The National Taxpayer Advocate said that at the end of May, there were 35 million tax returns that still needed to be manually processed.
The backlog includes about 16.8 million paper tax returns waiting to be processed, about 15.8 million returns suspended for further review and 2.7 million amended returns.
The backlog is nearly three times larger than it was in 2020, and it’s a fourfold increase from 2019.
A shutdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 is mostly to blame for the backlog.
Check the status of your refund
IRS tax refunds are running weeks behind schedule.
You can track your tax refund and find answers to some common questions here.
The IRS has posted the following message on its refunds page:
COVID-19 Mail Processing Delays
It’s taking more than 21 days for us to issue refunds for certain mailed and e-filed 2020 tax returns that require review.
Mailed correspondence is also taking longer to process.
Thank you for your patience.
When 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.
Some returns take longer to process
Some tax returns take longer to process than others, including when a return:
- Includes errors such as an incorrect Recovery Rebate Credit amount.
- Is incomplete.
- Is affected by identity theft or fraud.
- Includes a claim filed for an Earned Income Tax Credit or an Additional Child Tax Credit using 2019 income..
- Includes a Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation PDF, which could take up to 14 weeks to process.
- Needs further review in general.
For the latest information on IRS refund processing during the COVID-19 pandemic, see the IRS Operations Status page.
The IRS will contact you by mail when (or if) it needs more information to process your return.
credit to: WGAL