Why is wheres my refund not available

Both IRS tools online and mobile app will show you one of three messages to explain your tax return status. Millions of Americans have received confusing "math-error notices" from the IRS this year -- letters saying they owe more taxes.

Once they get the notice, they have a day window to respond before it goes to the agency's collection unit. From the start of the year to August, the IRS sent more than 11 million of these notices. According to the Taxpayer Advocate Service , "Many math error notices are vague and do not adequately explain the urgency the situation demands.

The majority of the errors this year are related to stimulus payments, according to the Wall Street Journal. They could also be related to a tax adjustment for a variety of issues detected by the IRS during processing.

They can result in tax due, or a change in the amount of the refund -- either more or less. If you disagree with the amount, you can try contacting the IRS to review your account with a representative. The IRS received million calls this tax season , which is four times the number of calls in And based on the recent report, only 7 percent of calls reached a telephone agent for help.

While you could try calling the IRS to check your status, the agency's live phone assistance is extremely limited right now because the IRS says it's working hard to get through the backlog. You shouldn't file a second tax return or contact the IRS about the status of your return. It also advises taxpayers to get in-person help at Taxpayer Assistance Centers. You can contact your local IRS office or call to make an appointment: You can also contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service if you're eligible for assistance by calling them: Though the chances of getting live assistance are slim, the IRS says you should only call the agency directly if it's been 21 days or more since you filed your taxes online, or if the Where's My Refund tool tells you to contact the IRS.

You can call: or during regular business hours. The code simply identifies the transaction as a refund from a filed tax return in the form of an electronic payment direct deposit. This would also apply to those receiving an automatic adjustment on their tax return or a refund due to March legislation on tax-free unemployment benefits. If you see a instead of , it means your refund has been offset for delinquent debt. There are a couple of reasons that your refund would be mailed to you. Your money can only be electronically deposited into a bank account with your name, your spouse's name or a joint account.

If that's not the reason, you may be getting multiple refund checks, and the IRS can only direct deposit up to three refunds to one account. It has the most up to date information about your refund. Thank you for your patience. Many different factors can affect the timing of your refund after we receive your return.

Also, remember to take into consideration the time it takes for your financial institution to post the refund to your account or for you to receive it by mail. We will contact you by mail when or if we need more information to process your return. The information transcripts have about your account does not necessarily reflect the amount or timing of your refund. They are best used to validate past income and tax filing status for mortgage, student and small business loan applications, and to help with tax preparation.

To claim a refund of federal taxes withheld on income from a U. You must include the documents substantiating any income and withholding amounts when you file your Form NR. We need more than 21 days to process a NR return. File an injured spouse claim using Form , Injured Spouse Allocation. The IRS can hold your refund and request more information from you in several situations. When taxpayers e-file their returns, the e-file process catches many return errors and rejects the returns at the time of filing.

If you mail your return instead of e-filing it, the IRS is more likely to identify an error after the fact. The IRS can also change your return if you forget to include a corresponding schedule or form to support a deduction or credit. At that point, you would have to amend your return and follow up with the IRS to get your refund.

IRS identity theft filters sometimes delay returns and tax refunds until taxpayers verify their identities. Technically, this is an IRS audit. Learn how to handle an IRS audit. The IRS can use this information to question the accuracy of tax returns and delay potential tax refunds.

If your return has discrepancies or a missing reconciliation of the advance payments of the premium tax credit, the IRS can request more information from you to process your return Letter 12C , or even begin an audit to charge you penalties for not having required insurance coverage. After you file your return, the IRS may challenge your reporting of insurance coverage if it conflicts with Forms the IRS has on file.

The only way to fix this issue and get your refund is to file the past-due return. If you owe taxes on the old return, the IRS will take that amount out of your current-year refund. Learn how to handle back tax returns. The IRS can delay your tax refund until it completes any audits. If you respond with the requested information by the deadline, the IRS will generally finish the audit within six months and can release your refund.

This can be a daunting task because refund holds can feel like audits.