IRS Refund delays - Paper filing

[CaptTom]

I don't want to pollute the other thread IRS Refund delays - Efile.

Because of a bug in the IRS's on-line system, I was unable to e-File this year. Long story short, mine is a simple return so I just printed it out and filed via snail mail on February 11th.

On February 18, the USPS tracking service indicated it was delivered.

Since then, and still today, the IRS refund tracking site has indicated:
"You may not have entered your information correctly. Please verify your personal tax data and try again."

Should I be worried? Anyone else waiting this long?

 

[Car-Guy]

Pretty sure my return was received and opened in a very timely manner... My check was cashed in less than a week after I sent in my return in early April.

 

[cathy63]

This is normal. Paper returns can take several months to process. The envelopes are opened and checks are cashed so they don't go stale, but the returns themselves go through a batch process where they are transcribed into the electronic system. This takes a long time. If you are waiting for a refund, interest starts accruing at the end of May.

 

[CaptTom]

This is normal. Paper returns can take several months to process. The envelopes are opened and checks are cashed so they don't go stale, but the returns themselves go through a batch process where they are transcribed into the electronic system. This takes a long time. If you are waiting for a refund, interest starts accruing at the end of May.

Thanks, at least I know it's not unusual. I'll just forget about it and when the IRS finally gets around to depositing my refund it'll be a nice surprise.

I guess I should have been more persistent with the electronic filing. The system got stuck on an invalid routing number and wouldn't let me fix it. Maybe I could have deleted the whole thing and started over with a different e-mail address or something. Had I known paper filing would be so screwed up I would have found a way somehow. Never again!

 

[Wupot2020]

Same issue for me. Also submitted in early Feb

 

[scrabbler1]

Same here. I mailed mine out in mid-February, requesting direct deposit of my large refund. I check the "Where's my refund?" web page a few times a week and get the same "We don't know" reply. I have an account with the IRS which I had been signing into every few weeks. I think I'll stop checking my account, or at least check it far less frequently, maybe once a month.

 

[Bamaman]

I submitted mine electronically at 11:00 pm on the last night. Received a direct deposit overpayment in 5 days.

I must have done something right to get paid so promptly.

 

[Act2]

Still waiting on refund; filed paper return for deceased Dad in mid-March. Same no info response in “where’s my refund”. Green card came back so I know the IRS got the filing.

 

[CaptTom]

I was burning some old financial paperwork I'd cleaned out of my attic yesterday. I came across my 1984 tax records. I had filed by mail, of course. I received the paper refund check just two days short of one month later.


Funny thing, progress.

 

[scrabbler1]

Same here. I mailed mine out in mid-February, requesting direct deposit of my large refund. I check the "Where's my refund?" web page a few times a week and get the same "We don't know" reply. I have an account with the IRS which I had been signing into every few weeks. I think I'll stop checking my account, or at least check it far less frequently, maybe once a month.

Today, at long last, I finally got a different response when I went to the IRS's "Where's my refund?" web page. I finally got an acknowledgement that they got the return and are processing it, with my refund expected in 21 days, barring anything going wrong, or if they happen to take longer anyway.

Progress, finally!

 

[pjm-7]

Lucky you to get an acknowledgement that they are processing your return. However, I would not hold your breath. My electronically filed return was accepted on 2/16/22 and I am still waiting for my refund.

 

[MissMolly]

Lucky you to get an acknowledgement that they are processing your return. However, I would not hold your breath. My electronically filed return was accepted on 2/16/22 and I am still waiting for my refund.[/QUO

"Accepted" and "Processing" mean two different things. Accepted means your tax return is now in the government's hands and has passed the initial inspection (your verification info is correct, dependents haven't already been claimed by someone else, etc.). It doesn't mean it's being processed for a refund. That's the next step. You can sit in Accepted status for a very long time. Once you make it to Processing you are usually good to go.

 

[CaptTom]

Still no change here.

 

[Act2]

No change here yet either. But it’s good to hear someone is seeing possible progress.

 

[scrabbler1]

How's this for speed?

In today's check of the "Where's my refund?" web page, it now says my refund was approved and the money will be sent to my bank by this Thursday. And they added about $7 worth of interest. Awesome!

 

[scrabbler1]

Refund money appeared in my account yesterday. I am already investing it elsewhere.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

Refund money appeared in my account yesterday. I am already investing it elsewhere.

Congrats! Remember that the interest they paid you is supposed to be added to your 2022 income at tax time! They may or may not send you a 1099-INT for it if it was only $7 though. I don't think they bother with under $10.

 

[Act2]

Finally got an acknowledgment on the IRS website that the paper return filed for my Dad after his death is being processed. Filed it in March. Acknowledgment appeared online about a week ago; no change since it first appeared and no estimate on refund date. At least it is some kind of progress.

 

[CaptTom]

@Act2, thanks for giving me hope. Filed mine in February. Still no indication they received it, beyond the USPS tracking report. I may set aside a day next week to call them. From what I hear that will take the entire day.

 

[Act2]

@CaptTom, I will be interested to hear what you learn, if there’s more info available that way or if it’s just the same as online. Like you, I had USPS proof of delivery soon after sending and then many months of nothing thereafter.

 

[RenoJay]

I filed my kids’ simple paper returns back in March. USPS showed they were delivered a few days later. Now in August, the where’s my refund tool still shows nothing. (They’re each owed a refund.) My accountant friend suggested I Google “IRS transcript” to try to track them down and also said IRS is hopelessly backed up.

 

[pjm-7]

Wonders never cease. I finally got my 2021 federal income tax refund today. The return was filed electronically and accepted on 2/16/22. I enlisted the assistance of one of the Colorado Senator's office to assist with IRS contacts. My simple return was stuck in some electronic processing queue.

 

[pb4uski]

I have a friend who filed his paper return by mail in March and still hasn't received his refund. In fact, it isn't even shown yet in Where's My Refund.

 

[Act2]

I got a lovely letter from the IRS seeking additional documents. I sent them in about ten days ago. So I am again waiting.

 

[Dash man]

I had file a paper return for Pennsylvania because they don’t take a K-1 electronically. Have received a letter saying what my refund is, but no refund yet. So it’s not just the IRS.