Tracking down your tax refund

July 13, 2011

It's July. You filed your taxes on time. So just where the heck is your tax refund?

Some specific tax credits could be causing the hold-up.

Many first-time homebuyers who this filing season starting paying back the original $7,500 faux credit have found their 1040s and expected refunds are in processing purgatory.

Some adoptive parents also are seeing some delays in their refunds as the IRS is carefully looking at those returns before sending out money. 

In these cases, those folks unfortunately simply have to wait.

But if you're basically just waiting for a regular old refund, then there are a couple of ways you can find out where in the IRS system your tax refund is and when you might expect to get your tax refund.

And that's today's Weekly Tax Tip.

There are three ways to find out the status of your tax refund.

You can call the IRS toll-free at 800-829-1954.

You can use the agency's online tracking tool, Where's My Refund?

Or if you have smartphone, the IRS has a free app — iPhone and Android versions — for refund location, IRS2Go.

Whichever method you use, you'll need your Social Security number, the filing status you claimed on your refund and the amount of money you're expecting.

Good luck finding out where your tax cash is.

And just so you don't have to worry about going through this again next year, you might want to adjust your withholding.

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