According to the IRS it’s currently taking about 21 days for most filers to receive their tax refund. While some taxpayers are reporting having already received their refunds, there are a few important changes that the IRS says will delay 2022 tax refunds:
- Returns including a claim filed for Earned Income Tax Credit or an Additional Child Tax Credit using 2019 income.
- Returns requiring corrections to the Recovery Rebate Credit amount.
- Returns including Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation.
In these cases, the IRS is saying that it may take more than the normal three weeks to process a return and issue a refund. According to the IRS website, it may take up to 120 days to receive a refund for tax returns with the Recovery Rebate Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, and Additional Child Tax Credit.
Other things that can slow down your refund being processed quickly, or even require you to contact the IRS:
- Incomplete tax returns, or tax returns missing income information.
- Tax returns affected by identity theft or fraud.
- Tax returns requiring further review.
The IRS has a couple of options for taxpayers to check the status of their refund. You can visit the Refund Status website, ‘Where’s My Refund?’, and provide your Social Security Number, filing status, and expected refund amount. There is also a mobile app, IRS2Go, which requires similar information and can provide your tax refund status.
One important thing to keep in mind with the Refund Status website and the IRS2Go app is that the IRS only updates this information once per day, and generally overnight. This means that if you check once in the morning that the information you receive will not change later in the day.
The IRS is asking that taxpayers avoid calling about their refunds until more than 21 days have passed since e-filing, or unless instructed by the status updates on the Where’s My Refund portal.
How Can I Get My 2021 Tax Refund Faster?
There are a few things you can do as a tax filer to help ensure you receive your refund as quickly as possible:
- Work with a qualified tax preparer to ensure your refund is filled out completely and accurately.
- Utilize IRS E-File to help speed the processing of your return.
- Make sure that you have all your tax documents before you file so that you are accurately reporting your tax situation.
What About Tax Services That Say I Can Get My Tax Refund Today?
Some tax services are offering debit cards that come immediately loaded with a certain amount of your refund. While we do receive a lot of questions about these services, they’re not something we’re currently interested in offering our clients. The reason is that these debit cards are a loan product which carries an extremely high cost.
The banks that underwrite these loans are taking hundreds of dollars in fees and interest on an extremely short-term, very small loan of perhaps a few thousand dollars. We want our clients to get their best possible returns, and this means doing our part to educate them about how to protect their money from predatory lending practices.
If you’re facing financial hardship and feeling that you could use the money from your refund immediately, it’s recommended that you contact your creditors to make arrangements to pay after you’re received your refund in a few weeks. Having money problems is understandable, and one of the best ways to get out of having money problems is to make sure your money is being used as effectively as possible. Paying hundreds of dollars on a loan that will be paid off in a few weeks is not an effective use of your hard-earned money!
