Category: Taxes Made Simple
-
Most e-filed returns with direct deposit are issued in under 21 days, the IRS says.
The IRS says it issues most refunds in fewer than 21 days after an e-filed current-year tax return is received. Direct deposit can make delivery faster than a paper check once the refund is approved, but the 21-day statement is not a guarantee. Some returns take longer because the agency needs to review information, verify…
-
The IRS says taxpayers can now opt in for email alerts when a refund status changes.
The IRS says taxpayers can opt in to email notifications when the status of a federal tax refund changes. The feature is available through an IRS Individual Online Account. It is a status alert, not a promise that a refund has been approved, issued or sent. The actual status in the account and any IRS…
-
IRS Direct Pay lets taxpayers pay from a checking or savings account without a fee.
The IRS offers Direct Pay for personal federal tax payments from a checking or savings account, and the agency describes the service as free and secure. Direct Pay is a payment method, not a payment plan and not a way to reduce a tax balance. Its main advantage is that it allows an eligible taxpayer…
-
San Carlos Apache Tribe taxpayers affected by the 2025 floods have until September 28 to file and pay certain federal taxes.
The Internal Revenue Service says affected taxpayers in the San Carlos Apache Tribe disaster area have until September 28, 2026, to file certain federal returns and make certain federal tax payments. The postponement follows severe storms and flooding that occurred from October 10 through October 13, 2025. It is targeted disaster relief, not a nationwide…
-
More than 1 million taxpayers had refunds delayed beyond normal processing during the 2026 filing season, the taxpayer advocate reports.
More than one million taxpayers did not receive refunds within the IRS’s normal processing time during the 2026 filing season, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate. The report says those taxpayers experienced an average wait of about five and a half weeks. The finding describes a completed filing-season performance issue; it does not mean every…
-
The IRS taxpayer advocate says 90.4 million refunds were issued in the 2026 filing season, averaging $3,275.
The National Taxpayer Advocate reports that the IRS issued 90.411 million current-year refunds during the 2026 filing season, with an average refund of $3,275. Those figures describe returns processed through the filing season, not a promised refund amount for a future return. A refund reflects a taxpayer’s particular withholding, payments, credits and final tax liability,…
-
A bribery conspiracy cost Puerto Rico an estimated $6,772,578 in tax revenue
A Puerto Rico Treasury employee has admitted joining a bribery conspiracy that erased tax debts and caused an estimated $6,772,578 in lost public revenue. Alexander Ortiz-Robles pleaded guilty on September 8, 2026, becoming the third department employee in three months to admit involvement in related bribery or fraud schemes. Access to tax records powered the…
-
A COVID-loan fraudster owed the IRS $766,707.20 after skipping two years of tax returns
A Florida woman convicted of COVID-relief fraud also failed to file personal and business tax returns for 2020 and 2021, leaving $766,707.20 owed to the IRS for those two years. A federal judge has sentenced Verlynn Horne to 30 months in prison and ordered forfeiture of $2,517,930 plus a Winter Garden residence. The tax debt…
-
California identified $113.3 million in Medicaid overpayments but failed to return the full federal share
California’s Medicaid fraud-control work identified large provider overpayments, but a federal audit says the accounting did not reliably send Washington its share. Fourteen cases included $113.3 million that California failed to report and return through the required federal form. The inspector general also found tens of millions returned late, turning successful enforcement into a separate…
-
Businesses controlled by a COVID-loan fraud defendant received $337,915 before her 30-month sentence
Nonoperational businesses controlled by a Florida defendant received $337,915 from pandemic loan programs, according to federal court records summarized by prosecutors. The owner also helped at least 35 other borrowers obtain more than $4.47 million. A federal judge has now imposed a 30-month sentence, ordered multimillion-dollar forfeiture and addressed two years of unfiled tax returns.…