IRS Will Begin Accepting Delayed Tax Returns Feb. 14

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Important- This post relates to late legislation for tax year 2010 and not tax year 2011.  There were no filing delays for your 2011 taxes.  This is an older post.  There is no need to wait to file your taxes.

The IRS announced yesterday that they will begin accepting returns affected by the filing delays starting on February 14 – just in time for Valentine’s Day!

File Now with TurboTax

The good news is you don’t worry this doesn’t mean you need to wait until mid-February to file your taxes.  TurboTax is ready to accept your return today, whether you’re impacted by the delays or not.

If you claim itemized tax deductions on Schedule A, the higher education tuition and fees deduction and the educator expenses deduction, you can prepare and e-file your return now with TurboTax and we will hold it and then automatically submit your federal tax return to the IRS.  TurboTax will submit your state tax return immediately so you can get you your state tax refund as quickly as possible.

The IRS stated in their announcement that the filing delays, which impact both paper and e-filed tax returns, will affect approximately 9 million taxpayers (based on estimates from last year).

What about your state refund?

We know that everyone wants to get their refund ASAP.  Since TurboTax is the market leader, we have been able to work closely with states to get you your state tax refund as quickly as possible, even if your federal return is delayed until Feb. 14.  Not all other software or tax stores are able to do this for their customers.   To find out if your state is accepting returns from TurboTax now check out this post.

Have any other questions?  Leave them in the comments and we will try to help you out.

133 responses to “IRS Will Begin Accepting Delayed Tax Returns Feb. 14”

  1. I do not have any education expenses, am not a teacher, did not have any itemized deductions, did not have any “higher education” nor did I file a schedule A and Turbo Tax is supposed to check for any errors. Why is my refund being delayed?

    I planned on using the refund I was supposed to receive on Feb. 4th according to the e-mail Turbo Tax sent to me(it is now Feb. 10th) for a flight that is costing me over $100 a day every day it is delayed.

    If the IRS does not “accept” the refund until the 14th, when is the check mailed?

    I received an e-mail from Turbo Tax that my refund was “accepted” by the IRS in January. What’s the hold up? Was it still accepted then or was that just another lie?

    • My return was aptecced on Feb. 17th. Was given a date by my tax program of Feb. 25th, WMR said March 1st. I knew that date was odd because it usually gives you a date that falls on a Friday. Checked WMR on March 3rd and got code 1301. Called IRS on March 4th and was told that they recieved my return and it was nothing that I had done but there was a glitch in their system and everyone that claimed the FTHBC in 2008 was gonna be delayed. The women was very pleasant and said that my return was being manually put in by the error processing department because their system failed to recognize the FTHBC form. She told me to call back in a week and I called on March 11th and was told that there was a 30 day delay on my return starting yesterday March 11th. I was just wondering if anyone has recieved their return yet after recieving the code 1301?

  2. Hi Julie,

    The refund cycle chart is based on when the IRS accepts your return. If you were affected by the delays, the IRS should be accepting your return on or within a few days of the 14th.

    Ashley

  3. Ok, so my return will not be processed by IRS til Feb 14th.. So, does that mean, according to the refund cycle chart, that I should expect my refund on Feb 25th–or is that ONLY if IRS processes AND approves on Feb 14th?

  4. “TurboTax is ready to accept your return today, whether YOUR impacted by the delays or not.”

    Really, TurboTax? Nobody on your crack team knows the correct use of YOUR vs. YOU’RE? Wow, companies have low standards these days. This is 4th grade grammar, people!

  5. Massachusetts state return was accepted on 1/31/11 but I was never told when to expect my return and I havent yet gotten it… any ideas on why I was never given an estimated deposit date?

  6. Yes I was told this when doing it on Turbo Tax:

    “Based on what you’ve told us, your federal itemized deductions of $11,664 are your best option because they will save you more money than the standard deduction of $11,400.”

    come to find out it would been no difference if really did a standard deduction seems Turbo Tax was wrong and misleading here !

    When I re-did my taxes after e-filing was no difference in my refund at all except now I have to wait weeks for it !!

  7. Hi Beth, Pamela and Leslie-Ann,

    Currently the IRS is not expecting any refund delays for returns processed on Feb. 14. If we hear of any we will update you here.

    If you used direct deposit, you could get refund in as little as 8-10 days after they start accepting. For a better estimate, check out this IRS tool called “Where’s My Refund” once your return is accepted from the IRS.

    http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96596,00.html

    Ashley

  8. Hi Ms. Thang,

    The IRS is not accepting ANY returns that have itemized deductions on schedule A, claim the higher education tuition and fees deduction or the educators expenses deduction. These delays affect all returns regardless of how they were prepared.

    Ashley

  9. we filed e-file standard tax form married 2kids and mother law dependent,we live in Washington no itemized deduction and we filed on january 30th I.R.S. accepted on feb,1st so will we actually get our refund between feb. 9th-15th or does the changes affect us too.

  10. That is so wrong… the IRS always finds a way to make us wait for our money but try owing them once, they will take anything they can from you to get the money you owe them. I will never understand how the Government gets away with some of the things they do, I guess that is why I am not paid the big bucks.

  11. I filed my taxes- state & federal on 01/29/11. I have not gotten notice that they have been accepted. My co-worker filed hers the same day and she has gotten an e-mail that her federal taxes has been accepted. She had deductions the same as I did. What is up?

  12. Now that I have to wait until the 14th of February to see if my federal return will be accepted, when can I expect to see the money? I am a teacher and am not happy about the wait for MY money. I file early so I can get my money early because I usually take a trip in mid-February. I just want to know how long I will have to wait to see the money from the federal government?

  13. if i take the standard deduction instead of the schedule A, can i amend my return later for the difference. Will turbo tax help me with the amended return?

  14. I filed on or about the 28th. I had the standard deduction and I did not go to school or have any educational expenses… but my return is still being held because of the new tax laws. Chat support plainly said “There is nothing we can do….” Why would I have to wait when My return has nothing to do with the law changes?

  15. I filed today, 1/31, so that I wouldn’t have to file my last quarter’s estimated taxes on 1/15. But, because of this delayed processing, TurboTax made me put down 3/1/11 as my direct debit date and didn’t give other options. Does this mean that my payment is late and I’ll get a penalty? Or am I ok since I filed by 1/31? If the payment is considered late, is there anything I can do to fix the situation – pay earlier by check and cancel the 3/1 payment or put it towards 2011 estimated taxes? Please help!

  16. I looked at my 2009 return, and I didn’t see a Schedule A attached, so does that mean I did not get to itemize the mortgage interest, and if I didn’t, can I claim in on my 2010 return?

  17. Not sure how taxactonline.com can circumvent the Feds 14 Feb start date for processing itemized returns (Scedule A use or other education expenses). Here is the anouncement straight from the IRS explaining that they won’t even start processing itemized returns until 14 Feb. As a matter of fact, the article indicates the IRS system won’t even be open until 14 Feb. Anyway, I e-filed both my itemized Fed/State returns on 14 Jan, my state refund was direct deposited on 27 Jan.

    http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=234736,00.html?portlet=7

  18. Good Morning,

    I understand the IRS is nit suppose to process delayed returns until feb. 14th which is the un-truth b/c me and my sis use taxactonline.com and we both did a schedule A. My return is and has been waiting to be submitted to the irs since jan.13th and my sis did her’s yesterday and it was submitted and excepted by the irs on yesterday and she is scheduled to have her refund on feb.11th. She kept the email so i have proof that this was done..any reason why?

  19. Hi David,

    The IRS Schedule A forms are final now. You can prepare and file both your federal and state returns now. TurboTax will hold your federal return until the IRS begins accepting/processing Schedule A returns on Feb 14. But TurboTax will send your state return directly to your state now for processing, so that you can get your state refund now.

    Hope that helps clarify.

    Ashley

  20. Hi Ewent,

    If you print and mail your return it can take 4-6 weeks before you get your return. This is because someone at the IRS has to get your return and input it into a computer before it can be processed.

    If you e-file, with direct deposit, you can receive your refund in as little as 8 days. Sorry, you had to pay so much for the service though. TurboTax Online does not charge for e-file.

    Ashley

  21. I am not sure I follow the logic in your discussion of the delay in Schedule A, regarding filing state returns now and federal returns after Feb 14.

    If I need to complete the delayed Schedule A itemized deductions for my federal taxes, how can I file my state return now, when the state itemized deductions are based on the same federal form?

  22. I submitted my 2008 taxes the 1st of Jan.2011; my husband was in charge of that year and just forgot!!. I have done every year prior and after and all is well with our returns. We own a business and do schedule A,C,SE and EIC with our 1040 form. When filing a late return, when can we expect our refund? Thanks! Sandra

  23. Would someone mind explaining why e-filing doesn’t produce a faster return than the old method of paper filing? Last year (2010), it took almost a month to get my return. This is hideous when you consider that I paid an additional $50 to my CPA to e-file and the result was not really any different. In the general context of e-filing, it takes the CPA less than 30 seconds to hit the “send” button for the IRS to receive tax filings. For those with little or no year to year changes, this isn’t rocket science.

  24. I haven’t filed tax returns for several years, I had a restaurnt in early 2000-2004 and have been trying to correct those reports, then went to full

    time employment and working fulltime and full time

    care giver for parents, things haven’t gone well.

    How should I go about trying to correct my error of not filing. I have quite a sum of federal income tax money so that should help cover what I

    owe. Do I need a professional preparer or deal with the IRS direct?

    Thank you.

  25. I used the first time home buyer credit in 2008. And now were are to start paying in back using Form 5405. I already filed my taxes yesterday, but they won’t accept it without the form, which is not available until 2/14. I called the IRS and asked if I could still file and then send an amended return after the 14th with the money. They said that I could. How can I do this and still Efile??

  26. I filed with turbotax when I checked “where’s my refund” it originally stated 2/2..checked today and now it is say 2/8 due to a processing delay.

    What would that mean?

    Thanks.

  27. I filed my taxes with Turbo Tax on January 13 and have not gotten an acknowledgment from the IRS. Is this becuase you are holding my paperwork until the 14th of Feb ? I am a teacher, in school part time, and took educatator’s expenses as well.

    Just want to make sure everyhting is okay on my end!!!

  28. Bought a new hybrid car this year. (2010) Will I be able to deduct sales tax on my return or should I just forget about it? And interest..Can I deduct that as well?

  29. E-filed both federal and state tax returns on Jan 15th. Federal is being held as expected but state (WV) return still has been acknowledged. TT says there’s a technical problem that should be resolved by Jan 24th. It is now Jan 26th and still no acknowledgement. This is getting ridiculous!

    • mine is a wv return as well and it’s still showing pending as of today and i submitted mine on 1/16/12. i don’t know what’s going on with turbo tax this year, they are ususally so much better than this and i have used them for years…until next year bc i have had too many issues with them this year. my federal shows was sent over on 1/18 in the evening which means it didn’t go with the first batch. i don’t understand why they held it that long.

      • Hi Courtney,
        Sorry you experienced some issues this year, but I can assure you the issues you are experiencing are not related to TurboTax holding your return until the 18th. The IRS began accepting e-filed returns on 1/17. TurboTax transmitted all tax returns on that day, however the IRS just began accepting returns from all entities so they may have been backed up. Regarding your tax return still showing pending, once it is electronically transmitted from TurboTax we have no control over the processing of your return. Per the IRS, the dates they use are projected dates based on normal processing and assumes your tax return does not require further review. Sometimes your tax return may still be pending if it is still under review by the IRS. Please see the IRS e-file refund cycle chart http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p2043.pdfSimilar
        I am sorry about the issue, but I am sure you will receive information from the IRS soon.
        Thank you,
        Lisa Greene-Lewis

  30. so i have a question about this delay… who is it affecting???? and if i claimed my fiance this year does that mean that i will have a delay?

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