No Tax Refund Yet? Here's Why the IRS Might Be Giving You the Cold Shoulder

Americans are struggling through tough times. Tens of millions of people are out of work and counting on getting money from whatever sources they can. Between expanded unemployment benefits, $1,200 stimulus checks, and other assistance programs, most people simply can't afford to wait for cash that's coming to them.

Around this time each year, many taxpayers hope to get their tax refunds back from the Internal Revenue Service in a timely manner. The fact that this year's tax deadline got pushed back to July 15 has led to some people putting off filing their returns, even though it means that they won't get their refunds until later. Yet many of those who have filed haven't gotten tax refunds yet, and because of the reason behind the delay, they're likely to have to wait quite a while. The cause hasn't gotten a lot of publicity, but it affects millions of people -- and could be the reason you're still waiting for your money back from the IRS.

The IRS routinely tells taxpayers that it prefers to receive tax returns through electronic filing. Adoption of e-filing has been quite high in recent years, with about seven out of every eight tax returns in 2019 getting electronically transmitted to the IRS.