Although the tax season is just a month old, some early filers have already received their refunds.

You should receive a refund within three weeks of filing your tax return with the IRS, which is typical for most filers.

However, the uncertainty of the waiting time can be frustrating, especially if your tax return hasn't arrived after three weeks. Have no concern if you wish to know when you may expect a direct deposit in your bank account. You may start following the progress of your refund as soon as the IRS approves it.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IRS expects a similar number of delays in processing tax returns in 2021. This year, the IRS suggests filing electronically and setting up direct deposit since it can help you collect your return within 21 days if no mistakes are found. In a statement released on Jan. 24, IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig stated, "Filing a paper tax return this year entails a prolonged refund wait."

IRS Where's My Refund Tracking Tool

Use the IRS tracker tools to see if your 2021 income tax refund has been processed. You'll need to provide your Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, your filing status (single, married, or head of household), and the amount of your refund in dollars, which can be found on your tax return. Check to see if your refund has been tracked for at least 24 hours (or up to four weeks if you sent it).

Go to the Get Refund Status page of the IRS tool Where's My Refund, enter your personal information, and then click Submit. You'll be led to a page that indicates your refund status if you successfully provide your information. Otherwise, you may be requested to re-enter your personal tax information if you don't succeed. You'll need to input the date you filed your taxes, as well as whether you filed electronically or on paper if all the information appears okay.

IRS2Go is a smartphone app that allows you to check your tax refund status on the go. It's accessible in both Spanish and English. Whether your return has been received, authorized, and dispatched will be visible to you. You'll need your Social Security number, filing status, and projected return amount to log in.

If you don't observe a change in your status after 24 hours or longer, check back the next day if the IRS hasn't updated the data in this tool. Once your return and refund are approved, you'll receive a personalized date by which to expect your money, as per CNET.

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IRS Faces More Than Doubled Backlog

After the IRS announced that its processing backlog is more than twice as large as previously stated, taxpayers intending to indulge themselves with their tax return money this year may have to wait until next year. According to a Washington Post, the Internal Revenue Service is still trying to process close to 24 million tax return submissions from last year. In mid-December 2021, the tax service reported 11.4 million unprocessed corporate and individual returns, which is more than twice as many.

Many tax returns might be delayed for up to ten months due to the bureaucratic mess. 23.7 million individual and corporate forms were being held up because they require a manual procedure,' which means someone in the tax office must work on them rather than passing them via the automated system, according to data compiled by the DC daily.

The Treasury Department warned in January that processing in 2022 will be hampered as a result of the personnel backlog. There are 9.7 million paper returns that are still being processed, 4.1 million of which were incorrectly filed because of difficulties with stimulus payments, COVID-19 relief money, or other issues, and 4.1 million of which were modified after they were filed.

Before the files were approved, there were 5.8 million sets of communication between the IRS and Americans that needed to be settled. Because of the backlog, Erin Collins, the National Taxpayer Advocate, wrote a letter urging the IRS to delay or stop some tax collections and penalties, according to Daily Mail.

Related Article: Will You Get a Smaller Tax Refund for Claiming Child Tax Credit Payments in 2021?

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