What if my refund is delayed?

 

If you are experiencing a delay in receiving your refund it may be due to several reasons:

 

#1  It could be due to a new law passed by Congress that requires the IRS to HOLD all tax refunds that include the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) until February 15, 2020, regardless of how early the tax return was filed.

​

#2  The IRS may believe your identity may have been stolen.  The IRS Taxpayer Protection Program identifies a suspicious tax return bearing your name and SSN and will send you a notice or letter. The TPP proactively identifies and prevents the processing of identity theft tax returns and assists taxpayers whose identities are used to file such returns.

​

Your tax preparer may notify you that your electronic filed return was rejected due to your name and social security number appearing on a tax return that has already been filed.  If this case, you can paper file a tax return and complete Form 14039 Identity Theft Affidavit, attach the form to the back of your paper return and mail to your designated IRS Service Center.  The IRS will notify you that they have received your Form 14039 and are working to resolve the issue.  It may take 120 and up to 160 days or a year to resolve.

​

Can the IRS seize my tax refund?

​

Yes.  There are six reasons that the IRS may take your refund:

​

1. You Owe Federal Income Taxes.

2. You Owe State Income Taxes.

3. You Owe State Unemployment Compensation.

4. You Defaulted on a Student Loan.

5. You Owe Child Support.

6. You Owe Spousal Support.