Are you still wondering where your tax refund is several months after you filed?

You're not alone and people's patience is wearing thin.

The IRS is further behind in processing returns in 2022 than it was this same time last year.

The IRS shut down its offices for several months back in 2020 and ever since has struggled to recover, which means incredible delays in processing tax refunds, especially for people who filed paper returns.

The taxpayer advocate says at the end of May, which is the most recent number available, the IRS had 21.3 million unprocessed returns, including 8.2 million personal returns.

Last year, at the same time, that number was less than 20 million, with just 6 million personal returns.

Before the pandemic, the taxpayer advocate said the IRS typically paid refunds on paper returns in 4 to 6 weeks.

Now, it's generally 6 months or more, so all you can really do is keep waiting.

The IRS director promised to finally crush the pandemic backlog this year, but it hasn't happened so far.

Phone service is also a mess because many of the people who answer the phones are still helping process paper returns.

Watch the video above for the full story.

An IRS policy governing the audits of tax returns filed by U.S. presidents is under new scrutiny after a report published by a congressional panel found the agency failed to perform the mandatory inspection of Donald Trump's returns until Congress pressed for information about the process.

The three-point policy states that individual returns for the president and the vice president are subject to mandatory review, “should always be kept in an orange folder,” should be kept from the eyes of IRS employees and “should be locked in a secure drawer or cabinet when the examiner or reviewer is away from the work area.”

The report released Tuesday by the Democratic majority on the House Ways and Means Committee said the process, which dates to 1977, was “dormant, at best” during the early years of the Trump administration. Democrats in Congress are responding by introducing legislation that would codify the IRS policy into law with more stringent requirements.

Tax experts say the failure to launch the audit earlier is emblematic of a larger problem regarding the IRS’ capacity to examine high-income taxpayers’ returns — and a reminder of Trump as a norm-defying president.

John Koskinen, who served as IRS commissioner during both the Obama and Trump administrations, said the policy has been out of the public eye because presidents have traditionally released their tax-return summaries to the public.

“It only became an issue with a president who refused to release his tax returns,” Koskinen said. “If Trump had been releasing his returns, nobody would have raised this issue.”

Trump’s tax returns being handed over to Congress recently is the culmination of a yearslong legal fight between Trump and Democratic lawmakers.

Steve Rosenthal, senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, said the IRS’ failure to audit Trump is a showing that “the mandatory auditing program is broken, we cannot rely on the current system to fairly audit the president, and there’s a general problem of the IRS auditing sophisticated taxpayers.”

Rosenthal added: “This is a much larger problem than Donald Trump — yes, he makes bad things worse, but the situation was bad to begin with.”

A new $80 billion infusion of funds through the so-called Inflation Reduction Act is supposed to remedy the beleaguered agency's low staffing levels, outdated technology and host of other issues. Republicans who are poised to take control of the House in less than two weeks, however, have said they want to cut that funding.

Tuesday's committee report revealed that the IRS only began to audit Trump’s 2016 tax filings on April 3, 2019, more than two years into Trump’s presidency and just months after Democrats took control of the House. That date coincides with Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the panel chairman, asking the IRS for information related to Trump’s tax returns.

The report's findings prompted lawmakers to recommend a statutory requirement for the mandatory examination of the president's taxes, with “disclosure of certain audit information and related returns in a timely manner.”

Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said he will work to pass the bill through the Senate. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the chamber would “move swiftly” to advance the legislation.

The issue highlights frustration with the so-called tax gap, which is the difference between how much money is owed to the federal government and how much is paid. IRS data released in October projects that for 2017 to 2019, the estimated average gross tax gap will be $540 billion per year.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in August, and has repeated at various speaking engagements, that the new funds allocated by Congress would be used to increase audits on high-wealth individuals, firms and complex pass-throughs.

“This is challenging work that requires a team of sophisticated revenue agents in place to spend thousands of hours poring over complicated returns, and it is also work that has huge revenue potential,” she told former IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig in August.

In an application of the IRS policy on mandatory presidential audits, well-trained agents, forensic experts, tax attorneys and others would be required to oversee a presidential audit as complicated as Trump's, which included hundreds of businesses, properties and complex business interests.

The congressional report highlighted the lack of staffing and availability of experts to examine Trump's taxes. The report states that the IRS believed that accuracy of his filings was ensured because he had legal counsel and an accounting firm representing him.

The question of whether presidential tax documents should be disclosed is another matter of debate among tax experts and advocates.

Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the top Republican on the Ways and Means Committee, said Congress would be setting a “dangerous new precedent” by releasing the presidential records. Koskinen said that “it's a significant serious precedent for a committee to seek returns and then release them."

“I see two big issues here — what is the IRS going to do to ensure presidents are audited regularly, and what's the rationale for releasing these returns," Koskinen said.

Rosenthal said he thinks presidential returns should be publicly disclosed to ensure proper oversight.

“When this information is made public, the president is going to be more wary about cheating on their taxes and making them public — the results would put both the IRS and president on their best behavior,” he said.

House Republicans began their tenure in the majority Monday by passing a bill that would rescind nearly $71 billion that Congress had provided the IRS, fulfilling a campaign promise even though the legislation is unlikely to advance further.

Democrats had beefed up the IRS over the next decade to help offset the cost of top health and environmental priorities they passed last year and to replenish an agency struggling to provide basic services to taxpayers and ensure fairness in tax compliance.

The money is on top of what Congress provides the IRS annually through the appropriations process and immediately became a magnet for GOP campaign ads in the fall, claiming that the boost would lead to an army of IRS agents harassing hard-working Americans.

The bill to rescind the money passed the House on a party-line vote of 221-210. The Democratic-controlled Senate has vowed to ignore it.

Shortly before the vote, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected that rescinding the extra IRS funding would increase deficits over the coming decade by more than $114 billion. That created an awkward moment for Republicans, who have been saying that addressing deficits would be one of their top concerns in the majority. It offered an early example of how the GOP's bold promises on the campaign trail could get tangled in the messy reality of governing.

Still, the CBO's projection didn't appear to dampen Republican support. Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., said the extra IRS funding Democrats provided last year was for one purpose.

“To go after small businesses, hard-working Americans to try to raise money for reckless spending, reckless spending that has caused $31 trillion in debt in this nation," Duncan said.

Duncan and other GOP lawmakers routinely say the extra funding will be used to hire 87,000 new agents to target Americans, but that's misleading. The number is based on a Treasury Department plan saying that many IRS employees would be hired over the next decade if it got the money. But those employees will not all be hired at the same time, they will not all be auditors and many will be replacing some 50,000 employees who are expected to quit or retire in coming years.

“This debate about IRS lends itself to be the most dishonest, demagogic rhetoric that I have seen in the Congress at any point in time," said Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

Charles Rettig, the former commissioner of the IRS, said in a final message to the agency in November that the additional money would help in many areas, not just beefing up tax enforcement. He said the investments would make it “even less likely for honest taxpayers to hear from the IRS or receive an audit letter.”

Additional funding for the agency has been politically controversial since 2013, when the IRS under the Obama administration was found to have used inappropriate criteria to review tea party groups and other organizations applying for tax-exempt status.

In the ensuing years, the IRS was mostly on the losing end of congressional funding fights, even as a subsequent 2017 report found that both conservative and liberal groups were chosen for scrutiny.

In April, Rettig told lawmakers the agency’s budget has decreased by more than 15% over the past decade when accounting for inflation and said the number of full-time employees — 79,000 in the last fiscal year — was close to 1974 levels.

But Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., and other Republicans weren't buying the argument that the funding would be focused on auditing the wealthy.

“This is meant to nickel-and-dime, audit and harass America's small businesses and families, who they know cannot afford the legal fees to fight this army," Malliotakis said.

Sen. Ron Wyden, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said a decade of Republican-led budget cuts gutted the IRS.

“The only way that House Republicans could make it any more obvious that they’re doing a favor for wealthy tax cheats is by coming out and saying it in exactly those words," Wyden said. “This bill is going nowhere in the Senate.”

And the White House said President Joe Biden would veto the bill if it gets to his desk, saying that the wealthiest 1% of Americans hide about 20% of their income so they don't have to pay taxes on it, shifting more of the tax burden to the middle class.

"With their first economic legislation of the new Congress, House Republicans are making clear that their top economic priority is to allow the rich and multibillion-dollar corporations to skip out on their taxes, while making life harder for ordinary, middle-class families that pay the taxes they owe," the White House said.

The Internal Revenue Service announced it is proposing a new voluntary tip reporting program to improve tip reporting compliance by employers of service industry workers, such as servers.

The IRS requires employees who earn at least $20 a month in tips to keep a daily record of their tips to give to their employer. All of those tips are then required to be included on tax returns.

Employers are then required to withhold taxes on income earned from tips.

The IRS said voluntary tip compliance agreements have been established by the IRS for industries where tipping is customary. The IRS has three different voluntary compliance agreements in place:

• TRAC – Tip Reporting Alternative Commitment
• TRDA – Tip Rate Determination Agreement
• GITCA – Gaming Industry Tip Compliance Agreement

The IRS’ proposal would create one voluntary compliance agreement: The Service Industry Tip Compliance Agreement.

The IRS said the program would include several features:

• The monitoring of employer compliance based on actual annual tip revenue and charge tip data from an employer's point-of-sale system, and allowance for adjustments in tipping practices from year to year.
• Participating employers demonstrate compliance with the program requirements by submitting an annual report after the close of the calendar year, which reduces the need for compliance reviews by the IRS.
• Participating employers receive protection from liability under the rules that define tips as part of an employee's pay for calendar years in which they remain compliant with program requirements.
• Participating employers have flexibility to implement employee tip reporting policies that are best suited for their employees and their business model in accordance with the section of the tax law that requires employees to report tips to their employers.

The announcement comes amid speculation that the IRS is increasing tax enforcement on working-class taxpayers. The IRS said this program is voluntary.

It also comes as the IRS is working to hire 87,000 new employees after the agency struggled to answer customer service questions during the pandemic. The IRS said even with additional staff, they will not be conducting additional audits on Americans making less than $400,000 annually.

Taxpayers who called the Internal Revenue Service had an average wait time of four minutes this tax season compared to 27 minutes a year earlier, the agency said Monday.

Video above: Easy way to check your tax refund status

Ahead of the tax filing deadline on Tuesday, the IRS is promoting its improved customer service and giving credit to a big boost in funding provided by the Inflation Reduction Act that Democrats pushed through Congress last year.

The federal tax collector on Monday reported a dramatic turnaround for the 2023 tax season from a year ago, when the agency scored its worst customer service marks on record.

IRS employees this tax season have answered 2 million more calls, and served 100,000 more taxpayers in person, it reported. The agency also digitized 80 times more paper forms than in 2022 and cleared the backlog of unprocessed 2022 individual tax returns.

New IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel, sworn in earlier this month, promised to use the new $80 billion infusion of cash over the next 10 years to help the federal tax collector become faster, more tech-savvy and provide "real-world improvements" to taxpayers.

"We're trying to improve services dramatically," Wally Adeyemo, Treasury's deputy secretary, said at an Urban Institute event on Monday.

At the same event, former IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti was more critical of the IRS spending plan.

"There's an under allocation for technology," he said. "They need to spend a lot more time on a compliance strategy."

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — If you haven’t already, it’s time to start preparing to file your taxes.

This year, millions of low-income families are eligible for a one-time tax break that could save them big bucks.

The Federal Earned Income Tax Credit, which is aimed at people in the lowest-paid jobs, is being tripled for a group of workers who typically don't benefit much from it: childless adults.

For the tax year that just ended, low-income workers without kids can receive a credit worth up to $1,500 — nearly triple what the credit was worth in 2020, thanks to the American Rescue Plan.

The plan allows anyone 19 and older, who's not a full-time student and has earnings, to claim the expanded credit.

18-year-olds who are without a home or who have been in foster care are also eligible.

Previously, only workers ages 25 to 64 could claim it.

Taxpayers without children who earned up to $21,430 from a job, gigs or self-employment can claim the credit when they file their tax returns this season.

In most years, workers earning more than about $16,000 are ineligible for the EITC.

Taxpayers can also choose to use income from 2019 to qualify for the credit — useful for those who lost their jobs in 2020.

Policy experts estimate that between 17 and 20 million workers will benefit from the expanded credit.

This story was first reported by Aaron Cantrell at WTVF in Nashville, Tenn.

Tax season kicks off Monday, but the pandemic continues to impact filing.

The big takeaway this year is to not rush. Accountants suggest taking a second look to make sure all documents are in order, particularly those regarding COVID-19 relief payments.

“Typically, you’d want to wait until the early part of February unless you are 100% sure you have these items when you file,” said CPA Joshua Jenson, founder of Jenson and Companies in Oklahoma City.

Jenson said the best way to avoid delays is to wait until you receive two letters from the IRS: documents for the third stimulus payment and the child tax credits.

“On your 2021 tax return, if you didn’t get the full amount, this is where you get the rest of those dollars that are due to you,” he said.

Experts also advise taxpayers to take advantage of a new deductible this season.

“The new big deduction in 2021 that’s very exciting is that you can deduct up to $600 in charitable contributions directly on form 1040 even if you do not itemize your deductions,” he said. “Do not miss that. It’s right there on Form 1040.”

Jenson said that while the pandemic may have caused some returns to be delayed last year, he doesn’t expect things to be the same this year.

“The IRS has done a phenomenal job, as well as the Oklahoma Tax Commission, at where it’s possible, having their agents either work remotely or in a safeguard situation that allows returns to continue to be processed,” he said.

Another thing to keep in mind before filing is that employers had until Jan. 21 to send W-2s.

IT STARTED IN THE MIDDLE OF JULY AND CONTINUES THIS WEEK WITH ANOTHER ROUND OF BANK DEPOSITS SET FOR DEC. 15. — The final payment from the expanded child tax credit is scheduled to go out on Dec. 15. Early analysis shows the extra cash has lowered poverty rates by around 40%.

The Build Back Better bill, which the Senate is expected to debate vigorously this week, would expand the credit for another year. But the future of the bill is very much unclear. That’s because the Senate is split 50-50.

For the bill to pass, every Democrat must support it because all Republicans are opposed. The vice president would break a potential tie.

So far, not every Democrat has committed to voting for the bill. One of those undecided is Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

In addition to expressing doubts about the overall spending in the bill, he has also previously said he thinks the 2021 expanded child tax credit was too generous. He added that he would like to see changes.

For example, Manchin has said he would like a work requirement for parents to receive it. Such a requirement is not part of the 2021 tax credit.

If this week is the final expanded child tax credit payment, it doesn’t mean the entire child tax credit would go away. The IRS would revert to the traditional, albeit smaller, child tax credit. Parents would get that money when they file their tax returns instead of monthly installments.

How big would that change be? The left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says a single mother of two, working a part-time job that pays around $12,500 a year, gets $550 per month under the 2021 tax laws.

Without the monthly child tax credit, that single mother would only get around $1,500 for the entire year.

The IRS announced this week that 2022's income tax brackets will be higher."They moved it by 6.2%," Joe Bert, a Central Florida certified financial planner, said.Bert noted that 6.2% is a significant jump."Generally, the tax bracket adjustments are only one maybe 2% per year," Bert said.The reason behind the larger adjustment is the recent spike in inflation, he said."With the increase we've had in inflation, Social Security's adjusted and the tax brackets adjusted. There's supposed to be an index for inflation and that's what happened,” Bert said.Bert said it could save some money in 2023."If your income hasn't changed much, you're probably going to pay a little less in taxes,” Bert said.The IRS is also increasing the standard deduction. It will increase to $25,900 for married couples filing together, $12,950 for single taxpayers and $19,400 for heads of household.The changes will apply to 2022 tax returns which are not filed until 2023.

When the $1,200 stimulus payments came out earlier this year, parents were promised an additional $500 for each child they claimed as a dependent. Many low-income families didn’t receive that money, called Economic Impact Payments, because the stimulus checks were based on tax returns.

Now, the IRS is trying to fix that, and is asking parents who did not file a 2018 or 2019 tax return to still go to their website and claim a dependent by September 30. The IRS has set up a non-filers tool to help.

The non-filers site is designed for those with incomes below about $24,400 for couples and $12,200 for individuals, and others who are otherwise not required to file a tax return. Those people typically do not file a tax return, and therefore would not have a record with the IRS of any dependent children.

"Given the extremely high demand for EIP assistance, we have continued to prioritize and increase resource allocations to eligible individuals, including those who may be waiting on some portion of their payment. To help with this, we are allocating additional IRS resources to ensure eligible recipients receive their full payments during this challenging time,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig.

A news release on the IRS’ website also says they will be helping those who may have had part of their payments deducted because of past-due child support. The agency says people do not need to take any action, they are working to resolve those cases where past-due child support was applied.

Though the Internal Revenue Service sent out the third monthly child tax credit payment last week, some families are still waiting for the funds.

Angry parents have contacted CNN, taken to Twitter and posted to other online sites complaining that they did not receive the money on Sept. 15 as expected. Eligible families can get up to $300 for each child up to age 6 and up to $250 for each one ages 6 to 17.

The agency, which distributed $15 billion in credits to about 35 million families last week, acknowledged Friday that "some individuals" had yet to receive their September payments, though they were sent ones for July and August. It also noted that these parents may not be able to see the status of the payment on the IRS' child tax credit portal.

The August distribution, however, also didn't go that smoothly. The agency said last month that some families — fewer than 15% — who received direct deposit in July were mailed paper checks for August. But it expected to have the problem resolved in time for the September batch.

The IRS, which acknowledged Friday that it was looking into the situation, did not immediately provide CNN with an update on Tuesday.

John Belfiore, a father of two teen boys, is getting antsy. He lost his job as a telemarketer for a finance company in February after contracting COVID-19 and spending eight days on a ventilator. The monthly child tax credit payments of $500, along with the pandemic unemployment benefits, were helping keep his family of four afloat.

But now that the enhanced unemployment benefits have ended, the child tax credit has become even more important for the Lake Forest, California, family. They received the funds for July and August via direct deposit, but the IRS portal says nothing about the September payment.

"I'm budgeting penny to penny," said Belfiore, who tried to call the agency but hung up after waiting on hold for an hour. "The $500 gives me gas money to get to interviews and keep the lights on."

Here are more details about the expanded child tax credit:

Who qualifies?

Created by the Democrats' $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package in March, the full enhanced credit is available for heads of households earning up to $112,500 a year and joint filers making up to $150,000, after which it begins to phase out.

For many families, the credit then plateaus at $2,000 per child and starts to phase out for single parents earning more than $200,000 or for married couples with incomes above $400,000.

More low-income parents are eligible for the child tax credit because the relief package made it fully refundable. It had been only partially refundable — leaving more than 26 million children unable to get the full credit because their families' incomes were too low, according to Treasury Department estimates.

About half of Black and Latino children, as well as kids living in rural communities, received only a partial credit or no credit at all because their families' incomes were too low prior to the enhancement, said the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The provision means that a single mother with a toddler and a second-grader who earns $12,000 a year would see her credit increase to $6,600 for 2021, up from about $1,425, according to the center.

The Democrats' $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill seeks to make the credit fully refundable permanently.

Parents who aren't citizens can receive the payments for their citizen children as long as they have individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITIN) and their children have Social Security numbers.

Families can check their eligibility through this IRS website.

How much will I get?

That depends on your household income and family size.

Eligible families can receive a total of up to $3,600 for each child under 6 and up to $3,000 for each one age 6 to 17 for 2021. That's an increase from the regular child tax credit of up to $2,000 for each child up to age 17.

When will I see the money?

Parents will receive half their credit on a monthly basis through the rest of the year. The payments will be made on the 15th of each month, unless that falls on a weekend or holiday.

They can claim the other half when they file their 2021 taxes next year.

Parents can check if they are enrolled to receive the advance payments at an IRS portal. They can also use it to provide or update their bank account information.

Those who don't receive their monthly payments until later in the year will still get half the credit in 2021.

Families who want to receive the payments as a lump sum can opt out of the monthly installments at the IRS portal.

Some parents may not want to get the monthly payments, particularly if their incomes increase this year. The payments are credits toward families' tax liability for 2021, but are based on 2020 or 2019 income and household size. Some who get the advance credits could wind up receiving much smaller refunds — or even owing taxes — next spring when they complete their 2021 returns.

The IRS advises parents whose incomes or circumstances change during the year to update their information through the agency's portal when it adds the functionality. The IRS can then adjust the monthly payments accordingly.

Lawmakers, however, protected lower-income parents from potential overpayments. Heads of households making $50,000 or less and joint filers with incomes of $60,000 or less will not need to repay any excess payments.

Do I have to do anything to get it?

The vast majority of families get the credit automatically because they filed 2019 or 2020 returns claiming the credit.

The IRS also sends the payments to Americans who previously used its non-filer portal to register for the stimulus checks.

But families who haven't filed tax returns recently or used the non-filer tool must take action. They can use another IRS portal to register to receive the enhanced child tax credit. The sign-up tool allows users to provide the necessary information about their households and, if they choose, their bank accounts so the agency can directly deposit the funds.

Parents can also go to GetCTC.org to file simplified returns and claim the enhanced credit. The site, which launched earlier this month, was developed by the non-profit Code for America, in collaboration with the White House and the Treasury Department. It is available in English and Spanish.

The IRS portal has been criticized because the tool is only in English and does not work well on cell phones.

Thousands of Americans were accidentally sent mail from the IRS saying they wouldn't be receiving a stimulus check.

In a Q&A response on the agency's website, IRS officials said those letters were sent to people whose 2019 tax returns could not be processed in time to issue last year's initial $1,200 stimulus payment.

IRS officials say the notice was intended to notify people whose stimulus checks could not be issued by Dec. 31, 2020, the deadline required by law. Anyone who was eligible for stimulus payments but did not receive them can claim a recovery rebate credit on their 2020 tax return.

In some cases, however, the agency said letters included the following false information: "We applied a credit to your 2007 tax account due to new legislation. We used (offset) all or part of your economic stimulus payment to pay your federal tax as the law allows."

"This notice is not accurate for anyone who received it," the IRS website says. "Since no payment was issued, no offsets occurred. We apologize for the confusion this may have caused. You can disregard the notice."

For those who owe federal debts, the IRS said the first stimulus checks were offset only when individuals owed past-due child support. The second stimulus payments were ot offset for federal or state tax debts for any reason.

For more information about claiming the recovery rebate credit on your 2020 taxes to receive stimulus payments, click here.

CLEVELAND — Claudia Longo is not a procrastinator. She said every year, and she files her taxes early. This year she filed in February.

“We usually are pretty early filing. I don’t like waiting until the last minute,” said Longo. “It’s usually super fast, and the money is in the bank.”

But this year, of course, was not like past years.

In March, the American Rescue Plan became law stating that the first $10,200 of unemployment benefits would not be taxable income. When that happened, Longo’s tax preparer filed an amendment on her behalf.

“Apparently, after we did that, they announced the IRS was going to do everything automatically, with unemployment, but it was too late for us because we had already filed the amendment,” she said.

Five months later, Longo is still waiting for her refund.

“At the beginning, I was just checking my bank, and I thought, well, this is strange,” she said.

She’s called the IRS.

“You wait for an hour sometimes, and it kicks you out of the line. I mean, it’s very frustrating,” said Longo.

She’s called her accountant.

“He said, ‘There’s not a lot I can do. They’re going to give me the same answer that they’re giving to you, and they’re just processing it,’” she said.

She’s logged into IRS’s refund tracker more times than she can count.

“It said it hadn’t been processed,” she said.

She said she is owed about $7,500, which does not account for the child tax credits for her two children.

Meltrice Sharpe is a CPA and the managing partner of CLE Consulting Firm. Among other services, the firm files taxes for businesses and individuals. Sharpe said they, too, are inundated with calls from clients asking when they will get their tax refunds.

“People aren't getting the refunds that they're used to getting in less than 21 days,” said Sharpe. “It can be really frustrating, but the best advice we give people is patience.”

She said the IRS is backlogged, and the organization went into the 2020 tax season with backlogs from 2019.

“It's not that your tax preparer has done something wrong. It's just that there is a backlog,” she said. “The same hour or two that you would be on hold, we are on hold, we are on hold, as well. The same hangup you get, we’re going to get as well.”

Nearly 15 million people throughout the United States are waiting on tax refunds. She noted that the IRS's bad situation is made worse when you add in a pandemic and a labor shortage.

“You think about the IRS employees and what they've had to do over the course of the last year and a half, is process stimulus checks. They're changing tax code and tax laws consistently and constantly using antiquated systems,” said Sharpe.

She is frustrated, too.

“It’s an unfortunate situation. A lot of these people whose refunds are being held up really, really need their money,” she said.

Sharpe noted the best thing you can do is not to call the IRS because you most likely won’t be able to get through to someone who can sort out your situation, but said check on your refund status on the IRS website.

“It won’t give you, you know, why your reason is being held up, but it will tell you, in some instances, that they've received it, it's being processed, it's been suspended," Sharpe said.

Longo and Sharpe echoed the same sentiments about fixing the problem, noting it may be time for elected officials to step in and help.

“It's going to take funding to fund an updated, more efficient tax system. It's going to take funding to hire more people, thinking of potential innovative ways to do things by leveraging outsourcing, third party companies to help with this,” said Sharpe.

Longo reached out to Sen. Sherrod Brown’s office to see if he could help and spoke to a representative who she’s hoping can move things along for her.

“I feel like there’s not a lot I can do,” she said.

Sharpe said she is not confident that the backlog will go away anytime soon and thinks the sheer volume of unprocessed refunds will carry over into the 2021 tax season.

News 5 reached out to Sen. Brown and Sen. Rob Portman’s office for comment. Brown’s office has not gotten back.

A spokesperson for Portman said, “As a member of the Finance Committee, Rob shares the concerns about the backlog and has reached out to the IRS and encouraged them to fix their backlog and other customer service issues.”

The IRS said this:

The IRS is opening mail within normal timeframes. All paper and electronic individual returns received before April 2021 have been processed if the return had no errors or did not require further review. As of July 24, 2021, we had 14.7 million unprocessed individual returns. Unprocessed individual returns include the tax year 2020 returns such as those requiring correction [irs.gov] to the Recovery Rebate Credit amount or validation of 2019 income used to figure the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). This work does not require us to correspond with taxpayers but does require special handling by an IRS employee, so, in these instances, it is taking the IRS more than 21 days to issue any related refund, and in some cases, this work could take 90 to 120 days. If, as a result, a correction is made to any RRC, EITC or ACTC claimed on the return, the IRS will send taxpayers an explanation. Taxpayers are encouraged to continue to check Where’s My Refund? [irs.gov] for their personalized refund status and can review Tax Season Refund Frequently Asked Questions [irs.gov].

How long you may have to wait: The IRS understands the importance of timely processing tax returns and refund issuance. We have processed all error-free returns received before April 2021 and continue to work on the returns that must be manually reviewed due to errors. We are continuing to reroute tax returns and taxpayer correspondence from behind locations where more staff is available, and we are taking other actions to minimize any delays. Tax returns are opened and processed in the order received. As the return is processed, whether it was filed electronically or on paper, it may be delayed because it has a mistake, including errors concerning the Recovery Rebate Credit, missing information, or suspected identity theft or fraud. If we can fix it without contacting you, we will. If we need more information or need you to verify that it was you who sent the tax return, we will write you a letter. The resolution of these issues could take 90 to 120 days, depending on how quickly and accurately you respond and the ability of IRS staff trained and working under social distancing requirements to complete the processing of your return.

What you should do: In most instances, no further action is needed, but you may check Where’s my refund, or you can view your account [irs.gov]. If you filed electronically and received an acknowledgment, you do not need to take any further action other than promptly responding to any requests for information. If you filed on paper, check. Where’s my refund? If it tells you we have received your return or are processing or reviewing it, we are processing it, but it may be under review. We’re working hard to get through the backlog. Please don’t file a second tax return or contact the IRS about the status of your return.

As for amended returns, there are some situations when that is appropriate:

Most taxpayers need not take any action, and there is no need to call the IRS. However, if taxpayers are now eligible for deductions or credits not claimed on the original return because of the excluded unemployment compensation, they should file a Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.

Taxpayers should file an amended return if they:

• did not submit a Schedule 8812 with the original return to claim the Additional Child Tax Credit and are now eligible for the credit after the unemployment compensation exclusion;
• did not submit a Schedule EIC with the original return to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (with qualifying dependents) and are now eligible for the credit after the unemployment compensation exclusion;
• are now eligible for any other credits and/or deductions not mentioned below. Make sure to include any required forms or schedules.

Taxpayers do not need to file an amended return if they:

• already filed a tax return and did not claim the unemployment exclusion; the IRS will determine the correct taxable amount of unemployment compensation and tax;
• have an adjustment, because of the exclusion, that will increase any non-refundable or refundable credits reported on the original return;
• did not claim the following credits on their tax return but are now eligible when the unemployment exclusion is applied: Recovery Rebate Credit, Earned Income Credit with no qualifying dependents, or the Advance Premium Tax Credit. The IRS will calculate the credit and include it in any overpayment;
• filed a married filing joint return, live in a community property state, and entered a smaller exclusion amount than entitled on Schedule 1, line 8.

Taxpayers will generally receive letters from the IRS within 30 days of the adjustment, informing them of what kind of adjustment was made (such as refund, payment of IRS debt payment, or payment offset for other authorized debts) and the amount of the adjustment.

Jessi Schultz at WEWS first reported this story.

CINCINNATI —

The Internal Revenue Services is notifying parents of important changes to the Child Tax Credit that will help families get advance payments this summer.

The IRS will pay half the total credit amount in advance monthly payments beginning July 15.

Parents can claim the other half when filing their 2021 income tax returns. These changes apply to the 2021 tax year only, according to the IRS.

Child tax payment amounts for 2021:

For the tax year 2021, the Child Tax Credit increased from $2,000 per qualifying child to:

• $3,600 for children ages 5 and under at the end of 2021
• $3,000 for children ages 6 through 17 at the end of 2021.

Note: The $500 nonrefundable Credit for Other Dependents amount has not changed.

How to Qualify:

To qualify for advance Child Tax Credit payments, spouses who filed a joint return must have:

• Filed a 2019 or 2020 tax return and claimed the Child Tax Credit on the return; or
• Given us your information in 2020 to receive the Economic Impact Payment using the Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here tool
• A main home in the United States for more than half the year (the 50 states and the District of Columbia) or file a joint return with a spouse who has a main home in the United States for more than half the year
• A qualifying child who is under age 18 at the end of 2021 and who has a valid Social Security number
• Made less than certain income limits.

The IRS said it will use the information provided earlier to determine qualification and automatically enroll people for advance payments.

Parents do not need to take any additional action to get advance payments.

The following information from the IRS answers frequently asked questions regarding the child tax credit payments:

What are Advance Child Tax Credit payments?

Advance Child Tax Credit payments are early payments from the IRS of 50 percent of the estimated amount of the Child Tax Credit that you may properly claim on your 2021 tax return during the 2022 tax filing season. If the IRS processed your 2020 tax return or 2019 tax return, these monthly payments will be made starting in July and through December 2021, based on the information contained in that return.

How will I receive my advance child tax credit payments?

If the IRS has received your banking information, your payment will be sent to you as a direct deposit. We will use bank account information from the following sources, in the following order:

• Your 2020 tax return
• Your 2019 tax return, including information you entered into the Non-Filer tool on IRS.gov in 2020
• Information you entered on Get My Payment in 2020
• A federal agency that provides you benefits, such as: Social Security Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, or the Railroad Retirement Board

If we do not have bank account information to issue you a direct deposit, we will send your advance Child Tax Credit payments by mail.

What if my bank account information, mailing address, income, or family changed in 2021?

The IRS will provide on IRS.gov a Child Tax Credit Update Portal (CTC UP) before the first payments begin, which initially will allow you solely to elect not to receive advance Child Tax Credit payments during 2021. More functionality will be added later this year that will allow you to:

1. Update your mailing address
2. Update your bank account information
3. Add or subtract the number of your qualifying children, including by reason of the birth or adoption of a child
4. Report a change in your marital status
5. Report a change in your income

More details will be provided regarding CTC UP through these questions and answers once the portal is available.

Do I need income to get a child tax credit payment?

No. Even if you have $0 in income, you can receive advance Child Tax Credit payments if you are eligible.

What if I do not want to receive the advance payments?

If you prefer not to receive monthly advance Child Tax Credit payments because you would rather claim the full credit when you file your 2021 tax return, or you know you will not be eligible for the Child Tax Credit for your 2021 tax year, you will be able to unenroll through the Child Tax Credit Update Portal (CTC UP). CTC UP will be available in June and will allow you to unenroll before the first advance Child Tax Credit payment is made. You will not be able to unenroll before the portal is open.

Will the IRS contact me before payments are disbursed?

Yes. In June, the IRS will send you Letter 6417. This letter will inform you of the amount of your estimated Child Tax Credit monthly payments. This letter will also indicate where you can find additional information about advance Child Tax Credit payments.

Will my 2021 refund be delayed if receive advanced child tax payments?

No.

Are the child tax payments taxable?

No. Advance Child Tax Credit payments are not income and will not be reported as income on your 2021 tax return. Advance Child Tax Credit payments are advance payments of your tax year 2021 Child Tax Credit.

Will the advance child tax payments affect any government benefits I receive?

No. Advance Child Tax Credit payments cannot be counted as income when determining if you or anyone else is eligible for benefits or assistance, or how much you or anyone else can receive, under any federal program or under any state or local program financed in whole or in part with federal funds. These programs also cannot count advance Child Tax Credit payments as a resource for purposes of determining eligibility for at least 12 months after you receive it.

Can my child tax credit amount be reduced based on my 2021 income?

Yes. The Child Tax Credit phases out in two different steps based on your modified adjusted gross income (AGI) in 2021.

The first phaseout can reduce the Child Tax Credit to $2,000 per child.

• That is, the first phaseout step can reduce only the $1,600 increase for qualifying children ages 5 and under, and the $1,000 increase for qualifying children ages 6 through 17, at the end of 2021.

The second phaseout can reduce the remaining Child Tax Credit below $2,000 per child.

The Child Tax Credit begins to be reduced to $2,000 per child if your modified AGI in 2021 exceeds:

• $150,000 if married and filing a joint return or if filing as a qualifying widow or widower;
• $112,500 if filing as head of household; or
• $75,000 if you are a single filer or are married and filing a separate return.

The first phaseout reduces the Child Tax Credit by $50 for each $1,000 (or fraction thereof) by which your modified AGI exceeds the income threshold described above that is applicable to you.

The Child Tax Credit won’t begin to be reduced below $2,000 per child until your modified AGI in 2021 exceeds:

• $400,000 if married and filing a joint return; or
• $200,000 for all other filing statuses.

The second phaseout reduces the Child Tax Credit by $50 for each $1,000 (or fraction thereof) by which your modified AGI exceeds the income threshold described above that is applicable to you.

How are my child tax payments determined?

We will determine your advance Child Tax Credit payment amounts by estimating the amount of the Child Tax Credit that you will claim on your 2021 tax return during the 2022 tax filing season.

Our estimate of your 2021 Child Tax Credit is based on information shown on your processed 2020 tax return. If we have not processed your 2020 tax return when we determine the amount of your advance Child Tax Credit payment for any month starting July, we will estimate the amount of your 2021 Child Tax Credit based on information shown on your 2019 tax return (including information you entered into the Non-Filer tool on IRS.gov in 2020). Once we have processed your 2020 return, we will recalculate your advance Child Tax Credit payments and adjust any remaining monthly payments.

How do I reconcile my advanced child care payment and my child tax credit on my 2021 tax return?

When you file your 2021 tax return during the 2022 tax filing season, you will need to compare:

1. The total amount of the advance Child Tax Credit payments that you received during 2021; with
2. The amount of the Child Tax Credit that you can properly claim on your 2021 tax return.

Excess Child Tax Credit Amount: If the amount of your Child Tax Credit exceeds the total amount of your advance Child Tax Credit payments, you can claim the remaining amount of your Child Tax Credit on your 2021 tax return.

Excess Advance Child Tax Credit Payment Amount: If you receive a total amount of advance Child Tax Credit payments that exceeds the amount of Child Tax Credit that you can properly claim on your 2021 tax year, you may need to repay to the IRS some or all of that excess payment.

In January 2022, the IRS will send you Letter 6419 to provide the total amount of advance Child Tax Credit payments that were disbursed to you during 2021. Please keep this letter regarding your advance Child Tax Credit payments with your tax records. You may need to refer to this letter when you file your 2021 tax return during the 2022 tax filing season.

Will the IRS provide me with information to help me reconcile my advance childcare payments on my 2021 tax return?

Yes. In January 2022, the IRS will send you Letter 6419 to provide the total amount of advance Child Tax Credit payments that were disbursed to you during 2021. Please keep this letter regarding your advance Child Tax Credit payments with your tax records. You may need to refer to this letter when you file your 2021 tax return during the 2022 tax filing season.

This letter will be mailed to your address on file as of the letter’s mailing date. This generally will be the address on your most recent tax return, or as updated through the Child Tax Credit Update Portal (CTC UP) or the United States Postal Service (USPS).

How to avoid a Advanced Child Tax Credit Scam:

The IRS urges everyone to be on the lookout for scam artists trying to use advance Child Tax Credit payments as a cover for schemes to steal personal information and money. The IRS doesn't initiate contact by email, text messages, or social media channels to request personal or financial information – even information related to advance Child Tax Credit payments. Also, watch out for emails with attachments or links claiming to have special information about advance Child Tax Credit payments or refunds of the Child Tax Credit.

If you receive a suspicious IRS-related email, see Report Phishing and Online Scams for additional information.

For more frequently asked questions about child tax credit payments, click here.

Many families will soon begin receiving monthly payments from the IRS as part of the credit that was included in the American Rescue Plan.Some have already received a rather confusing letter about the program. Here's what parents should understand about the program:When Democrats in Congress passed the most recent stimulus package in March, the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, it included an expansion of the Child Tax Credit this year. Instead of $2,000, the credit grows to $3,000 per child for those age 6 through 17 and $3,600 for children under age 6. The law also calls for the IRS to send families monthly advance payments for half the amount you're owed starting in July and running through the end of the year.So if you're owed $3,000, you'll get $250 a month for 6 months and will collect the other $1,500 when you file taxes.In order to qualify, the family must have filed either a 2019 or 2020 tax return. Qualification for the payments is based on the reported income and begins to phase out starting at $75,000 for single filers or $150,000 for a couple. Congress also made the child tax credit this year fully refundable, which means you can collect it even if you don't owe any money in taxes.

WASHINGTON — By now, most Americans know that President Joe Biden's American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan require tax increases.

The President wants hikes on individuals making more than $450,000 a year and couples who file their taxes jointly with a combined income of over $500,000 or so.

In exchange, transportation would be fundamentally transformed in this country, along with new social programs, like paid family leave, created.

The exact figures will be determined by leaders in Congress as negotiations continue.

NOT JUST TAXES

The Biden administration wants more than just tax increases, however.

The Internal Revenue Service has announced a comprehensive plan to transform the agency and hold more Americans accountable for what they owe.

The plan, which was released this week, calls for the agency to double in size over the next ten years with 87,000 new employees.

The $80 billion expansion would, according to IRS officials, generate more revenue than it would cost to increase in size.

Officials believe anywhere between $500 billion to $1 trillion in taxes go uncollected each year because Americans or companies don't pay them and aren't held accountable.

Individuals making more than $400,000 annually would be subjected to a higher risk of an audit according to the plan.

Some items of the IRS' plan require congressional approval.

CRITICISM BY CONSERVATIVES

The "Coalition to Protect American Workers" has launched commercials in Georgia and Pennsylvania criticizing Biden for the plan.

"If Joe Biden gets his way, they are coming: IRS agents," the commercial begins.

The proposal, along with the comprehensive transportation package, will be negotiated over the coming weeks.

No votes are expected until the end of June at the earliest.