How do I reach a person at the IRS who can help me with lost tax refund?
March 27, 2020 4:02 PM Subscribe
Last year I snail mailed my tax return right before the deadline, after running into multiple problems with online filing options. I never received a refund, even though I expected one. Then life got crazy and I didn't follow up. Now I'm worried I won't get my refund or stimulus money this year, and I'm really going to need it. But I can't get through the phone tree. Advice?
My first priority is to make sure that they have the right information so I get my refund this year and also get the stimulus, which I qualify for. My second priority is to find out what happened last year.
There is a contact number on the IRS website. But after entering my information (SS#, filing status, and return amount), I just get a message saying that they can't provide info. There is no follow-up option. The call ends. I can't find any information on how to escalate my request.
It's possible I have the incorrect amount for my return. I had different calculations from different sites (which is one reason I did it by hand). They were all around $1000 though. I can't find the return I eventually filed. (See: life got crazy.)
I just filed my taxes for last year using TurboTax's free file option. So I think that I should get my refund and stimulus check okay, but I'm not sure because I don't know why I didn't get my refund last year.
Any advice? I know this is just about the worst time to try to figure this out because they will be slammed. I don't need to get this figured out imminently (I have some savings), but I want to get the ball rolling.
My first priority is to make sure that they have the right information so I get my refund this year and also get the stimulus, which I qualify for. My second priority is to find out what happened last year.
There is a contact number on the IRS website. But after entering my information (SS#, filing status, and return amount), I just get a message saying that they can't provide info. There is no follow-up option. The call ends. I can't find any information on how to escalate my request.
It's possible I have the incorrect amount for my return. I had different calculations from different sites (which is one reason I did it by hand). They were all around $1000 though. I can't find the return I eventually filed. (See: life got crazy.)
I just filed my taxes for last year using TurboTax's free file option. So I think that I should get my refund and stimulus check okay, but I'm not sure because I don't know why I didn't get my refund last year.
Any advice? I know this is just about the worst time to try to figure this out because they will be slammed. I don't need to get this figured out imminently (I have some savings), but I want to get the ball rolling.
god knows what reason
The reason is so randos can't call up the IRS and say "I am for sure Mr X and not some random person, please give me incredibly intimate financial details about myself..."
I suggest creating an account viewing your tax info online: https://www.irs.gov/payments/view-your-tax-account
You can see if you owe money (which is one reason why a refund wouldn't show up). You can also view your account transcripts to see if/when your previous filing were processed.
Also, as someone who had called the IRS a whole lot at the end of last year in the process of buying a house, I can tell you that after a quick glance they've taken a lot of the phone numbers off their site. This is surely because while the IRS info is used for the checks, the IRS itself is not involved in the process and thousands upon thousands of extra people are calling them for information/help that cannot be provided. The online way might your only way for now.
posted by sideshow at 5:41 PM on March 27, 2020 [5 favorites]
The reason is so randos can't call up the IRS and say "I am for sure Mr X and not some random person, please give me incredibly intimate financial details about myself..."
I suggest creating an account viewing your tax info online: https://www.irs.gov/payments/view-your-tax-account
You can see if you owe money (which is one reason why a refund wouldn't show up). You can also view your account transcripts to see if/when your previous filing were processed.
Also, as someone who had called the IRS a whole lot at the end of last year in the process of buying a house, I can tell you that after a quick glance they've taken a lot of the phone numbers off their site. This is surely because while the IRS info is used for the checks, the IRS itself is not involved in the process and thousands upon thousands of extra people are calling them for information/help that cannot be provided. The online way might your only way for now.
posted by sideshow at 5:41 PM on March 27, 2020 [5 favorites]
I would definitely push to figure out what's going on. In addition to the possibilities above, it's possible you were hit by refund theft last year -- if thieves can get enough info, they can file your taxes for you and collect your refund.
If you were able to e-file this year, that's a good sign -- it seems (from IRS publications) like you'd get a duplicate SSN error message if someone else had already filed on your behalf. But it may explain last year, given that you filed late and non-electronically.
More info to look into: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/taxpayer-guide-to-identity-theft
posted by pie ninja at 8:12 PM on March 27, 2020
If you were able to e-file this year, that's a good sign -- it seems (from IRS publications) like you'd get a duplicate SSN error message if someone else had already filed on your behalf. But it may explain last year, given that you filed late and non-electronically.
More info to look into: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/taxpayer-guide-to-identity-theft
posted by pie ninja at 8:12 PM on March 27, 2020
The first thing you should do is go here: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript set up an irs account and request transcripts. You will be able to get transcripts online for your tax account, your return, any income reporting from things like W-2, 1099, and most importantly for you information about when your return was filed and any adjustments/actions taken by you or the IRS. If your return was truly lost, meaning it never got there, than you can file it now. You can use the information from the income reporting section if you have lost those documents, if you were due a refund there is no penalty for filing late.
If you filed your tax return and someone else had used your id to file one earlier in order to defraud I would have expected the IRS to have sent you a notice. However if you see something crazy on your transcript then you can file a form 14039. Read this:
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/when-to-file-a-form-14039-identity-theft-affidavit
If it turns out that you made a mistake preparing your 1040 and you can figure out what it is by looking at the transcript then you can file an amended tax return
https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-1040x to correct it.
The IRS is extremely gutted and has been a target of the "shrink it until you can drown it in a bathtub" crowd for years. It is very hard to get someone on the phone especially this time of year.
Good Luck
posted by Pembquist at 10:31 AM on March 28, 2020
If you filed your tax return and someone else had used your id to file one earlier in order to defraud I would have expected the IRS to have sent you a notice. However if you see something crazy on your transcript then you can file a form 14039. Read this:
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/when-to-file-a-form-14039-identity-theft-affidavit
If it turns out that you made a mistake preparing your 1040 and you can figure out what it is by looking at the transcript then you can file an amended tax return
https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-1040x to correct it.
The IRS is extremely gutted and has been a target of the "shrink it until you can drown it in a bathtub" crowd for years. It is very hard to get someone on the phone especially this time of year.
Good Luck
posted by Pembquist at 10:31 AM on March 28, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
Yah, IME this is crucial for getting answers about refunds - you need to have the exact dollar amount or for god knows what reason the system can't "find" you.
Which suggests that you're going through the phone tree starting by inquiring about last year's refund - it's been a while since I did it but you should go through the phone call again and pick some other selection that will get you to an actual person . . . . eventually.
I found this page: How Do I Reach a Real Person at the IRS? which I don't know how old it is so I don't know if it's exact but it pretty much matches with my experience - enter as little information as possible, press "all other questions" as often as you can and eventually you wind up with a real person.
Quoting that article: "Once you’ve set your language, do NOT choose Option 1 (regarding refund info). Choose option 2 for “Personal Income Tax” instead."
Usually once you get a person on the phone they're quite helpful.
I just filed my taxes for last year using TurboTax's free file option. So I think that I should get my refund and stimulus check okay, but I'm not sure because I don't know why I didn't get my refund last year.
NotATaxPerson but I feel pretty confident that just because of that you're in the system enough that they know to give you both your refund and your stimulus money, but not getting last year's refund suggests that either they have the wrong snail mail address or bank deposit info, depending on how you get your refund, so you should definitely talk to a real person.
And really dig to find last year's return if at all possible - having it on hand really is helpful, a lot of the system seems to operate off what you did the previous year.
posted by soundguy99 at 4:39 PM on March 27, 2020