2025 tax return IRS system issue causing delays in refunds - anyone else experiencing this?

Filed my return on January 31st and it was accepted by the IRS on February 4th. It's been complete silence since then. No updates on the "Where's My Refund" tool, nothing. Since it's been over 21 days now, I called the IRS today and after being on hold for almost an hour, the agent told me there's some kind of system issue on their end that's causing delays. She said it could take up to 10 WEEKS from the acceptance date for processing! That would put me into mid-April. Has anyone else run into this "system issue" they're talking about? Were you told the same thing? And if you've already gone through this, how long did it actually take before you got your refund? This is really frustrating since I was counting on that money for some car repairs.

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18 comments

Yara Nassar

•8M

This is unfortunately becoming more common this year. The IRS is experiencing significant system delays that are affecting many early filers. I've been handling tax preparation for 15 years, and this year has some unique challenges. What you're describing sounds like the return has been accepted (meaning it passed the initial submission check) but is now stuck in the processing stage. This happens when their automated system flags something for review or when they're experiencing internal technical difficulties. The 10-week timeframe they gave you is their standard response this year for these situations. A few things you can do: keep checking the "Where's My Refund" tool every few days (not more frequently as that won't help), create an account on the IRS website to see your tax transcript which sometimes shows updates before the refund tool does, and make sure you don't need to verify your identity which is another common hold-up.

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Yara Nassar

•8M

Calling repeatedly won't help accelerate the process. The phone representatives don't have the ability to manually push returns through faster - they can only see the same status information that's already in their system. All additional calls do is create longer wait times for everyone. The only time calling is beneficial is if you're approaching or past the 10-week mark they mentioned, or if your "Where's My Refund" status changes to indicate you need to contact them.

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Keisha Jackson

•8M

Hey, I went through something similar last year and ended up using https://taxr.ai to help figure out what was going on. I uploaded my tax transcript (which I got from the IRS site) and it pointed out that my return was stuck in the Error Resolution department because of a mismatch between my W2 and what my employer reported. The tool helped me understand exactly what was causing the hold-up when the IRS rep just gave me generic "system issue" answers. Their AI analyzed my transcript and showed me the specific codes that were affecting my refund. Might be worth checking out if you're worried or want more clarity than the vague "system issue" explanation.

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Keisha Jackson

•8M

You can get your tax transcript by creating an account on IRS.gov and requesting it online. It's pretty easy and gives you access to several years of transcripts. If you can't do it online, you can also request it by mail but that takes much longer. The service does have a cost after the initial analysis but it's worth it if you're dealing with complicated issues or if you're worried about why your refund is being held up. I had the same security concerns but they use bank-level encryption and don't store your documents after analysis. I researched them pretty thoroughly before trying it.

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Amina Diop

•8M

I have to admit I was wrong about taxr.ai. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it since my refund was also stuck. I got my transcript from the IRS website and uploaded it. The analysis showed my return was flagged for a discrepancy with my stimulus payment reporting from last year - something the IRS rep never mentioned when I called them. I was able to file an amended return to fix the issue rather than waiting 10 weeks for them to eventually tell me what was wrong. Got my refund about 2 weeks after that. The detailed analysis of what all those weird codes on my transcript actually meant was super helpful.

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Oliver Schmidt

•8M

My return has been stuck since early February too. Called the IRS three different times, spent like 2+ hours on hold each time, and got three different answers. So frustrating! I finally used https://claimyr.com to get through to an actual IRS agent without the wait. They have this service that holds your place in line and calls you when an agent is ready. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent I finally spoke to said my return was selected for a "random review" not related to any particular issue with my filing. She was able to give me an actual timeline and explanation instead of the generic "system issue" response I got before. Now at least I know what's happening with my money!

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Oliver Schmidt

•8M

It doesn't skip the line - they use an automated system that waits on hold for you. Basically their system calls the IRS and navigates the phone tree, then waits on hold in your place. When they finally reach an agent, you get a call to connect with that agent. It's like having someone else wait on hold instead of you having to do it yourself. It doesn't get you to the front of the line any faster than if you called yourself, it just means you don't have to waste hours of your day listening to hold music. I was skeptical too but it worked exactly as advertised and saved me from another multi-hour hold session.

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Javier Torres

•8M

I need to publicly eat my words about Claimyr. After calling it a scam, I was so desperate after my fourth failed attempt to reach the IRS (kept getting disconnected after 1+ hour holds) that I tried it. Not only did it work, but I actually got through to someone who was super helpful! The agent told me my return was held up because of an identity verification issue that I was never notified about. I was able to verify my identity right there on the call and my refund was released two days later. Would have been waiting for weeks not knowing what was wrong if I hadn't gotten through to talk to someone. So yeah, not a scam at all - just a really useful service if you need to actually talk to a human at the IRS without losing your entire day to hold music.

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