What is the maximum time the IRS is allowed to hold a refund?

You usually have three years from the due date of your tax return to claim a refund due on that return, although there are some exceptions. The IRS has three years to audit your tax return in most cases, but this can be extended to six years or even indefinitely under some circumstances.

What is the longest a tax refund can take?

If you filed on paper, it may take 6 months or more to process your tax return. For service delay details, see Status of Operations. The IRS issues more than 9 out of 10 refunds in less than 21 days. However, it's possible your tax return may require additional review and take longer.

How long can the IRS legally hold your refund?

If you provide the information the IRS requested, the IRS should correct your account and resolve the refund issue (generally within 60 days). If you file a missing or late return, the IRS will process your returns and issue your refunds (generally within 90 days).

Why is the IRS holding my refund so long?

Many different factors can affect the timing of a refund after the IRS receives a return. A manual review may be necessary when a return has errors, is incomplete or is affected by identity theft or fraud.

What is the latest the IRS can hold your refund?

After 60 days, you'd need to file an amended return to reverse any errors and get your refund back. If the IRS thinks you claimed erroneous deductions or credits, the IRS can hold your refund. In this case, the IRS will audit you to figure out whether your return is accurate.

TAX RETURNS 2023 UPDATES : WHEN WILL IRS START ISSUING REFUNDS 2023 ? TAX REFUND DELAYS ?

Why is my refund still processing after 3 months?

Reasons Your Tax Refund Can Be Delayed

Missing information. A need for additional review. Possible identity theft or tax fraud. A claim for an earned income tax credit or an additional child tax credit.

Can I sue the IRS for late refund?

Generally, if you fully paid the tax and the IRS denies your tax refund claim, or if the IRS takes no action on the claim within six months, then you may file a refund suit. You can file a suit in a United States District Court or the United States Court of Federal Claims.

Why is my 2022 refund taking so long?

Is There a Delay on 2022 Tax Refunds? Following the COVID-19 pandemic, many taxpayers ended up waiting longer than the usual 21 days — some as long as eight weeks — to receive their refunds as the IRS was dealing with the backlog of returns caused by the pandemic.

Why is my refund taking longer than last year?

Your refund may be delayed if you made math errors or if you forgot to sign your return or include your Social Security number. It may also be delayed if your dependents' information doesn't match IRS records, or if you left out a corresponding schedule or form to support a deduction or credit, says Pickering.

Who do I call if I haven't received my tax refund?

Whether you owe taxes or you're expecting a refund, you can find out your tax return's status by: Using the IRS Where's My Refund tool. Viewing your IRS account information. Calling the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 (Wait times to speak to a representative may be long.)

What happens if the IRS doesn't give you your refund?

If you don't receive your deposit within five days after the 21 days have passed, you can request a refund trace. Paper check: If you don't receive your refund check within six weeks of mailing your tax return to the IRS, you can request a refund trace.

Why is my tax return still being processed after 6 months?

The following are some of the reasons why tax returns take longer than others to process: Your tax return includes errors, such as incorrect Recovery Rebate Credit. Your tax return Is incomplete. Your tax return needs further review in general.

What if IRS refund is longer than 21 days?

If you paper-filed, wait at least 4 weeks before checking Where's My Refund?. The IRS is taking more than 21 days (and up to 90 to 120 days), to issue refunds for tax returns with the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. You should only contact the IRS if: It's been 21 days or more since you e-filed.

Is the IRS behind on refunds 2022?

Return processing and refund delays.

In 2022, about two-thirds of individual taxpayers were entitled to refunds, and the average refund amount was nearly $3,200. The report says the IRS failed to meet its responsibility to pay timely refunds to millions of taxpayers for the third year in a row.

How do I speak to a live person at the IRS?

Contact an IRS customer service representative to correct any agency errors by calling 800-829-1040 (see telephone assistance for hours of operation).

Is the IRS taking longer to process returns 2022?

As shown in the figure, IRS addressed its backlog of 2021 paper returns. However, as of late September 2022, IRS had about 12.4 million returns to process, resulting in refund delays for millions of taxpayers.

Why has my refund been accepted but not approved?

An incomplete return, an inaccurate return, an amended return, tax fraud, claiming tax credits, owing certain debts for which the government can take part or all of your refund, and sending your refund to the wrong bank due to an incorrect routing number are all reasons that a tax refund can be delayed.

Should I call the IRS if my refund is late?

You should only call if:

It has been 3 weeks or more since you filed electronically (11 weeks if Form 8379, Injured Spouse was included); It has been more than 6 weeks since you mailed your paper return (14 weeks if Form 8379, Injured Spouse was included); or. Where's My Refund? directs you to contact us.

Has the IRS been successfully sued?

Surprisingly, taxpayers win some or all of their cases against the IRS about 14% of the time. Attorney Counsel represented more of those cases than not.

Why have I not received my refund after 90 days?

A tax refund could be delayed because it needs a correction or is incomplete, needs further review or is suspected of identity fraud, includes a claim filed for an Earned Income Tax Credit or an Additional Child Tax Credit or includes an injured spouse allocation form which may take up to 14 weeks for the IRS to ...

Why is my refund still being processed after 5 months?

If your tax return status is "Still Being Processed" your tax return could be essentially on hold until the IRS corrects any issues and/or gets the additional information from you to continue processing your return.

Should I be worried if my refund is still being processed?

There are many different reasons why your refund may have not been processed yet, but the most common include: Your tax return included errors. Your tax return is incomplete. This could mean that all of the necessary forms were not sent to the IRS for processing.

What to do if it has been over 6 months and still no tax refund?

You might have better luck calling if it's been at least six months since you filed your 2021 paper return. If you've contacted the IRS about your delayed refund with no results, and not having the money is causing you a financial hardship, you can try calling the IRS's Taxpayer Advocate Service (opens in new tab).

Why is my refund still being processed after 4 months?

If it's been three or more months since you filed your return and you get the message that your return is still being processed, it's time to make a phone call. Call the IRS at 1-800-Tax-1040 (isn't that cute) to try to find out why the return is still being processed. Be prepared to wait on hold for a long time.

How can I speed up my tax return processing?