 TITLE: Still Waiting on Your Tax Refund? Here’s What to Do CONTENT: How to Pay Bills While You Wait for Your IRS Refund\n---------------------------------------------------\nWaiting for a tax refund is never fun, but if you've weathered economic challenges during the pandemic, you may need your refund money to make ends meet. If you need help covering expenses while you're waiting, here are a few ideas for bridging the gap:\n*   **Make a hardship request to the IRS.** If your refund is being held up by a temporary backlog in processing, you can ask the IRS to expedite all or part of your refund to cover hardship expenses by calling (800) 829-1040 and explaining your situation. This is for serious hardships only; examples include eviction notices, utility shut offs and inability to pay for medication. You can only request enough money to cover your emergency hardship, and receiving this partial payment may delay the remainder of your payment.\n*   **Put your budget into survival mode.** Cut discretionary spending, make minimum card payments and postpone major purchases.\n*   **Take advantage of 0% intro APR credit card offers.** If you have good credit and are confident you'll manage a new account well, you may be able to find a 0% intro APR credit card offer on new purchases or balance transfers. Your current card issuers may also offer 0% APR balance transfers you can use to buy yourself some time on other accounts—and save on interest while you're waiting for your refund.\n*   **Get a personal loan.** Although it's wise to resist running up debt while you're waiting for critical funds, a personal loan could help you get your money now and pay it back later. Lenders that fund their loans quickly may be able to provide the emergency cash you need. To get the right loan for you:\n    *   Leverage your good credit score to get the lowest possible APR.\n    *   Try to keep your loan to the amount of your refund minus interest, so when your refund arrives, you can pay the whole loan off. Make sure your loan doesn't have any penalties for paying it off early.\n    *   Stay clear of payday lenders, title lenders and other high-interest sources of fast cash. Sky-high interest could leave you owing far more than your refund amount.\n*   **Look for ways to** **make money fast**. Also seek opportunities to earn passive income. Gig work and selling your unwanted items online are two simple ideas for generating a few dollars.\n*   **Seek** **financial assistance**. Private charity and government relief programs may be able to help. Also look into credit counseling or similar help with student loans or medical debt.\n*   **Adjust your 2021 withholding or estimates.** Receiving a tax refund means you've overpaid your taxes. If the same thing is set to happen for the 2021 tax year, you may be able to reduce your withholding or estimated tax payments for the remainder of 2021. You won't receive a lump sum of cash, but you might increase your take-home pay. Try using the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator or check with your tax preparer before making any adjustments. END