Frequently Asked Tax Questions
IRS Procedures - Refund Inquiries
Rev. date: 1/2009As a condition of your agreement, any refund due you in a future year will be applied against the amount you owe.
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Continue making your installment agreement payments as scheduled because your refund is not considered as a substitute for your regular payment due.
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You may not get all of your refund if you owe certain past-due amounts, such as federal tax, state tax, a student loan, or child support.
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IRS will automatically apply the refund to the taxes owed.
Rev. date: 1/2009If you have lost your refund check there are several options available to initiate a refund trace on your behalf.
If your refund check has not been cashed, we can normally provide a replacement within six to eight weeks. You may need to complete a Form 3911 (PDF),
Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund, to initiate a claim. If your refund check has been cashed the Financial Management Service (FMS) will provide a claim package which includes a copy of the check. FMS will review the claim and the signature on the cancelled check before determining whether another refund can be issued.
Rev. date: 1/2009If you need to know whether your federal tax refund check has been cashed, you can initiate a trace on your refund by one of the following methods:
If you are trying to obtain a photocopy of your refund check because of a dispute over the proceeds, call IRS at 800-829-1954 and request assistance.
If you are inquiring about a check that was issued to someone other than yourself, the IRS is not allowed under the Privacy Act of 1974 to disclose any information.
Rev. date: 1/2009A split refund lets you divide your refund, in any proportion you want, and direct deposit the funds in up to three different accounts with U.S. financial institutions.
Rev. date: 1/2009By splitting your refund, you get the convenience of directing some of your refund to your checking account for immediate needs and sending some to savings for future use. Plus, you get the safety and speed of direct deposit, meaning you will have access to your refund faster than if you opt to receive a paper check.
Instead of choosing between depositing your refund into a checking or saving account and later moving part of your refund to another account, you can allocate your refund among up to three different accounts and send your money where you want it the first time.
Rev. date: 1/2009Simply complete and attach
Form 8888 (PDF),
Direct Deposit of Refund to More Than One Account, to your federal income tax return to tell IRS how much and to which of your accounts you want your refund deposited.
Rev. date: 1/2009Yes, you can ask IRS to direct deposit your 2008 refund into one account, or split it among two or three different accounts. The choice is yours.
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If you want your refund deposited into one account, use the special direct deposit lines on your tax return (Forms 1040, 1040A, etc.).
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If you want your refund deposited to two or three accounts, use Form 8888, Direct Deposit of Refund to More Than One Account.
Rev. date: 1/2009Your deposit to each account must be at least $1.00.
Rev. date: 1/2009Yes, you can split your refund among up to three different U.S. financial institutions as long as they will accept a direct deposit to your account.
Rev. date: 1/2009No, you can split your refund whether you file electronically or on paper.
Rev. date: 1/2009No, you cannot split your refund between a direct deposit and paper check.
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You can either opt for the safety, security and speed of direct deposit to one, two, or three separate accounts.
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Request your refund via a paper check.
Rev. date: 1/2009You can ask IRS to direct deposit a refund on a joint return into your account, your spouse's account, or a joint account.
State and financial institution rules can vary and you should first verify your financial institution will accept a joint refund into an individual account.
Rev. date: 1/2009IRS direct deposits of federal tax refunds will not indicate a contribution year for IRA accounts.
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You should ensure your financial institution accepts deposits to prior year IRA accounts.
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As with all IRA deposits, the account owner is responsible for informing their IRA trustee of the year for which the deposit is intended and for ensuring their contributions do not exceed their annual contribution limitations.
If you fail to notify your IRA trustee of the intended year for the deposit, your trustee can assume the deposit is for 2008.
IRS is not responsible for the timeliness or contribution amounts related to an IRA direct deposit.
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An error on your return or an offset of your refund could change the amount of refund available for deposit (for more information, see Are there conditions that could change the amount of my direct deposits?).
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You must verify the deposit was actually made to the account by the due date of the return (without regard to extensions) and the deposit amount.
If the deposit is not made into your account by the due date of the return (without regard to extensions), the deposit is a contribution for 2008, rather than 2007.
Rev. date: 1/2009No, you can direct your refund to either a checking or savings account.
Rev. date: 1/2009Tax preparation fees could vary. Ask your tax professional about his/her fees up front.
Rev. date: 1/2009There are several factors that could change the amount of your tax refund - resulting in either a larger or smaller refund than expected.
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Examples that could increase your refund are math errors and other mistakes.
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Examples that could decrease your refund include math errors, mistakes, owing delinquent federal taxes, state taxes, child support, student loans, or other delinquent federal obligations or if the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) portion of your refund is withheld pending further review.
Rev. date: 1/2009IRS will deduct the difference from the amount you designated for the last account shown on Form 8888. If the difference exceeds the amount designated for the last account, IRS will deduct the remainder from the amount designated to the next account, etc.
You will receive a letter from IRS explaining why a portion of your refund was withheld, the effect on your direct deposit(s), and what information you need to provide to verify your EITC eligibility. If IRS later determines you are eligible to receive the credit, the agency will deposit the amount withheld into the first account you designated on Form 8888.
Rev. date: 1/2009If you owe delinquent federal taxes, IRS will withhold the balance due from your refund.
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If your refund exceeds the amount of your delinquent federal taxes, IRS will adjust your split refund direct deposits IRS will deduct the difference from the amount you designated for the last account shown on Form 8888. If the difference exceeds the amount designated for the last account, IRS will deduct the remainder from the amount designated to the next account, etc.
Additionally, if you also owe delinquent state income taxes, back child support, or delinquent non-tax federal debts such as student loans, etc., the Department of Treasury's Financial Management Service (FMS) will deduct the past-due amounts from the payment that appears first on the payment file received from IRS (the IRS payment file orders accounts from the lowest to the highest routing number). If the debt exceeds the payment designated for the account that appears first on the payment file, FMS will reduce the payment designated for the account that appears next, etc.
You will receive a letter explaining any adjustments IRS made to your refund amount and direct deposit(s). You will receive a separate letter from FMS explaining any offset amount, the agency receiving the payment, the address and telephone number of the agency, and amount of your refund/direct deposit that was offset. If you dispute the debt on the letter you receive from FMS, you should contact the agency shown on the notice, not IRS, since IRS has no information about the validity of the debt.
Rev. date: 1/2009IRS assumes no responsibility for taxpayer error. Please, verify your account and routing numbers with your financial institution and double check the accuracy of the numbers you enter on your return.
Be very careful; entering your account and routing numbers. IRS will handle account or routing number errors on split refunds the same as for regular direct deposits and mistakes can result in several different scenarios.
For example, if:
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You omit a digit in the account or routing number of an account and the number does not pass IRS' validation check, IRS will send you a paper check for the entire refund;
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You incorrectly enter an account or routing number and your designated financial institution rejects and returns the deposit to IRS, IRS will issue a paper check for that portion of your refund; or
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You incorrectly enter an account or routing number that belongs to someone else and your designated financial institution accepts the deposit, you must work directly with the respective financial institution to recover your funds.
Rev. date: 1/2009Check with your financial institution to ensure they will accept a direct deposit for the type of account you are designating. Some financial institutions will accept direct deposits for some types of accounts, but not others.
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Ensure you have the correct account and routing numbers for the account - ask your financial institution if you are unsure - and double check the accuracy of the numbers you enter on your tax return. An incorrect or transposed number could result in your financial institution rejecting the deposit, or worse, depositing your refund into someone else's account.
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Double check your return to ensure you have not made math or other errors that could increase or decrease the actual amount of your refund. IRS recommends electronic filing for the most error-free return.
Rev. date: 1/2009IRS will correct any agency errors. Contact an IRS customer service representative by calling 800-829-1040.
Rev. date: 1/2009Yes, you can check the status of a split refund using the Where My Refund? feature available on IRS.gov or by calling IRS' Refund Hotline at 800-829-1954. -
Where's My Refund? will include a message confirming that your refund was split.
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It will not specify the amount deposited into each account, but it will tell you the estimated date of the deposits and, if IRS adjusted the amount of your refund for math errors, etc., will tell you the amount of the adjustment.
Rev. date: 1/2009Yes, you can split your refund on any original return, even if you have an extension of time to file your return.
Rev. date: 1/2009No, refund splitting is not available for tax years before 2006.
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