100 days later, some people still don’t have their federal tax refunds

It has been 100 days since Tax Day 2020, and some people still have not received their federal refunds.

Channel 9′s Action 9 reporter Jason Stoogenke spoke to two people who filed their taxes before the pandemic. They say they are still waiting for their money.

Joey Bennett used a tax preparer, filed a paper tax return back in February and got his state refund in just a couple weeks. The federal refund still has not arrived. Bennet is expecting $1,283 back, he said.

Jessica Cathey used Turbo Tax to file her taxes back in April. We asked how much she was counting on the money.

“Very much so,” she said. “Tremendously."

The IRS has not released additional information beyond what’s on its website. It still says they are taking longer to process paper returns, and not to file a second tax return. It asks on one page that taxpayers refrain from calling, but on another, it says if you filed electronically and it’s been at least 21 days since, go ahead and call.

“I’ve gone on where’s my refund too many times to count at this point, hoping for some information and nothing was there,” Bennett said. “I did finally talk with someone at the IRS... but absolutely no time frame whatsoever.”

“I went on the IRS website and it’s been telling me it’s still being processed,” Cathey said.

“Just any idea of if we’re looking at a couple more months, if we’re looking after the first of the year,” Bennett said.

Stoogenke asked the agency if you can expect your refund by the end of the year. One spokesperson told him she couldn’t speculate. Another told him some of the IRS’s activities are still scaled back for social distancing reasons, but that it is working through its backlog.

FAQ: Action 9 answers your questions about federal tax refunds

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