When Will I Get My Tax Refund? What if My Tax Refund Check is Wrong?
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While a lot of your probably haven’t filed your taxes yet — neither have we — many others have. It’s therefore likely that people are starting to wonder when they’ll receive their refund.
How to check the status of your refund
The good news is that IRS has a refund hotline (800–829–1954) as well as an online “Refund Status” tool for finding our when you can expect your refund. Whether you call or go online, you’ll need your social security number, filing status, and exact refund amount to get an answer.
If they’re unable to locate your tax refund information, you’ll be asked to provide the approximate date that you filed as well as how you filed (paper or electronic). If they still can’t find your refund info, you’ll need to call the IRS for an answer.
Refund check for wrong amount
If your refund showed up but was for the wrong amount, then read on…
If your receive an unexpected check, or a check for more than you expected, don’t cash it until you receive a notice from the IRS explaining the discrepancy.
If you receive a smaller refund than you anticipated, you can go ahead and cash the check. If it is later determined that you should have received more, you should receive a check for the difference.
Either way, if you have questions about the amount of your refund, you can reach the IRA at 800-829-1040. Note that they ask you to wait two weeks from receipt of the erroneous check to provide time for any mailed notices to show up.
Published on February 24th, 2010 - 9 Comments
Filed under: Taxes
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About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
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9 Responses to “When Will I Get My Tax Refund? What if My Tax Refund Check is Wrong?”
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February 24th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
I filed this morning, so hopefully I’ll get my refund next week or the week after.
February 25th, 2010 at 10:12 am
RE: Refund check in the wrong amount (more than you expected)…
Definitely do not cash the check!
Hold it and wait for the IRS to respond.
We got a greater than expected Fed refund check once. We immediately contacted the IRS and waited for their reply. They did issue another check for the proper amount.
I don’t recall what their instructions were in dealing with the original check. We probably voided it and sent it back.
Thank you, Nickel, for the words of caution!
February 27th, 2010 at 10:02 am
I read this article yesterday, then checked the direct deposit from a couple days ago. Sure enough it was exactly $800 higher than expected. I did some checking and it looks like the $800 is for the Making Work Pay Tax Credit.
http://www.moneyunder30.com/40.....tax-credit
Has anyone else received the extra $400 or $800 and talked to the IRS about it to confirm?
February 27th, 2010 at 10:38 am
So I believe I figured out what happened. Turns out if you filed via a 1040 or 1040A and did not file a Schedule M, then the IRS assumes you did not receive the Making Work Pay Tax Credit from your employer.
Hope this information helps someone to avoid having to file an amended return.
February 27th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
Last comment….
Turns out, after filling out schedule M, that I was entitled to the $800 credit. The IRS just added it on. This is the first time I have ever seen the IRS give a credit when it was not asked for. Definitely a good surprise.
March 5th, 2010 at 2:24 pm
Apparently even if your employer lowered your withholding, thus giving you a few dollars more per paycheck over the course of 2009 totaling $400, you will still get the $400 extra from the IRS. Schedule M, whether completed and sent with your return or not, provides a $400 credit (uping your total tax payment and making it that much greater than your total tax owed). If you did not complete sch M, the IRS is adding the $400 for you.
I called the IRS and asked if this was double dipping and #7517598 basically said yes. Apparently some employers did not lower the withholding, so now EVERYONE is getting the credit.
This is from the instructions to Sch. M.
Even if your federal Line 5 income tax withholding was reduced during 2009 because of the credit, you must
complete Schedule M and claim the credit on your return to benefit from it.
March 5th, 2010 at 3:25 pm
I might also add the following…If the my withholding had NOT been lowered (which would have in turn lowered my AGI by $400), I would have received even more money back from the IRS if I (or they) used the Sch M $400 credit $1810. I would have also received more if NO Make Work Pay credit had been given during the year or via Sch M, $1410 (meaning I would have been over paying the most during the year). I got $1310 with the IRS in affect adding the $400 Sch. M credit. I was slated to get $910 with the lowered withholding throughout the year and NO Sch M credit.
April 12th, 2010 at 6:59 pm
I don’t owe any money ($0) because I started a business this year and have not made any money yet (lost money actually). Can I still get a refund that’s more than $0?? Not sure how this all works.
May 28th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
I let someone file my taxes from their home and i never recieved a refund