According to the IRS, if you send in a paper return that is complete and accurate you should receive your refund check in six to eight weeks. If you file electronically you should have your refund in three to four weeks, and if you request direct deposit your refund could be in your bank account quicker. If you have been waiting longer than that amount of time and still haven’t received your refund, you can follow up with the IRS to find out the status of your refund.
Where’s My Refund?
The IRS has an online tool – “Where’s My Refund?” on the home page of its website at www.irs.gov. By entering your Social Security number, your filing status, and the exact whole dollar amount of your refund, you can find out the status. You will receive an immediate response indicating when your refund was deposited or the check sent. You can also call the IRS Refund Hotline at 800-829-1954, or the IRS TeleTax System at 800-829-4477.
The IRS advises that you wait at least 72 hours before checking on the status of your refund if you filed electronically, and four weeks if you mailed in your return.
Discrepancies on Your Return
Your refund may be delayed if the IRS finds some discrepancy on your return. For example there may be a Social Security number on the return that does not match IRS records, you may have forgotten to sign the return, or attach a W-2. There could be math errors or inconsistencies on the return. These types of discrepancies or errors can cause an additional eight-week delay in receiving your refund. You may receive a notice from the IRS, advising you of corrections they made, or requesting additional information from you.
Tax Topic 303 – “Checklist of Common Errors When Preparing Your Tax Return”, which is available on the IRS website, serves as a useful guide in reviewing your return before sending it, to avoid errors that will cause your refund to be delayed. When you prepare your return using tax software, or when you file electronically using one of the tax preparers on the IRS website, the software will check for math errors and inconsistencies, but you should still review your return for other types of errors that the software may not catch, such as Social Security numbers of dependents, before transmitting it.
You should also ensure that you have reported all your income as reported on the W-2’s and 1099’s you receive. The IRS computer system will match your tax return with these information returns and will issue you a notice if there are any discrepancies.
Change of Address
When you request a refund check, it will be sent to the last address you have clearly provided to the IRS, which may be the address on your tax return. If you have moved since you filed your tax return and have completed a change of address form for the post office, your refund should be sent to your new address. According to the IRS, the U.S. Postal Service provides them with change of address updates on a weekly basis.
But the IRS also indicates that not all post offices forward government checks, so your refund check may have been returned to the IRS as undeliverable. When you use the “Where’s My Refund?” tool on the IRS website, you should be able to see the date the IRS mailed your refund check. If you don’t receive your refund within 28 days from that date, you can start a refund trace online. If “Where’s My Refund?” shows that the refund check was undeliverable, you can change your address online.
You can also use IRS Form 8822, Address Change Request, and send it to the address shown on the form. You can download this form from the IRS website. Or you could write to the IRS to inform them of your address change. In your letter you should include your full name, old and new addresses, your Social Security number, and signature. If you filed a joint return you need to provide the same information for your spouse, and both of you must sign. If you write a letter, send it to the IRS address where you filed your return.
Lost, Misplaced, or Stolen Check
If you lost or misplaced your tax refund check, you should call the IRS at 800-829-1954. You may need to complete IRS Form 3911, Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund, to initiate a claim. If the IRS determines that your refund check has not been cashed, they can normally provide a replacement check in six to eight weeks. Form 3911 is available for downloading from the IRS website.
As William Perez reports in his Tax Planning Blog on About.com, if there was an error in the bank routing number or the account number you indicated on your tax return for direct deposit of your refund, and your refund was deposited in someone else’s bank account, you will have to take the matter up with your bank. The IRS cannot recall a refund deposited into the account as directed by the taxpayer, and does not assume responsibility for taxpayer error.
The IRS indicates that if you omit a digit in the routing or account number, and the number does not pass the IRS validation check, they will send you a paper check for the entire refund. If you incorrectly enter a routing or account number and your bank or financial institution rejects the deposit and returns it to the IRS, the IRS will issue a paper check for the refund. If you split your refund into more than one bank account, the IRS will issue a check for the portion of the refund that you requested to have deposited in the account that was rejected.
If you entered the correct routing and account numbers, but the IRS made an error in depositing your refund, the IRS will correct its error. You should contact an IRS customer service representative at 800-829-1040.
Refund Withheld by the IRS
The IRS will withhold part or all of your refund if you owe back taxes, child support, a student loan, or other delinquent obligations. If you are paying taxes under an installment payment plan the IRS automatically applies your refund against the balance owed. If you still have a balance pending after your refund has been applied, you must continue making the installment payments. The IRS will also withhold your refund if the Earned Income Tax Credit you claimed is pending further review.
You will receive a letter from the IRS explaining any adjustments that were made to your refund. You should also receive a letter from the Department of Treasury’s Financial Management Service (FMS) explaining the offset amount, the agency that received the payment (state income taxes, child support, student loan), the address and telephone number of the agency, and the amount of your refund that was offset. If you do not agree with the amount paid to that agency, you should contact the agency directly. The IRS withholds your refund based on the information they have on file, and has no information about the validity of the debt. Information on these offsets against your refund is also available through the “Where’s My Refund?” tool on the IRS website.
Reference:
- About.com – William’s Tax Planning Blog – Incorrect Direct Deposit of Tax Refund, by William Perez: taxes.about.com
