Anyone else experiencing severely delayed refunds for clients?

[midwesttaxinc]

I have a handful of clients whose refunds have been "pending" for more than 3 weeks.  All are e-filed and direct deposits, one of them was acknowledged on 2/8.  We're starting to see clients getting extremely aggravated and I hesitate to have them call in to IRS for anything on a good day much less when they are upset at refund delays.  Hoping that someone else out there is having the same issues so I can at least tell clients with confidence it's not just our office.

[The-Tax-Lady · Accepted solution]

I had two sitting for about 6 weeks, called the Practitioner Hotline and was told the IRS has a new procedure this year which involves the IRS, by some means, contacting the employer or whoever reported Federal withholding, to verify the amount reported on the W2 and then the refund is issued. The IRS is not accepting the W2 amount as valid until it is verified by this method.

In my client's cases, the Dept. of Job and Family Services for the State of Ohio was not responding to the IRS to verify the amount withheld for unemployment benefits paid in 2018 and the refunds were held until that verification was received. Both clients received the refunds this week, finally. They both also called the ODJFS and demanded to know why they were holding up the IRS refunds by not responding and verifying the withholding.

If you are the 3rd party designee, call the Practitioner's Hotline and see why they are being held up. One problem, however, Proseries did not transmit the 3rd pty designee PIN # correctly on the early returns so there is no record of that authorization. I told the agent that I had a signed 8879, giving me the authority to inquire, on behalf of the taxpayer, why there was a delay on the refund. Their response was "What's an 8879", so I faxed it and got the answer explained above.

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

CA has been doing this for a few years now....Ive had to fax in W2s and year end check stubs to get CA refunds released in prior years...none so far this year though.

[The-Tax-Lady]

I've also had the same issues at the State level, Ohio is always sending random notices asking for W2's to verify withholding, which, of course, the taxpayer ignores, until they get the Certified letter from the Ohio Attorney General's office, then they call me. 🙂

[garman22]

Interesting....Illinois sent my client same thing. They also request last pay stub. Although my client mentioned that a few others within their company has also received same letter from Illinois.

[JOFI]

This is ludicrous.  A W-2 is a legal document to which the IRS already has access  When it is issued by an employer, it is essentially a representation on the part of the employer on the accuracy and completeness of the numbers involved.  Making follow up calls to verify what was put on the W-2 should only be done if the IRS has reason to believe the original W-2 issued was fraudulent.

At a time when the agency is severely strapped for resources, why are they wasting their time on this type of crap?

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

Because not all employers file their W2s electronically, they file by paper...and they don't instantaneously appear in the IRS database.   

Lots of fraud out there and people make up fake W2s to get refunds, tax agencies want to be sure the withholding (and the income) is for real before they release any refunds.

[The-Tax-Lady]

Personally, it is inconvenient for the taxpayer, but I'm glad the IRS is being more thorough. We shouldn't be the only ones in charge of the Due Diligence tasks.

[lsauvey]

There's a Practitioners Hotline?!!  Please share!  I have to jump through hoops to talk to a real person at IRS!!

[poolcleaner]

866-860-4259

[IRonMaN]

Just tell them once it is accepted it is out of your hands.  If they want to call, let them call.  It's not like they would be the first irate citizens to call the IRS. 

[garman22]

thats usually what i do too.

[garman22]

I've had a few that are a month out. But these few had extenuating circumstances. Vehicle Tax Credit, Injured spouse is still pending........No one else has really said anything.

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

It looks pretty common over in the TurboTax message boards, so far none of my clients have called about their federal refunds....had a few CA refunds that were delayed, I call the FTB at the 1 month mark (they wont even check on it for you until then) and the very next day, after I speak with them, the refund is approved and released (pretty weird!)