IRS: Some refunds may be delayed
McALLEN -- Even if you've already filed your taxes, your refund might not arrive as soon as you'd hoped.
The IRS announced Thursday that some refunds may be delayed between one to two weeks. In a statement on the government agency's Web site, officials cited increased security measures against fraud as the reason for the potential hold up. The warning only applies to those who filed their taxes electronically and requested their refund to be deposited directly into their bank accounts.
In its statement, the IRS also said the increased safety measures are new in 2012.
"When the IRS announced the opening of the 2012 filing season, it advised taxpayers who electronically file and select direct deposit that they could see their refunds in as few as 10 days and 90 percent of refunds are provided within 21 days," the statement read. "Some taxpayers are getting refunds much faster, but at this time taxpayers should expect refunds to be issued as indicated in the original IRS guidelines."
In other words, even with the delays most people will receive their tax refunds within three weeks.
Josh Castelan, a 27-year-old employee at Children's Care Rehabilitation Center in Donna, said one of his co-workers learned of the delay earlier this week when she called the IRS to verify the exact date she would receive her return. The possible delay created a stir in the office.
"We're up in arms about it," Castelan said. "Most of us already have the money spent."
Warren Murphy, a McAllen-based accountant who handles about 300 returns annually, says the delay is not unprecedented, but it's the first in many years.
These days, Murphy electronically files nearly all his clients' returns, unless they specifically ask him not to. He hasn't heard any grumbling, largely because few of his clients have filed this early in the tax season.
"Most of them are still waiting on information, their W2s," Murphy says.
Murphy also cautioned all tax payers to remember that a projected date is just that. If the IRS says within three weeks, it's always safer to expect to your money a bit after that.
