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Where the Heck is My Money?
Why The IRS is Taking Forever This Year and Why That’s Not Surprising
We’re facing a bit of a dilemma here in the US, a backlog of roughly 35 million unprocessed IRS tax returns, according to the Taxpayer Advocate Service. During the 2021 tax season, the IRS issued 96 million refunds totaling about $270 billion, and yet that doesn’t touch those 35 million folks who are still hanging out in “pending” status, wondering what the heck Uncle Sam is doing with their money. (Yep, you guessed it, I’m among the 35 million.)
Although I’m not among the millions who are counting on that money to catch up on debt or meet daily expenses, knowing that the Federal Government is hanging on to my cash is frustrating, so I looked into it. I expected things not to go as quickly as they have in the past because, hey, we are all seeing the effects of pandemic-related delays. I get that. But I filed early, I filed electronically, and my taxes are not overly complex. I don’t have my own business or strange investments or anything. I did buy a house in the past tax year, and I’ve got a kid in college, but other than that, I wouldn’t say my paperwork is overly difficult for the average Treasury Department worker bee. Also, I don’t even do my own taxes. I hire an accounting firm because the likelihood of me messing up is pretty big, so I get a pro. I thought things would be smooth as butter, even…
