Where Is My Refund?
Tax season is now over and most taxpayers have filed their individual income tax returns by the due date of April 15th. In addition, many of these taxpayers will be receiving income tax refunds. Most of these taxpayers will be receive their refunds in a timely manner but there will be some taxpayers who will receive their income tax refunds late or not at all. Refunds can be received late or not at all for many reasons. The purpose of this newsletter is to address these issues and to provide solutions to these problems.
Late Refunds
There can be a variety of reasons for receiving a late refund. Typically the main reason is that the tax return is paper filed instead of electronically filed. In many cases a paper filed tax return can be at least a week to ten days longer to process than a electronically filed tax return. Before you file a tax return you should ask in advance if your tax prepared files tax returns electronically. If not you should find a tax preparer who does file electronically and that the preparer is credentialed to do so. Another reason why tax refunds are received late is that instead of requesting direct deposit for your refund you request a check. Requesting your refund by direct deposit will expedite the receiving of your refund significantly. In addition, by requesting your refund be received by direct deposit your refund will be more safe and secure.
No Refunds
Not receiving your income tax refund can be extremely frustrating. There can many reasons for this as well. If your tax refund is significantly late (four weeks would be considered significantly late) then you should inquire with your tax preparer to see when the tax return was e-filed and accepted by the IRS if the return is an electronically filed tax return. If the return was filed and accepted in a timely manner then you should check the refund status with the IRS. This can be accomplished by accessing the IRS website and clicking the link to Where is My Refund. That link will let you know where your refund is in the pipeline and will allow you to monitor the progress of your refund. Again the best way to prevent not receiving your tax refund is to request direct deposit of your refund. Also request that your tax return is e-filed as many paper tax returns get filed every year only to be either lost in the mail or somehow they get lost in the government blackhole.
Security Concerns
In some cases the reason you do not receive your tax refund is due to identity theft or tax fraud. Every year tax refunds are either stolen or a taxpayer’s identity has been compromised. This results in millions of dollars of lost revenue for the government and in recent years has become an epidemic. However, there are many ways to avoid this problem. First, never give your social security number or any banking information to anybody who is not authorized to obtain this information. Keep all of this confidential information in a safe and secure location. Also obtain the services of a trusted tax preparer who has taken secure measures to make certain that your tax information will not be compromised. Lastly, when you file your tax return make sure that you follow the advice of filing electronically filing your tax return as well as requesting direct deposit of your refund. Following these simple rules could save you a lot of frustration as well as making certain that your refund gets to you in a timely manner.