Millions of Americans are still waiting for their tax refunds.
Unfortunately for those still waiting, the IRS has stated there are currently 6.2 million unprocessed tax returns from 2020.
Many of those unprocessed returns belong to people who paid taxes on the first $10,200 of their unemployment income before the American Rescue Act was passed.
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Those that filed and paid before the law was passed are owed a refund for taxes paid.
The American Rescue Act made the first $10,200 in unemployment during 2020 untaxed income.
So far, the IRS has processed 11.7 million refunds worth $14.4 billion dollars.
The IRS continues to chip away at unprocessed returns and will into 2022. Their focus is now the more complex returns.
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Another batch is set to go out before the end of the year.
Those who can expect a refund are sent a letter detailing the change to their return about 30 days from when the correction was made.
Why is it taking so long and when can I expect my refund?
The IRS has to individually fix tax returns themselves, and this year they are seeing more corrections need than in previous years.
It takes the IRS 21 days to issue regular refunds, but some are taking between 90 and 120 days.
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Returns are processed in the order they’re received, and all returns with no errors on them were processed first this year.
The IRS is trying to fix returns that do not require correspondence with taxpayers, because it can add so much time.
Despite you waiting for what feels like an incredible amount of time, there is no action required on most people’s parts.
The most you can do is respond to requests for information when the IRS reaches out to you regarding your return.
You may also check on your return status using the Where’s My Refund tool, which tells you what stage of processing your return is in.
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