IRS experiencing delays in processing payments (2024)

FAQs

What does it mean when IRS says processing has been delayed? ›

A common cause of delayed tax return processing, leading to delayed refunds, is missing information on the return. "Failure to include basic information, such as the Social Security numbers of dependents, can significantly hold up a refund," according to Lee E. Holland, CPA, CFP, and former IRS agent.

If it's been at least two weeks since you sent the payment to the IRS and your financial institution verifies that the check hasn't cleared your account, call the IRS at 800-829-1040 to ask if the payment has been credited to your tax account. Get up-to-date status on current IRS operations and services.

Some tax returns take longer to process than others for many reasons, including when a return: Is sent by mail. Contains errors or is incomplete. Needs further review in general.

Check or money order payments may take up to three weeks to appear. Debit/credit card payments will appear 1-2 days after your payment date.

Slow processing speed occurs when it takes you longer to receive, understand and interpret information. You can improve your processing speed with some practice and brain training activities, like reading, puzzles and games.

The processing of your tax return has been delayed because we need to verify information you have provided. This can include checking it against data provided to us by employers, banks and other government agencies. You don't need to contact us. If we need more information from you, we'll contact you.

If we are unable to process your payment, you will receive, by email or U.S. mail, a payment return notice asking you to resubmit the payment. If we apply a penalty, you will receive a second notice by mail with the amount of the penalty.

Errors like inaccurate card numbers, an incorrectly-entered expiration date, or a wrong billing address can cause issues during payment. Misconfigured Gateway: For payments to process, payment gateways must be implemented and configured correctly.

The IRS issues more than 9 out of 10 refunds in less than 21 days. However, it's possible your tax return may require additional review and take longer.

If you're still waiting on your tax refund, it's possible that your tax return is taking longer for the IRS to process because it requires additional review. There are several reasons why your tax return may be delayed: Errors such as an incomplete filing status. Missing information.

What is the longest wait for IRS refund? ›

If you file a complete and accurate paper tax return, your refund should be issued in about six to eight weeks from the date IRS receives your return. If you file your return electronically, your refund should be issued in less than three weeks, even faster when you choose direct deposit.

But generally if your tax return is flagged, you would get some sort of notifications or you can always go to the portal to check the status of your submission. Normally, an internal flagging for further investigation can't be made known to you until the tax guys are certain they need further information from you.

If two weeks have gone by since you sent the last payment and your bank verifies that the check hasn't cleared your account, call the IRS at 800-829-1040.

If it's been at least two weeks since you sent the payment to the IRS and your financial institution verifies that the check hasn't cleared your account, call the IRS at 800-829-1040 to ask if the payment has been credited to your tax account.

It could well be that your bank has encountered payment processing problems that have affected you and other customers, thus delaying the payment of your funds to the IRS for a few days.

Most refunds will be issued in less than 21 days. You can start checking the status of your refund within 24 hours after you have e-filed your return. Refund information is updated on the IRS website once a day, overnight. Remember, the fastest way to get your refund is to e-file and choose direct deposit.

On June 20, 2024, the IRS announced delays in posting payments made through the Electronic Federal Payment Posting System (EFPPS).

If you received a notice, you should send us a copy of the past due return to the indicated address. It takes approximately 6 weeks for us to process an accurately completed past due tax return.