AUSTIN - Attempts by the Internal Revenue Service to help protect against identity theft may be causing delays for many who have already filed electronic tax returns.
Not all of us may be willing to stand outside in the rain come tax time, but just about everyone could use the refund from Uncle Sam for a rainy day. Sergio and Ashley Contreras from Pflugerville and Shane Simpson from Austin filed E-returns weeks ago. So far, it has been unhappy returns, because a process they say normally takes just a few days has provided them with nothing.
"At this point, I would just like some information," said Sergio Contreras, who filed the first week of February.
"There is obviously a problem, but no one is addressing it," said Shane Simpson, who filed in late January.
Simpson says the Internal Revenue Service direct deposited his refund into his account a couple of weeks ago. Then the next day, it was gone.
"My checking account balance was negative a couple thousand dollars," said Simpson. "I was pretty shocked to say the least."
Simpson has spent numerous hours on the phone with the IRS trying to find out where his money has gone.
"The first woman I talked to basically said there was a glitch in the system," said Simpson.
Simpson was told the glitch may have resulted from software updates the IRS made to help prevent identity theft and fraudulent returns. Those software updates may be casting too wide a net.
"If they are concerned about security issues -- someone put money into my account and they took it out the very next day -- that doesn't feel very secure to me."
Ashley and Sergio Contreras filed on Feb. 3. They say in the past they've received a direct deposit refund within a matter of days. However this year, they are still waiting. They say they are just as concerned as Simpson.
"I am actually pretty scared," said Ashley Contreras.
"I feel there is potential with all the errors that have gone on for them to either misplace it or just flat out lose it," said Sergio Contreras.
"Nowadays everything is done electronically," said Ashley Contreras. "They do not have that paper back up, so when it is lost, it is lost. That is my concern. That there is no 'paper trail.' There is only electronic trail."
They are not the only ones voicing displeasure with the new security updates by the IRS. The Facebook page 2011 Tax Refund Delays has more than 7,000 followers who share similar stories. Even tax preparation offices are encountering similar difficulties.
"We get 7-8 phone calls a day just asking, 'Where's my refund, where's my refund back?',"" said Ozair Islam, a tax preparer with Liberty Tax Service in Pflugerville.
Islam says customers are informed tax preparation offices are the just middlemen in this situation. He says the good news is that, just as in the cases of the Contrerases and Simpson, usually the IRS is able to acknowledge it has received the return. It is just a matter of waiting for the IRS to process that return.
"I simply just want my money just plain and simple," said Simpson.
You can check the status of your refund at www.irs.gov.
