Where's my Refund?

People love getting tax refunds even though many don’t realize that they have in fact made the IRS and interest free loan. I heard a car dealership announce a program to give taxpayers double their refund against a new car. With that kind of logic perhaps taxpayers are right in making even larger loans to their favorite government agency. But let’s be clear. The most advantageous position to be in at tax filing time is receiving no refund at all. Keep in mind that there is a penalty for underestimating tax liability and that penalty will get automatically calculated by your tax preparation software. However, the money the taxpayer would have sent to IRS should be invested somewhere else. As a matter of fact IRS tries to process tax refunds within 21 days of the filing of a tax return. IRS will tell you that the best way to get that refund fast is to file electronically and choose direct deposit. For those anxious to find out the status of their refund the IRS has a tool @IRS.gov called “Where’s My Refund.” Taxpayers can use this tool if it’s been more than 21 days since the taxpayer filed electronically or six weeks since they mailed a paper return. Taxpayers can also use an automated telephone line at 800-829-1954 for the same information. Ordering an IRS tax transcript is not necessary and will not speed up the receipt of a refund.