With about two weeks to go until tax day, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has made sizable progress by already sending out nearly fifty-eight million refunds worth a total of $189 billion. Per CNBC, the average refund comes in at $3,263, which is nearly $450 larger than last year’s amount of $2,815.

The IRS has stated that most refunds are issued within twenty-one days if they are electronically filed and error-free. But several factors may still cause delays.

Stimulus and Credit Payments

“We urge extra attention to those who received an economic impact payment or an advance child tax credit last year,” IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a statement. “People should make sure they report the correct amount on their tax return to avoid delays,” he continued.

Personal finance expert Susan Tompor at the Detroit Free Press noted that the IRS has cautioned Americans not to rely on “receiving a refund by a certain date.” And one of the chief reasons for the delays seems to be from government-issued stimulus checks and credits and how they are reported on the returns—even a minor typo can lead to painfully long delays.

“The IRS is seeing mistakes in claiming the recovery rebate credit once again this year—and the child tax credit—and continues to warn taxpayers of potential delays. It could take several weeks to resolve some of these issues,” Tompor wrote.

“It's possible that someone could forget that they received money last year, for example, and then try to claim the recovery rebate credit on the 2021 return,” she added.

Furthermore, the IRS is still hard at work clearing its massive backlog of millions of unprocessed tax returns and correspondence from previous years. Rettig recently told the House Ways and Means Committee that he expects the agency to make solid headway by the end of this year.

“Barring any unforeseen circumstances, if the world stays as it is today, we will be what we call ‘healthy’ by the end of calendar year 2022, and enter the 2023 filing season with normal inventories,” he said.

Tracking Your Tax Refund

Do keep in mind that there are handy ways to track the refunds as well. According to GOBankingRates.com, “tracking your tax refund has never been easier. There are free tools available, such as the IRS ‘Where’s My Refund?’ tool and USPS Informed Delivery, that allow taxpayers to track their tax refund and know exactly when it’s arriving.”

Taxpayers can access the “Where’s My Refund?” tool through IRS.gov or the IRS2Go app. And one can see an update twenty-four hours after the IRS has received an electronic filing or four weeks after sending a paper return. The app generally updates once per day.

For those expecting a paper check through the mail, they can receive alerts on its delivery status through USPS Informed Delivery. Just go to the USPS Informed Delivery page, select “Sign Up for Free,” and then follow the simple instructions.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Washington state-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.

Image: Reuters.