 TITLE: Still Waiting on Your Tax Refund? Here’s What to Do CONTENT: Why Is Your Refund So Late?\n---------------------------\nThe IRS typically processes tax returns and issues refunds within 21 days of receipt. However, this tax season is different. Working under COVID-19 restrictions slowed productivity at the IRS, causing a backlog. At the same time, massive new demands have been placed on the agency: Three rounds of stimulus payments since the pandemic began, new monthly Child Tax Credit payments, an extra round of refunds for Recovery Rebate Credits and a raft of new tax laws and COVID-related benefits that made tax returns more complicated for the 2020 tax year. Add in the limitations and age of many IRS systems, and you have a perfect storm of delay.\nAccording to the IRS, your tax refund may also take longer to process if your tax return has any of the following issues:\n*   Errors\n*   Missing information\n*   A need for additional review\n*   Possible identity theft\n*   A claim for an Earned Income Tax Credit or an Additional Child Tax Credit\n*   Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation, which can take up to 14 weeks to process\nHow Can You Find Out Your Refund Status?\n----------------------------------------\nThe most efficient way to track your refund is through the IRS' Where's My Refund? tool or mobile IRS2Go app. Either one will show your tax return's status 24 hours after it's received. Your status will indicate one of the following:\n*   **Received** means your return is being processed.\n*   **Approved** indicates your return has been accepted and your refund amount is approved.\n*   **Sent** confirms that your refund is being direct-deposited into your bank account or mailed to you as a check.\nIf it's been more than 21 days since you e-filed your return—or six weeks since you mailed a paper return—you can also call the IRS at 800-829-1040 for a status update. Be forewarned: Phone lines are busy and capacity is limited. Only 3% of callers to the IRS \"1040\" helpline reached live help during the regular tax season.\nIs there a simple way to speed up your refund payment? Although there is a process for requesting an expedited refund to cover hardship expenses (more in a moment), since most delays appear to be normal at this point, there may not be much you can do other than track your refund to make sure it isn't lost in transit.\nE-filing your taxes (if you haven't filed them already) can help you eliminate the lengthy delays taking place as IRS workers manually input information from paper returns. And selecting direct deposit instead of a paper check lets you skip mailing delays. If your refund check is more than 28 days past the date the IRS mailed it, you can file an online claim for a replacement check. END