Are you still waiting for your income tax refund? If so, get comfortable, because refunds in 2021 are significantly delayed across the board. Millions of Americans have been waiting weeks—or months—to see their refunds come in. The delays are particularly bad for people who claim someone under the age of 18 on their returns, as those claims are taking longer than ever to process. If you’re checking daily for your refund, here is what you need to know.
Why are tax refunds delayed so much?
The 2021 tax season is unprecedented. Stimulus payments in 2020 added a new layer of complexity to tax returns, and many returns have contained stimulus payment-related errors, which in turn have caused processing delays. Additionally, the IRS is gearing up for the start of child tax credit payments in July while also continuing to send out stimulus checks each week.
In addition to these challenges, the IRS stated the 2021 tax season already behind. COVID restrictions limited the IRS workforce for the 2020 tax season, and the agency is still catching up on those returns.
How bad are the delays?
At the end of June, the IRS said that it had about 35 million tax returns that haven’t been processed yet in their queue. This number is about 4 million more returns than they hadn’t processed at the end of May. These figures represent a 230% increase in backlogged returns over the same period in 2020 and a 377% increase from the same period in 2019.
When will I get my refund?
It’s difficult to predict when anyone will receive a refund, since there are so many factors at play. We recommend that you use this link to check the progress of your return. According to the IRS, this is a much more effective way to get information about your refund than calling the agency, as call volumes are high, and agents don’t have more information than is available by using the link.
The Royce CPA Firm is here to help you navigate the financial complexities that have arisen from the pandemic. Talk to a CPA in Tucson today by calling (520) 321-4626.