Anyone else with delayed tax refunds?

[Montecfo]

I filed a paper return in mid-March and just got my refund last week. I am definitely filling electronically again this coming year.

My plan is to avoid a refund!

 

[martyp]

My plan is to avoid a refund!

I managed that for 30+ years then I got divorced and two years later got remarried. That screwed up all my well established tax withholding amounts. I only filed a paper return because that was what was required to apply for an ITIN for my new wife. Then it all got caught up in Covid. I will undoubtedly have a hefty refund next year and hopefully after that I will go back to near zero refunds.

 

[PandaBear]

My son filed in February. Still no refund.

 

[Montecfo]

I managed that for 30+ years then I got divorced and two years later got remarried. That screwed up all my well established tax withholding amounts. I only filed a paper return because that was what was required to apply for an ITIN for my new wife. Then it all got caught up in Covid. I will undoubtedly have a hefty refund next year and hopefully after that I will go back to near zero refunds.

Yes. I kind of outsmarted myself and ended up with big refund. I'm under-withheld at present but plan to fix that-sharp pencil this time.

And if I end with a small refund I will roll it into 2021.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

I got a bill from the IRS for a hefty sum a few months ago. It turns out that the IRS didn't record one of my quarterly payments. I sent an image of the cancelled check and have heard NOTHING. Sigh, I guess I'm in the same boat as everyone else on this thread.

 

[pb4uski]

My plan is to avoid a refund!

Yes, that totally solves the problem... do some tax planning so you owe a little.

 

[arch57]

Well finally got my refund direct deposited plus a good amount of interest to top it off. I had contacted my Congressman in desperation a couple of months ago and was assigned a very helpful IRS taxpayer advocate to help case.

We were due a very large refund because it was the first year we held our income low to get the ACA credit. Well that caused the IRS to "flag" the return and ask for more information, form 1095-SA to verify we paid the full ACA premium. That was in March right when IRS closed offices so my reply sat un-opened in a trailer full of mail until mid-June when I at least got the registered mail receipt back.

Working with the IRS advocate I was able to email additional proof to her that we did indeed pay premiums and were covered all of 2019 and she then forwarded the info to the IRS auditors. She would call me every 2 weeks to update me on progress and finally on Dec 11 told me that Dec 16 would be the day, which did happen! Now time to pay our 2nd half or property taxes due 1/3/2021.

 

[RobbieB]

Life in these covid times. Good to hear you got it resolved.

 

[W2R]

Well finally got my refund direct deposited plus a good amount of interest to top it off. [...]

Whew, what a nightmare! I hope nothing like that ever happens to you again, or to any of us.

 

[pb4uski]

DS is still waiting for a refund for a return e-filed in the spring.

 

[cat4ever]

Posted an amended return in late April that netted me about $350. Received it about 3 weeks ago. Probably coincidence, but it was 2-3 weeks after I logged into the IRS site to check the status, which was (in so many words) we received it, don't call us, we'll call you.

 

[braumeister]

Posted an amended return in late April that netted me about $350. Received it about 3 weeks ago. Probably coincidence, but it was 2-3 weeks after I logged into the IRS site to check the status, which was (in so many words) we received it, don't call us, we'll call you.

I'm still waiting for a couple hundred bucks from an amended return I mailed in May. Same status on their site, so your post makes me hopeful I'll see it soon.

 

[braumeister]

I'm still waiting for a couple hundred bucks from an amended return I mailed in May. Same status on their site, so your post makes me hopeful I'll see it soon.

Guess I spoke too soon. Last month it was "in process" and today it says they have no information about it. Not sure what to do now. They say it normally takes 16 weeks for a refund from an amended return, but it's now been more than twice that.

 

[pb4uski]

I'm frustrated for my son... I filed his 2019 return electronically for him on May 19, 2020 with an $879 refund. Then he received a letter from the IRS asking about a 1095-A which we missed so we sent a letter in response... the letter had instructed not to file an amended return. Adding the 1095-A information increased his refund by $109 to $988. The "Where's My Refund" site has shown for month that they have his return.

As a result of all of this, he didn't get the most recent $600 stimulus payment (even though he received the early 2020 stimulus payment of $1,200).

So at ths point, they owe him $1,588. Its a good thing that he is LBYM and isn't desparate for the money like many other people might be.

I've tried calling numerous times and get into their telephone hell. Does anyone know of a number I can call and talk to a real person? (I am his third-party designee on his tax return).

 

[tennisno1]

Hi... I mentioned earlier in this thread how to reach a person at the IRS... bumping it up..good luck

Here are the steps you need to take to reach a real person on the phone at the IRS.

Before you call, make sure you have all of the information that you need.
 - Social Security cards and birth dates for those who were on the return you are calling about.
 - An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) letter if you don’t have a Social Security number (SSN)
 - Filing status – Single, Head of Household, Married Filing Joint or Married Filing Separate
 - Your prior-year tax return. We may need to verify your identity before answering certain questions
 - A copy of the tax return you’re calling about
 - Any letters or notices we sent you
The IRS telephone number is 1-800-829-1040, and they are available from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. Monday thru Friday. The best time to call is early in the morning.
The first question the automated system will ask you is to choose your language.
Once you’ve set your language, do NOT choose Option 1 (regarding refund info). Choose option 2 for “Personal Income Tax” instead.
Next, press 1 for “form, tax history, or payment”.
Next, press 3 “for all other questions.”
Next, press 2 “for all other questions.”
When the system asks you to enter your SSN or EIN to access your account information, do NOT enter anything.
After it asks twice, you will be prompted with another menu.
Press 2 for personal or individual tax questions.
Finally, press 4 for all other inquiries. The system should then transfer you to an agent.

 

[orchid55]

We are still waiting for our $18000 refund which was stolen due to our accountants Intuit software being hacked. I first posted about this in early April. The IRS verified finally that we were the victims of identity fraud and the latest estimate for our refund to be sent is mid-February. However a woman I spoke to early last week at the IRS told me that they don't process anything the first three weeks of January, so the mid-February date could be extended by 3 more weeks. We won't be receiving the second stimulus as a check because they won't have the return processed before the 15th.

We have had our best luck contacting real people at the IRS by pressing 2 for Spanish and waiting in that queue. It is a much shorter wait and they will speak to you in English.

We were given super secret PIN numbers to use on our subsequent tax returns to prevent fraud. I'm wondering how these numbers would prevent what happened to us, as the hackers got into the software after the return was prepared and was on its way to the IRS.
Any thought?

 

[audreyh1]

$18,000 refund? Ouch!

 

[pb4uski]

Hi... I mentioned earlier in this thread how to reach a person at the IRS... bumping it up..good luck

Here are the steps you need to take to reach a real person on the phone at the IRS.

Before you call, make sure you have all of the information that you need.
 - Social Security cards and birth dates for those who were on the return you are calling about.
 - An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) letter if you don’t have a Social Security number (SSN)
 - Filing status – Single, Head of Household, Married Filing Joint or Married Filing Separate
 - Your prior-year tax return. We may need to verify your identity before answering certain questions
 - A copy of the tax return you’re calling about
 - Any letters or notices we sent you
The IRS telephone number is 1-800-829-1040, and they are available from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. Monday thru Friday. The best time to call is early in the morning.
The first question the automated system will ask you is to choose your language.
Once you’ve set your language, do NOT choose Option 1 (regarding refund info). Choose option 2 for “Personal Income Tax” instead.
Next, press 1 for “form, tax history, or payment”.
Next, press 3 “for all other questions.”
Next, press 2 “for all other questions.”
When the system asks you to enter your SSN or EIN to access your account information, do NOT enter anything.
After it asks twice, you will be prompted with another menu.
Press 2 for personal or individual tax questions.
Finally, press 4 for all other inquiries. The system should then transfer you to an agent.

I tried that and it didn't work, but I'll try it again.

 

[SecondCor521]

We were given super secret PIN numbers to use on our subsequent tax returns to prevent fraud. I'm wondering how these numbers would prevent what happened to us, as the hackers got into the software after the return was prepared and was on its way to the IRS.
Any thought?

For the hackers to succeed again, they'd have to know your super secret PIN. I believe it is mailed out to taxpayers, so they'd have to (a) know you have a PIN, (b) intercept your US mail, (c) open it (an additional felony of mail fraud), (d) reseal it and forward it on to you in a way you can't detect, (e) file a return with your PIN before you do.

I'm also pretty sure you get new PIN numbers each year, and each individual taxpayer has a PIN, so if you're MFJ then the hackers would have to do it for both you and your spouse.

 

[sturbridge]

We mailed our return at the end of March and the first week of November got a notice we omitted a form. As a result our refund will be 6k instead of 5k, but I've not heard/seen anything further. I've never seen anything like this.

 

[ER Eddie]

I finally got mine in December.

 

[orchid55]

Yes $18000 refund. It is almost all our ACA premium subsidy as my husband is self-employed. We don't know in advance what his income will be, so we pay the ACA premiums upfront and settle up when we file our taxes. For 2019 it was $18000. The hackers got the first stimulus payment as well since the IRS thought the bank account they used for the stolen refund was a good one.

As far as the PIN numbers go, I am more concerned about a repeat of what happened this year. Our return was intercepted by the hackers after our accountant pressed submit and before it got to the IRS. If the accountant includes the PIN numbers on the electronic return and it is intercepted again I don't see how the PIN numbers help.

 

[SecondCor521]

As far as the PIN numbers go, I am more concerned about a repeat of what happened this year. Our return was intercepted by the hackers after our accountant pressed submit and before it got to the IRS. If the accountant includes the PIN numbers on the electronic return and it is intercepted again I don't see how the PIN numbers help.

Because either (a) the return that your accountant filed with your PIN will get to the IRS before the scammers can file one for the same tax year with the same PIN and/or (b) you get a new PIN each year in the mail - the scammers are not helped in filing a fraudulent 2020 return by knowing your 2019 PIN because the PINs are different.