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Wheres My Refund

February 17, 2012 by · Comments Off on Wheres My Refund 

Wheres My Refund, That’s the message the Internal Revenue Service is sending out after a computer glitch sidelined a “Where’s My Refund” feature on the tax agency’s website.

The IRS pledges that the tool, a quick way for tax filers to check the status of their refund, will be working again within days.

But for now, some taxpayers have been confused when, after filing their return electronically and receiving an acknowledgement from the IRS, the tax agency’s own tool for tracking the refund says it has no information about the return.

The IRS says that, despite the computer glitch, the “vast majority” of refunds themselves are still being processed within the typical time frame, whether people are expecting them to arrive in the mail or by the faster method of electronic deposit. Most commonly, income-tax payers who file electronically can get a refund by direct deposit within 10 to 21 days of hitting “send” on their return.

For now, just don’t expect the agency’s online tracking tool to give you an estimated time of arrival.

“This is a temporary situation, and we expect to resolve the matter in a few days,” the IRS said in a message that online users will see when they click “Where’s My Refund” (the tool is found on the IRS website’s homepage).

Processing millions of tax returns quickly and accurately, and doing so while trying to maintain security of the federal databases, is no easy task. The snag with the refund tool is the latest reminder of that.

“The IRS is taking steps to update information so that Where’s My Refund has current information,” the agency said in its online message. “The IRS apologizes for any inconvenience and will provide updated information as soon as possible.”

The computer problem is making news headlines, coincidentally, just as the IRS has released an annual list of computer scams – from outside the IRS – that taxpayers should be wary of.

Wheres My Refunds

February 15, 2012 by · 1 Comment 

Wheres My Refunds, The Internal Revenue Service is having more problems with its tool that tells people who file their tax return electronically when to expect a refund.  On its “Where’s My Refund” page, it has posted the following notice:

“Update: We are aware that some taxpayers who have filed electronically and received an acknowledgement from the IRS are concerned when they visit “Where’s My Refund” and are told that we have no information regarding their return.

 This is a temporary situation, and we expect to resolve the matter in a few days. At that time, taxpayers will be able to get an expected refund date when they visit “Where’s My Refund.”
“If a taxpayer received an acknowledgment message that their e-filed tax return has been received, they can be assured that the IRS has the tax return even though “Where’s My Refund” does not reflect that. Taxpayers should not call the IRS unless specifically directed by “Where’s My Refund,” as there is no new information to give them.
“We expect the vast majority of tax refunds to continue to be issued within the historical range of 10 to 21 days. The IRS is taking steps to update information so that Where’s My Refund has current information. The IRS apologizes for any inconvenience and will provide updated information as soon as possible.”

At the start of the tax season, the IRS was issuing tax refunds about a week later than it initially told people who used the Where’s My Refund tool. That glitch affected people who filed electronically between Jan. 17 and 25 and chose direct deposit for their refund.

In late January the IRS said that delay “relates to fine-tuning IRS systems to adjust for new safeguards put in place this tax season to provide stronger protection against refund fraud.” That glitch was supposed to be fixed by the 26th.

Julie Miller, a spokeswoman for TurboTax, said the latest notice was posted Friday.

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