SouthJersey.CPA

Tax professionals field more questions about delayed refunds than almost anything else this time of year. This year the delays are worse than usual, driven by a range of factors. Lately I’m averaging about one call per day on the subject, including calls from people who just found my number online and don’t know me at all.
Before you call anyone, check the official tracking tools:
IRS: https://irs.gov/refunds
Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/services/revenue/track-status-of-pennsylvania-income-tax-refund
New Jersey: https://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/checkrefundstatus.shtml
Other states have their own online lookup tools. Search your state revenue department’s website.
If the tracking tools show nothing useful and you’re considering hiring a tax professional to run down the refund, pause first. The urgency you feel about receiving that money may be exactly the reason why hiring professional help right now isn’t the right move, or isn’t financially realistic. Very seldom does it make sense to hire a tax professional to track down a delayed tax refund.