Now comes the reward for those hours spent figuring out 1040s and calculating M1s!
Many Minnesota tax filers already might have their direct deposit refunds waiting in their bank accounts. At the same time, if they sent in their 2014 income tax returns close to the April 15 deadline, those refunded dollars might not have appeared yet, and that’s no reason to worry yet.
The Internal Revenue Service offers an online tracking system called “Where’s My Refund?” to check as soon as 24 hours after return hits its computers. Locate it online through http://www.irs.gov/Refunds. It allows taxpayers to follow the return through three stages: When it is received, when a refund is approved, and when the refund has been sent.
That’s helpful. But if the refund hasn’t arrived, it isn’t time to panic yet. The IRS tells taxpayers to wait for at least 21 days – or the end of the first full week in May – before starting to hunt for a “missing” refund from an electronically filed return. (In fact, IRS phone reps can’t even help you look within those first three weeks.) Nine out of 10 refunds are issued within 21 days, the agency assures.
Taxpayers who filed paper returns must wait six weeks before launching a search for a refund with the IRS.
Minnesota also offers a refund tracker online for its taxpayers, and it also is named “Where’s My Refund?” With a few identifying details, Minnesota’s Department of Revenue will tell taxpayers the status of a refund from an income tax return filed within the last 12 months. Find that service at https://www.mndor.state.mn.us/tp/refund/_/.
Minnesota’s tracking service also includes state property tax refunds. This year, taxpayers who filed paper returns for property tax refunds may not be able to track them until after July 1, Minnesota Revenue says.
If you’re not in a hurry to claim your refunds, here’s when the clock expires. Minnesota law says a refund can be requested within 3½ years from the normal filing deadline (usually April 15) or from an extended deadline.
EricJohn Ltd. can advise taxpayer on income tax and their refunds. As an enrolled agent, owner Eric Buechler also represents taxpayers directly in tax matters before the IRS.