When Will My Tax Return Come

Tax Refund Delay: What To Do And Who To Contact

There are many reasons your tax refund could be delayed. Perhaps your numbers and your employers numbers didnt match. Or you accidentally skipped a lineor an entire form. Or maybe you claimed a credit that the IRS takes longer to check. This year, however, the mostly likely reason your tax refund is delayed is that you filed a paper return.There was an additional backlog of tax returns created by the COVID-19 pandemic. While IRS workers have been back at work for a while, there is always a chance this is still impacting your return. Of course, the reasons for a delayed tax refund before the coronavirus crisis may still apply. Read on for more reasons and how to prevent future delays.

Go beyond taxes to build a comprehensive financial plan. Find a local financial advisor today.

Other Factors That Could Affect The Timing Of Your Refund

Additional factors could slow down the processing of your tax refund, such as errors, incomplete returns or fraud.

Taxpayers who claim the earned income tax credit or the additional child tax credit may see additional delays because of special rules that require the IRS to hold their refunds until Feb. 27. You should also expect to wait longer for your refund if the IRS determines that your tax return needs further review.

Wheres My State Tax Refund Colorado

Taxpayers can check the status of their tax refund by visiting the Colorado Department of Revenues Revenue Online page. You do not need to log in. Click on Wheres My Refund/Rebate? from the Quick Links section. Then you will need to enter your SSN and the amount of your refund.

Colorado has increased its fraud prevention measures in recent years and and warns that it may need take up to 60 days to process returns. Returns will take longest as the April filing deadline approaches. This is when the state receives the largest volume of returns. The state also recommends filing electronically to improve processing time.

Don’t Miss: What Tax Bracket Are You In

Double Check Your Tax Return Before You File

Double checking your tax return prior to submission can ensure your tax refund is processed quickly. Failure to do so may cause the IRS to delay the processing of your tax refund.

Here is a list of questions to review prior to filing your tax return to ensure the IRS processes your tax refund as quickly as possible.

• Did I review my identifying numbers for myself, spouse and dependents?
• Did I ensure the names on my tax return are spelled correctly?
• Did I review my dependents information?
• Have I reviewed my banks routing and account numbers for accuracy?
• Did I include the correct date of birth for myself and dependents
• Did I electronically sign my tax return ?

How Tax Refunds Work

A tax refund is a reimbursement for excess taxes paid during the year. Most workers prepay their federal income taxes through their paycheck or by filing quarterly estimated taxes.

Employees are required to fill out a Form W-4 when they begin working at a company. The information entered on employees’ Form W-4 determines how much the employer will withhold from their pay to cover federal income taxes. If the employer withholds too much, you may receive a tax refund. If you come up short, you will owe taxes.

A contract worker is considered both an employee and an employer. They do not complete a Form W-4 instead, they are required to pay their own taxes on a quarterly basis.

Estimated tax payments for 2021 are due April 15, 2021 June 15, 2021 Sept. 15, 2021 and Jan. 18, 2022.

This is true even though the tax filing deadline for 2020 individual income taxes was moved to May 17, 2021.

You may also receive a tax refund if you claim a refundable tax credit, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit . Most federal income tax credits are non-refundable and will only reduce the amount you owe in taxes. However, if you claim a refundable tax credit that is greater than the amount you owe, you will receive the difference as a tax refund.

Don’t Miss: How To Appeal Property Taxes Cook County

Some Tax Refunds May Be Delayed In 2021

In addition to the delays we outlined above, if you claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Additional Child Tax Credit , your tax refund may also be delayed. If you claimed these credits, the IRS started to issue these tax refunds the first week of March if you claimed these credits.

Your financial institution may also play a role in when you receive your refund. Since some banks do not process financial transactions during the weekends or holidays, you may experience a delay in processing. If you opt to receive your tax refund by paper check, use our tax refund schedule to determine when you can expect to receive your refund.

Finally, you can expect your tax refund to be delayed if you filed an amended tax return. The IRS processes amended tax returns from three weeks up to 16 weeks after receipt. You can check the status of your amended tax return here.

When Will My Return Information Be Available

Please Note: The IRS began accepting and processing 2020 tax year returns on Friday, February 12, 2021. Since e-filed state returns are first sent to the IRS, we ask that you consider and recognize this adjustment to the processing timeline for the 2020 tax year returns. Your patience is greatly appreciated.

• Up to 5 business days after filing electronically
• Up to 3 – 4 weeks after mailing your paper return

Also Check: What Is Schedule D Tax Form

Irs Takes On More Duties

This tax season is unlike any other.

The IRS has been handling rollouts for three stimulus programs since April 2020.

Now, the IRS is preparing to launch a way to send money each month to families who qualify for an expanded child tax credit. That effort is to begin in July.

In addition, the IRS is taking steps to automatically refund some tax money relating to jobless benefits money this spring and summer.

The follow-up refunds would apply to people who filed their tax return reporting unemployment compensation before the recent tax break for unemployment benefits was put into place as part of the American Rescue Plan.

The first special refund payouts will likely be made in May, and they will continue into the summer.

A tax rule change that excludes a portion of unemployment benefits from being included as income was signed into law March 11, roughly a month after the 2021 tax season began. Tax forms and tax software had to be updated after the season started to reflect the change.

Right now, the IRS said tax returns are opened in the order received.

“As the return is processed, it may be delayed because it has a mistake including errors concerning the Recovery Rebate Credit, is missing information, or there is suspected identity theft or fraud,” the IRS said.

“If we can fix it without contacting you, we will.

“If we need more information or need you to verify that it was you who sent the tax return, we will write you a letter.”

How To Check Your Refund Status

Use the Where’s My Refund tool or the IRS2Go mobile app to check your refund online. This is the fastest and easiest way to track your refund. The systems are updated once every 24 hours.

You can to check on the status of your refund. However, IRS live phone assistance is extremely limited at this time. Wait times to speak with a representative can be long. But you can avoid the wait by using the automated phone system. Follow the message prompts when you call.

Read Also: How To Pay Oklahoma State Taxes

How To Check The Status Of Your Tax Return

You should be able to check IRS tax refund status roughly 24 hours after your receive confirmation from the IRS that they have received your tax refund via E-File. You will need to wait at least 4 weeks if you mailed in your tax return.

The best way to check the status of your federal tax refund is to visit the Wheres My Refund page at the IRS website.

What you will need:

• Filing Status
• Exact refund amount

You can also call the IRS at 1-800-829-1954, or 1-800-829-4477, or 1-800-829-1040 and inquire about your tax return status with an IRS a customer service representative. Note that the IRS only updates tax return statuses once a day during the week, usually between midnight and 6 am. They do not update the status more than once a day, so checking throughout the day will not give you a different result.

Should I call the IRS to check my federal tax refund status? The IRS has stated you should only call them if it has been:

• 21 days or more since you e-filed
• 6 weeks or more since you mailed your return, or when
• Wheres My Refund, tells you to contact the IRS

How To Track Your Refund And Review Your Tax Transcript

The first way to get clues about your refund is to try the IRS online tracker applications: The Where’s My Refund tool can be accessed here. If you filed an amended return, you can check the Amended Return Status tool.

If those tools don’t provide information on the status of your unemployment tax refund, another way to see if the IRS processed your refund is by viewing your tax records online. You can also request a copy of your transcript by mail or through the IRS’ automated phone service by calling 1-800-908-9946.

Here’s how to check your tax transcript online:

1. Visit IRS.gov and log in to your account. If you haven’t opened an account with the IRS, this will take some time as you’ll have to take multiple steps to confirm your identity.

2. Once logged in to your account, you’ll see the Account Home page. Click View Tax Records.

3. On the next page, click the Get Transcript button.

4. Here you’ll see a drop-down menu asking the reason you need a transcript. Select Federal Tax and leave the Customer File Number field empty. Click the Go button.

5. The following page will show a Return Transcript, Records of Account Transcript, Account Transcript and Wage & IncomeTranscript for the last four years. You’ll want the 2020 Account Transcript.

6. This will open a PDF of your transcript: Focus on the Transactions section. What you’re looking for is an entry listed as Refund issued, and it should have a date in late May or June.

Also Check: What Is Form 8995 For Taxes

Where To Expect Delays

Susan Allen, senior manager for tax practice and ethics with the American Institute of CPAs, said the IRS has issued guidance to tax professionals this year noting that in some situations, it may take more than the typical wait of 21 days or less to issue any related refund.

Delays could hit returns such as:

• Tax returns that require a correction relating to the recovery rebate credit or what most people who aren’t tax professionals know as stimulus money.
• Tax returns where the IRS needs to validate information relating to the earned income tax credit or the advance child tax credit.

“Both the Rebate Recovery Credit and the EITC lookback provision require verification of information,” said Matt Hetherwick, director of individual tax programs for the Accounting Aid Society of Detroit.

Experts say the IRS has been working to develop improved fraud detection tools, which causes an additional review when a return gets caught by the filters.

“Some of these become manual reviews causing delays,” Hetherwick said.

A review by the IRS means that taxpayers will wait longer for refund cash for many 2020 tax returns.

H& R Block notes on its website: “If your return meets these criteria, the IRS will manually review your return, and it may take an additional 10 to 14 business days to receive your refund.”

Including current year returns, the IRS said that as of April 9, the agency had 16.2 million unprocessed individual returns in the pipeline.

Estimated Irs Refund Tax Schedule For 2020 Tax Returns

In prior years, the IRS issued its refund tax schedule to provide a timeline when you can expect to receive your tax refund. While the IRS no longer publishes a refund tax schedule, we put together an estimate when you might expect to receive your tax refund based on previous years.

Recommended Reading: Do I Charge Sales Tax On Services

How To Apply For Benefits And Credits

To apply for the Canada child benefit and to register your child or children for the GST/HST credit, fill out and send the following two forms to the Canada Revenue Agency :

• RC66SCH, Status in Canada and Income Information

To apply for the GST/HST credit for you or your spouse or common-law partner, fill out Form RC151, GST/HST Credit Application for Individuals Who Become Residents of Canada for the year that you became a resident of Canada. Use this form only if you don’t have children. If you have children under 19, use My Account or Form RC66, Canada Child Benefits Application.

If you live in Quebec, you should also apply for child assistance through Retraite Québec.

Include the following information with your application:

• Record of Landing or confirmation of permanent residence issued by Citizenship and Immigration Canada
• Citizenship certificate
• Notice of Decision or a Temporary residents permit issued under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
• valid temporary or permanent mailing address
• a void cheque if you are applying for direct deposit
• proof of birth for your children who were born outside Canada

Note

Include the amount of income you earned before you entered Canada on Form RC66SCH and Form RC151.

When Will My Tax Refund Come

• 10:03 ET, Mar 11 2021

AMERICANS who’ve filed their 2020 tax return and are owed a refund will be keen to know when the cash will arrive in their bank accounts.

But it can be tricky figuring out when youll see your money return due to a range of factors, including when you submitted your return.

Americans have until April 15 to file their tax return – but its a good idea to get it in sooner rather than later.

Filing taxes early will ensure some Americans will get a fourth stimulus check worth $1,400, or $5,600 for some families.

So when should you expect to receive your refund? We explain all you need to know.

You May Like: How To File School District Taxes In Ohio

How To Check On Your State Tax Refund

Each state uses a slightly different system to let taxpayers check their tax refund status. In general though, there are two pieces of information that you will need in order to check on your refund.

The first important information is your Social Security number . If you do not have a SSN, most states allow you to use a few different types of ID. One common type is an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number . If you file a joint return, use whichever ID number appears first on the return.

Almost all states will also require you to provide the amount of your refund. Most states ask you to round your return to the nearest whole number but some states, like Vermont, will ask for the exact amount of your refund.

These two things will be enough for you to check in some states. Other states may also require your date of birth, the year of the return, your filing status or your zip code. Below is a run down of how you can check your refund status in each state that collects an income tax.

Note that Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming have no state income tax. New Hampshire and Tennessee do not tax regular wages and income, but do tax some income from dividends and investments.

Now That Im Done With My Taxes When Should I Start Next Years

The IRS usually accepts electronically filed returns as early as mid-January. Its always a good idea to start preparing your return early in case you run into a problem. You might also find youre missing a form from a financial institution or an employer. It can take time to gather these forms.

Online Statements require Adobe® Acrobat® PDF reader. The length of time Online Statements are available to view and download varies depending on the product: up to 12 months for auto loans and student loans up to 2 years for credit cards, home equity lines of credit, and personal loans and lines of credit and up to 7 years for deposit accounts, home mortgage accounts, and trust and managed investment accounts. The length of time the specific product statements are available online can be found in Wells Fargo Online® in Statements & Documents. Availability may be affected by your mobile carrier’s coverage area. Your mobile carriers message and data rates may apply.

Investment and Insurance Products are:

• Not Insured by the FDIC or Any Federal Government Agency
• Not a Deposit or Other Obligation of, or Guaranteed by, the Bank or Any Bank Affiliate
• Subject to Investment Risks, Including Possible Loss of the Principal Amount Invested

Deposit products offered by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Member FDIC.

LRC-0121

Read Also: What Am I Getting Back In Taxes

Should You Call The Irs

Expect delays if you mailed a paper return, had to respond to an IRS inquiry about your e-filed return, claimed an incorrect Recovery Rebate Credit amount or used 2019 income to claim the EITC or ACTC. Otherwise, you should only call if it has been:

• 21 days or more since you e-filed
• “Where’s My Refund” tells you to contact the IRS

Do not file a second tax return.

Paycheck Checkup: you can use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator to help make sure your withholding is right for 2021.