I am happy to see that the Tax Strategies Board is alive and well. The fine, knowledgable folks on that board are extremely helpful.
Holhealthprac has just posted about the Taxpayer Advocate Service, which I have never heard of before.
I went to that web site and found the roadmap which describes the process of how the IRS handles our tax returns. Seriously, this is meant to be helpful.
A video of how the IRS processes tax returns is jaw-dropping. They literally are drowning in stacks of paper, millions of paper tax returns. If you filed on paper, it may take 6 months or more to process your tax return.
I filed my 2021 Joint 1040 in February 2022. Although I calculated it correctly, I unfortunately accidentally left out a piece of documentation so the IRS sent me a notice that we owed money instead of the small refund. I submitted a 1040X with all the correct paperwork showing that my calculations were correct. I have no idea how long it will take to get my refund.
The IRS says that the IRS issues more than 9 out of 10 refunds in less than 21 days. That’s probably true for people who file electronically with simple returns.
I always do a mock-up of the next year’s taxes using this year’s software to try to pay my estimated taxes as precisely as possible.
I am my accountant. And our tax return is complex.
The one time I e-filed the IRS contacted me to say I had not filed my tax return. I have been filing paper returns ever since.