Lisa Rowan is lead editor, consumer finance for Forbes Advisor. She previously served as a senior staff writer and deputy editor for the vertical. Lisa has worked as the Two Cents personal finance reporter at Lifehacker and a senior writer at The Pen.
Lisa Rowan Forbes Advisor StaffLisa Rowan is lead editor, consumer finance for Forbes Advisor. She previously served as a senior staff writer and deputy editor for the vertical. Lisa has worked as the Two Cents personal finance reporter at Lifehacker and a senior writer at The Pen.
Written By Lisa Rowan Forbes Advisor StaffLisa Rowan is lead editor, consumer finance for Forbes Advisor. She previously served as a senior staff writer and deputy editor for the vertical. Lisa has worked as the Two Cents personal finance reporter at Lifehacker and a senior writer at The Pen.
Lisa Rowan Forbes Advisor StaffLisa Rowan is lead editor, consumer finance for Forbes Advisor. She previously served as a senior staff writer and deputy editor for the vertical. Lisa has worked as the Two Cents personal finance reporter at Lifehacker and a senior writer at The Pen.
Forbes Advisor Staff Korrena Bailie Editorial Director, Growth ProjectsKorrena Bailie has over a decade of experience reporting and editing personal finance stories and reviews. Her work has been featured in Wirecutter, The New York Times, Bankrate and Credit Karma.
Korrena Bailie Editorial Director, Growth ProjectsKorrena Bailie has over a decade of experience reporting and editing personal finance stories and reviews. Her work has been featured in Wirecutter, The New York Times, Bankrate and Credit Karma.
Korrena Bailie Editorial Director, Growth ProjectsKorrena Bailie has over a decade of experience reporting and editing personal finance stories and reviews. Her work has been featured in Wirecutter, The New York Times, Bankrate and Credit Karma.
Korrena Bailie Editorial Director, Growth ProjectsKorrena Bailie has over a decade of experience reporting and editing personal finance stories and reviews. Her work has been featured in Wirecutter, The New York Times, Bankrate and Credit Karma.
| Editorial Director, Growth Projects
Updated: Mar 3, 2022, 4:28pm
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If you’re wondering where your refund is, or need help with your return, you can call the IRS but be warned: it can be very difficult to reach a real person.
You can call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 for general questions or refund status information. However, if you’re not able to resolve a tax issue, it may be helpful to contact the Taxpayer’s Advocate Service (TAS) at 1-877-777-4778.
The agency’s ability to serve consumers last year, according to National Taxpayer Advocate Erin M. Collins, “was horrendous.” Last year, customer service representatives only answered 11% of the 282 million calls consumers made to the IRS. If you got through, you waited on hold for an average of 23 minutes, according to a report from the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS), an independent office within the IRS.
However, people want to go directly to a real person to get answers to their financial matters instead of checking online, says Alton Bell II, founder at Bell Tax Accountants & Advisors.
Bell adds, “It’s up to taxpayers to be patient” as they try to get answers to their questions.
Before you pick up your phone, the IRS has advised taxpayers that processing refunds takes about three weeks for returns filed online, and up to eight months for paper returns—including those in backlogs from previous tax years.
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On Optima Tax Relief's WebsiteWhat’s a taxpayer to do if you have questions and the information in your online account doesn’t solve the mystery? What if the IRS sends you a billing notice for something you already paid?
Your first step should be to check your online account at IRS.gov. This free account is free to set up, and allows you to view information about your balances, prior tax records, payments and economic impact payments (better known as stimulus checks).
If your online account doesn’t have the information you need, Bell offers a few tips for maintaining your cool as you navigate IRS systems during this incredibly trying time.
The IRS encourages taxpayers to use the Where’s My Refund tool to check the status of their tax return instead of calling the agency. The tool displays your refund status for the most recent tax year the IRS has on file with one of three status notes: refund received, refund approved, or refund sent. You’ll need to enter your Social Security number, filing status and the expected refund amount to access this information.
But the Taxpayer Advocate Service notes limitations to the tool: It doesn’t explain why your refund is delayed, where the return is in the filing process, or steps you need to take to address the delay.
“It just reflects that the return has been received, that the refund was approved, or that the refund was sent,” the office’s 2021 report to Congress, written by Collins, explained. “For millions of taxpayers, that meant many months without any status updates, and some are still waiting for their refunds.”
Customer service representatives often lack additional information that can put a taxpayer at ease, the report said. “Particularly for taxpayers who need their refunds to pay for current living expenses, the absence of information can cause deep concern and sometimes panic, leading to more telephone calls that are just as unproductive.”
The process of calling the IRS can be daunting. You may work your way through automated systems only to be stuck on hold for hours, taking time out of your day.
But Bell says you may need to call often to reach a representative. He recommends calling early in the morning or just before the IRS phone lines (which are open Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.) close for your time zone. You may be able to avoid crowds on the phone lines by calling first thing in the morning or as the day winds down.
But whenever you call, Bell says to be prepared so you can get the help you need when you do reach an IRS agent.
“Citizens may think that once they reach the IRS, they’ve got a live person, that the agent knows about their particular case.” But Bell warns they don’t have that info in front of them instantly, so it’s important to have all your information ready to answer the agent’s questions. Have a copy of your most recent return, your previous year’s return, and any notices from the IRS handy.
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