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Tax Refund Delays: Why You Might Be Waiting a Really Long Time

Tax Refund
1040 Form. Imaged Credit: Creative Commons.

IRS Tax Season: Your Tax Refund Could Be Massively Delayed: Tax filing season opened on January 24, but this year it came with a warning from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS): that tax refunds could take longer this year owing to various internal delays and obstacles.

How Long You Should Expect for Your Tax Refund This Year?

IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a statement that, in many areas, the agency is “unable to deliver the amount of service and enforcement that our taxpayers and tax system deserves and needs.”

Rettig added that IRS employees would like to do more and that throughout 2022, the agency will do “everything possible with the resources available” to them.

According to a page titled “What to Expect for Refunds This Year” on the IRS website, more than 90% of tax refunds are issued in less than 21 days. However, the site warned that this year, refunds may require “additional review” and could take longer.

Taxpayers with children should expect larger child tax credit than usual this year, with the remaining six months of the 12-month extended child tax credit due to be paid in a single lump sum as opposed to the monthly payments that ran from July to December last year. Families should expect up to $3,600 depending on how many children they have and their age.

The IRS said that those who received monthly child tax credit payments last year will be required to disclose those payments in their 2021 tax filing. Failure to disclose the payments will trigger an error in the IRS system and will likely cause an even longer refund delay.

Taxpayers may use the “Where’s My Refund?” tool to determine the status of their tax returns.

Bryan Cannon, the CEO of Cannon Advisors in Charlotte, North Carolina, blamed the pandemic for the chaos.

“The pandemic and the staffing shortages and budget cuts over the years – it’s all added up to kind of create this perfect storm of just a disappointing tax season,” he said, also adding that the problem is an “open wound” and the “pandemic has basically dumped salt on it.”

Tax Refund Advice: File Early, If You Can

Given that the IRS recorded over 2 million amended returns by January 1 of this year, and is still processing large numbers of corrections for Americans who paid too much in unemployment insurance taxes during the first year of the pandemic, the agency is advising that people file taxes early if they want their refund to arrive sooner.

The quickest way to receive a tax refund is to file taxes online and request payment to take place via direct deposit, avoiding the entire process of issuing, sending, and cashing a check.

Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and report on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.

Written By

Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive's Breaking News Editor. He is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.

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