I have been waiting on my tax refund since February.
Ordinarily, I wouldn’t be anxious about it, but this year the money is a little more important to me. I have projects that I need to get done and things I need to take care of. For two months now I have logged into the IRS app and been told that my return is being processed and that a refund date will be given when available.
I click on the link given and read that a number of issues could be causing the problem, all of which I know do not apply, and become increasingly frustrated because, “due to a high call volume,” you can’t reach anyone by phone.
Well played, Mr. Tax Man. Well played.
I am not the only one who is troubled by this. My mom is a tax preparer and has fielded an overwhelming amount of calls about the same issue. Friends of mine shared an alternate phone number with me. I tried for hours one day to get through and almost cried tears of joy when I did. I was driving and didn’t have my tax return with me, but I knew the basics: name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, filing status, and amount of refund. But the agent threw in some curveballs, like the amount of taxes withheld and dependents’ Social Security numbers, and I won the chance to call back the next day.
On the second day, I was ready. I started calling before 8 a.m. I had the answers written down. And I was told it would take “up to 10 weeks” for my refund to process. Whoa. What?
Now, don’t get me wrong, I know that woman on the phone had nothing to do with my actual return, but it was a struggle to keep my snide comments to myself. She was very nice, which definitely helped me to stay polite, and wished that I would fall somewhere in the “up to” category and not “10 weeks.” And so did I. But I’m still waiting.
There’s some buzz growing around the fact that, starting in July, families with children will begin receiving monthly payments for child tax credit. This will be a real game changer for some folks, but I can’t help but wonder how we are going to get there when the IRS is holding returns with Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Earned Income Credit (EITC)? I mean, there are some kinks that need to be worked out. Once again, it’s the people who need the money the most who are left with a bank account full of promises.
EITC has been proven time and time again to be the quickest way to lift families out of poverty, but it’s the people who qualify for that credit who are left waiting the longest. It’s one more example of how the ones who need the help are completely at the mercy of government systems. There are even stories circulating about how stimulus checks in the bank have been used as a reason for people to be denied their benefits because their savings was over the limit. People who are struggling financially can’t even take care of themselves at this point because we have too few people who understand the tightrope of assistance and too many who can’t jump down from it. Guess which group is making the rules?
Taxes are another topic that I don’t know a lot about. It’s another area we’re told we won’t be able to understand, and I, like millions of others, rely on someone else to understand because it’s intimidating. We’ve all heard stories about IRS audits and fear the repercussions that we’ll never be able to afford, but we need a big push to make sure that everyone we know files their taxes before the May deadline so they qualify for the help.
And then we need to make sure that we understand how it works so we can be prepared for the next tax season.
I am grateful for the help, but I’m also wanting to be more aware of how it works so I can find the loopholes because the people not worrying about the cracks in the foundation aren’t going to have to scramble to fix the leaks. It all comes down to our personal responsibility in learning about the decisions made by our government on our behalf and speaking up when they’re good ideas, with or without cracks. Knowing what changes are taking place will allow us to prepare. It’s kind of like winterizing your home to save money on heating costs. A few minutes of preparation can save a ton later on.
Keep your eyes open for workshops and informative events about the CTC.
Educate yourself.
Onward,
Amy Jo
