was accepted, then here are some tips when using the IRS "Where's My Refund" tool.

https://www.irs.gov/wheres-my-refund

• Be sure you enter the correct tax year, SSN, and filing status.
• Be sure you are using only the Federal refund amount.   Do not include any state refund or any total refund or net refund (Fed and State) that TurboTax may have provided on a screen.  
• Look at your actual Federal return to get the Federal refund amount, i.e., your Form 1040, Line 35a.

[oliver-newell2001]

Hi mesquitebean, 

Thank you very much for your response. On my Turbo Tax account it says 'Accepted' which i would assume is a great start to resolving my concern. I have re-entered only the federal amount for the refund tracker which gave me an output saying my refund was mailed on February the 14th. Since it has been longer than 28 days since the filing, could I still expect delay on my paper check's arrival as I am expecting it from South Africa? At what point would one have to file a claim and is there even any indication given when it is has been delivered?

[mesquitebean]

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@ oliver-newell2001 wrote: 
Thank you very much for your response. On my Turbo Tax account it says 'Accepted' which i would assume is a great start to resolving my concern. I have re-entered only the federal amount for the refund tracker which gave me an output saying my refund was mailed on February the 14th. Since it has been longer than 28 days since the filing, could I still expect delay on my paper check's arrival as I am expecting it from South Africa? At what point would one have to file a claim and is there even any indication given when it is has been delivered?

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Sorry, but I have no idea how long it takes a mailed check to arrive from the IRS in South Africa or when they would want you to initiate a claim.

Do you wish to phone the IRS at their International Taxpayer Service Call Center, which I believe is in Philadelphia?   It is not a free call, so keep that in mind.    The phone number and hours are shown on the page linked below.  It also tells how to contact by mail and FAX.

IRS International Services

https://www.irs.gov/help/contact-my-local-office-internationally

[oliver-newell2001]

Out of interest, are the federal and state paper checks sent separately? Because I have just found out after checking my home mail that the state check has been sitting in my mail box dated on the 10th of February but my federal check was not there? Is this a good sign that I could be expecting the federal check to arrive some time afterwards?

[mesquitebean]

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@oliver-newell2001 wrote:

Out of interest, are the federal and state paper checks sent separately? Because I have just found out after checking my home mail that the state check has been sitting in my mail box dated on the 10th of February but my federal check was not there? Is this a good sign that I could be expecting the federal check to arrive some time afterwards?

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The state and Federal refunds come separately since they are from 2 completely different tax agencies, each doing their own thing.    So you can't draw any conclusion from the fact that you received your state refund check as to when the Federal check might arrive in South Africa.   If you think it has been too long, then you would have to contact the IRS with the info I left above to inquire about it and what you should do.

[oliver-newell2001]

If I am unable to cash this paper check in South Africa, how can I amend my return to change it from being sent via paper check to being sent to my account with US Bank that I can then transfer via Wise into a local bank account for myself? Is it under amend return or some other edit change?

[CatinaT1]

You can not amend a return to change your refund method. Your best option is to contact the IRS using the links provided by Mesquitebean.