If you are a taxpayer, you are probably wondering, when will the IRS start processing electronic returns? The IRS recently announced that it will begin accepting and processing electronic tax returns for the 2021 tax year on Jan. 24. The agency chose that date to give time to program the new systems and test them. It has also urged taxpayers and paid preparers to file electronically lobiastore.
As of early May, the IRS had over two million paper returns that had not yet been processed. Traditionally, the agency doesn’t have this many returns in its processing queue at this time. Consequently, millions of taxpayers have been waiting for up to six months to receive their refunds. But the IRS is making strides to speed up processing by shifting 2,000 employees from other departments to help with this initiative.
The IRS currently issues about $825 million in refunds to individual taxpayers each calendar year. It processes most refunds by the end of May, though there are several factors that can delay refund processing. If the return is incomplete or contains errors, the IRS may need to perform a manual review. If a return is affected by identity theft or fraud, it could take as long as 14 weeks to process it.
Taxpayers who have not yet submitted an electronic tax return should check the IRS FAQ website to find out whether they qualify for a refund. The site also lists the different types of tax refunds and how to protect against fraud.