Strange Delay

[Snaggletooth]

Long-time customer finally agreed to let me e-file for them this year.

No apparent problem with the return, ACK came back without a hitch,
and direct deposit refund was due Feb 22.

No refund on the 22nd. or the 29th. or the 7th. In fact, no refund at
all. I told them to call the IRS "Where's my refund" #.

They called. IRS told them there had been "a few delays." Was not able
to tell them anything. Would not even acknowledge that return was received.
In fact, wouldn't answer any questions, and referred them to a second
telephone number.

Anyone have experience with IRS, who might be able to tell what has
happened? Has their return been selected for audit?

[Acownt4it]

That has been my experience. They are reviewing something on the return. Sometimes nothing comes of it and they will get the refund without any information.
Did you call the practitioners priorty service 866-860-4259? They can tell you if it is under review.

[FEDUKE404]

I think there is more to this.....

They called. IRS told them there had been "a few delays." Was not able
to tell them anything. Would not even acknowledge that return was received.
In fact, wouldn't answer any questions, and referred them to a second
telephone number.

The return was obviously "received" if it was e-filed.

My guess is an identity theft attempt, duplicate filing occurred, or something similar is at play here.

Curious: Could not the ERO have asked a few questions up front???

FE

[BHoffman]

Large refunds

If the refund is over $10k, that's an automatic desk audit and will delay the refund.

[oceanlovin'ea]

Call PPL

I would call the Practioner Priority line. I called about one of my clients and they were helpful and gave me as much information as they could, even explained how system was working this year.

Give them a call.

Linda F

[bertrans]

Long-time customer finally agreed to let me e-file for them this year.

No apparent problem with the return, ACK came back without a hitch,
and direct deposit refund was due Feb 22.

No refund on the 22nd. or the 29th. or the 7th. In fact, no refund at
all. I told them to call the IRS "Where's my refund" #.

They called. IRS told them there had been "a few delays." Was not able
to tell them anything. Would not even acknowledge that return was received.
In fact, wouldn't answer any questions, and referred them to a second
telephone number.

Anyone have experience with IRS, who might be able to tell what has
happened? Has their return been selected for audit?

What was the second number? Did your client call? I suggest there might well be something up.

[BOB W]

I have only run across this problem when the DD account no longer exist or the bank info is wrong, in which case they rec've the check by mail 3 to 4 weeks later. Recheck the banking info for the client.

[thomtax]

Similar problem

Several years ago I ran into a similar problem. This involved the sale of part of a chicken farming operation.

About a week after being efiled, she received a call from IRS telling her that refund was being held up because it was prepared incorrectly and they were thinking about auditing it. Since I want to be correct, I went back through everything from scratch and it seemed correct. Then I even forwarded all the details to my software company and they said that everything was entered correctly.

During this time, each week she is calling the number that she has been given, with the usual answer - "We are still looking it over and haven't decided yet".

At about the six week mark she called and was told "We don't find a record that you have ever filed this year." I had her call the advocate's office and talk with them. (By the way, did I say that this is not the type of lady that takes no for an answer if she thinks she is correct.) The advocate's office called me. I explained the situation to them and offered the date and acknowledgement number for the filing. I could tell she was thinking "Yeah, I've heard these kinds of stories before".

She said "Are you telling me that you electronically filed the return and we lost it after filing?"
ME: Yes Ma'am
HER: Hold on for a minute - but she forgot to push the hold button. She turned to someone else and asked Have you ever heard of us losing a return after being electronically filed?
OTHER PERSON: Oh yeah - Don't you remember last year when they lost 40,000 when shipping the tapes to Philadelphia?
HER TO ME: We can screw up more stuff. Fax me a copy of the return and I will get it on the next payment scheduled.
ME: I don't have a signed copy, it was efiled
HER: It doesn't matter, just send it to me.

And the check was in the next cycle.

[SueBaby]

Long-time customer finally agreed to let me e-file for them this year.

No apparent problem with the return, ACK came back without a hitch,
and direct deposit refund was due Feb 22.

No refund on the 22nd. or the 29th. or the 7th. In fact, no refund at
all. I told them to call the IRS "Where's my refund" #.

They called. IRS told them there had been "a few delays." Was not able
to tell them anything. Would not even acknowledge that return was received.
In fact, wouldn't answer any questions, and referred them to a second
telephone number.

Anyone have experience with IRS, who might be able to tell what has
happened? Has their return been selected for audit?

Yes I have one that has been in EXAM for a month and they have not received their money either. What is EXAM? I have POA and they would not tell me nor the client either. I thought was strange too. They said wait for another letter for more info on the matter. Never has happened before. Client hot about it.

[taxxcpa]

Several years ago I ran into a similar problem. This involved the sale of part of a chicken farming operation.

.

Maybe they confused it with the 'Chicken Ranch', i.e. The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.'

[fliszt]

Large refunds

<"If the refund is over $10k, that's an automatic desk audit and will delay the refund">


I efiled a return on 3/12. They have a $15,000 refund and the IRS acknowledged the return on 3/13 and refund is scheduled between 3/28 and 4/04

[bertrans]

I have only run across this problem when the DD account no longer exist or the bank info is wrong, in which case they rec've the check by mail 3 to 4 weeks later. Recheck the banking info for the client.

If the problem was with DD or the ELF itself, the customer service rep SHOULD have been able to research the answer. I still think it's something else - and not an audit by exam.

PS: How do you use italics on this board?

[bertrans]

Yes I have one that has been in EXAM for a month and they have not received their money either. What is EXAM? I have POA and they would not tell me nor the client either. I thought was strange too. They said wait for another letter for more info on the matter. Never has happened before. Client hot about it.

'Exam' = The Examination Operation of the IRS: the audit department.

[joanmcq]

my refund got held up last year because my extension payment was late. They had to compute interest before they released the refund. (yeah, I know. My own. but it was the first direct debit I tried, so I experimented on me.)

[Koss]

Delayed Refund

Long-time customer finally agreed to let me e-file for them this year.

No apparent problem with the return, ACK came back without a hitch,
and direct deposit refund was due Feb 22.

No refund on the 22nd. or the 29th. or the 7th. In fact, no refund at
all. I told them to call the IRS "Where's my refund" #.

They called. IRS told them there had been "a few delays." Was not able
to tell them anything. Would not even acknowledge that return was received.
In fact, wouldn't answer any questions, and referred them to a second
telephone number.

Anyone have experience with IRS, who might be able to tell what has
happened? Has their return been selected for audit?

You should use the "Where's my refund" function on the IRS website.

You may prefer to do this when your client is sitting at your desk. But what it asks for is very simple: SSN, filing status, and the dollar amount of the refund. The response you get on the website will not tell you exactly what's causing the delay, but it may provide details that your client is not telling you, or that your client did not understand when they made the phone call. The standard "Where's my refund" phone number does not normally lead to a live rep at the IRS. There's something missing in this picture.

The screen you get with "Where's my refund" online will state that there is a delay, and it will probably add some additional language about "reviewing the return," or something about an offset. It will advise the taxpayer to expect written communication from the IRS with more details. Then it will provide a different phone number, and a reference number.

I've seen this many, many, many times. In all likelihood, it is one of two things:

(1) Refund offset for something like child support or delinquent student loans. If the taxpayer is on list of deadbeats, but the agency laying claim to the money is some microscopic, dysfunctional entity that hasn't updated their files recently, the IRS may be stuck waiting for that agency to determine exactly what the taxpayer owes.

(2) Pre-refund audit. Usually challenging dependency, HoH filing status, Child Tax Credit, EIC, or all of the above. The taxpayer will get a letter explaining that the refund is on hold until they provide documentation of age, residency, relationship and support.

FYI: I suggested using the IRS website with your client at your desk because doing this without the client's consent or knowledge might raise ethical questions for some tax pros. However, if you have "check-box authority" to communicate with the IRS concerning the electronic filing and processing of the return, this could be construed as sufficient to authorize the tax pro to check on the status of the refund, particularly if the client is inquiring about the refund.

Snag, if I remember correctly, you don't offer RALs. But in my office we do, and the RAL documents that the client signs explicitly authorize the lending bank and the tax pro to check the status of the refund by using the IRS "Where's my refund" tool.