Tax season has finally ended, but how come you still haven’t received your tax refund yet? You’re not the only person who asked the same question. Why would that happen when the IRS showed a data of 85 million refunds released for the year 2016 with the average taxpayer receiving a net refund of $2, 940? It’s stressful enough to file for your tax return, but not receiving your tax refund is even more frustrating. So where’s your refund? The most common reasons why delays happen is because of the possibility of tax fraud, the refund was sent to the wrong bank, certain tax credits were claimed that are strictly observed by the IRS, you amend your return, or when your refund has been offset to pay off a debt. Whether these things happened to your not, it is best to follow these tips on what you should do if you haven’t received your tax refund yet.
Check Your Return Status.
You must first check whether or not your tax return has gone through the IRS system. Since e-filing services are commonly used by taxpayers these days and filling out their tax forms, checking using the service to find out the status of your return has never been easier. Most of the time it only requires you to sign in to your account and you’ll see your return status right away. It doesn’t matter whether you log in to the website or call the IRS hotline at 1-800-829-1040, if you return has gone through their system yet you can’t do anything about it at the moment. If you see there was an error in your tax return, fix it right away so you can move on to checking your federal tax refund status.
Check Your Federal Tax Refund Status
The most common reason why there are delays in receiving tax refunds is that of the mistakes made on the taxpayer’s tax return. It can be because of entering inaccurate information or if the return was incomplete. If you find that your tax return status is all correct, you can then check the status of your IRS refund status. Another thing you should make sure when filing your tax return is filling the direct deposit form so that when your refund is ready, it’s going to your account right away. You can also take a quick call to your bank to see if your refund already came in.
After you called your bank and find out your refund isn’t there yet, contact the IRS and ask for your federal tax refund status. Their website provides a link that allows you to enter the information you collected from calling or call to check your IRS refund status at 1-800-829-1954.
Other Common Reasons Affecting Your IRS Refund Status
Taxpayers have the option to use tax services and pay them using the tax refund the taxpayer’s receive. If you’re one of those taxpayers, it is best to check with your tax service. Let them know that you might have to deal with a slight delay on getting paid and getting your tax refund.
If you choose to receive your tax refund through a check from the IRS, the waiting time you have to deal with is going to be longer than if you signed up for a direct deposit. Common reasons why delays happen is also because it could be a busy time of the year. If you decide to wait until near the end of the tax season, your federal tax refund status might be affected and your waiting time might be extended for two more weeks. You definitely don’t want that to happen so make sure you work on your tax return as soon as possible. There is usually a week difference between refunds done through direct deposit versus mailed checks.
If you find strange activities whenever you check your federal refund status such as having your tax refund stolen by scammers, you are advised to inform the IRS as soon as possible by calling them at 1-800-829-1040.
Consulting a tax professional and using their service in filing your tax return will also help lessen the possibility of mistakes and delays in receiving your tax refund. Consider doing this if you want to avoid hassle and frustrations every tax season.
