IRS is behind in processing nearly 7 million tax returns, slowing refunds as it implements stimulus
Nearly 7 million tax filers are in limbo and facing substantial delays in getting refunds so far this tax filing season, as the Internal Revenue Service struggles to keep up with the demands of issuing stimulus checks and implementing myriad tax code changes from coronavirus relief packages, including the one President Biden signed this week.
There are 6.7 million returns that have not yet been processed, more than three times the number in the same period last year, when fewer than 2 million returns faced delayed processing, IRS data shows.
The delays are largely a result of a year’s worth of extraordinary stimulus measures that have created more complicated tax returns for millions of Americans. The IRS was already straining to adjust after the December stimulus package. The newest package, the American Rescue Plan, adds even more tasks for the agency, including sending out another round of one-time payments, making changes to tax rules to help unemployed workers and paying out a new child tax benefit.
Many Americans who did not receive the correct stimulus payments in January or last year are filing for additional money now. And some low-income filers are newly eligible for more tax credits than usual. The IRS is having to manually review a lot of these returns, a slow process that is delaying refunds for millions of low-income families, after the agency has faced a decade’s worth of budget cuts and staffing losses.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/taxes/the-irs-is-behind-in-processing-nearly-7-million-tax-returns-slowing-refunds-as-it-implements-new-stimulus/ar-BB1excvi?li=BBnb7Kz
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