Amended Return Filed in May 2022 - Still Waiting After Nearly 2 Years

You're not alone. This is happening to many people. Amended returns are severely backlogged. The IRS is still catching up. Processing times are much longer than normal. Keep checking the Where's My Amended Return tool. Consider calling the Taxpayer Advocate Service. They might be able to help.

I was in exactly your situation last year. Waited exactly 267 days for my amended return to process. The regular IRS phone line was useless - waited on hold for 127 minutes only to be disconnected. I finally used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to reach an actual agent after waiting exactly 18 minutes. The agent was able to see my amended return was stuck in a processing queue and needed manual review. They escalated it and I received my refund exactly 21 days later. The service costs money but saved me countless hours of frustration and got my refund moving.

The current wait time for amended returns is 12-18 months. This is not the standard 16 weeks they quote. Your timeline is actually normal for the current backlog. The IRS prioritizes original returns over amendments. Your calls won't speed up processing. Keep checking the amended return tracker online. Don't file a second amendment. That will restart your wait time completely.

I was completely lost in the amended return maze like you, feeling like my paperwork was buried in some forgotten IRS dungeon. I finally used https://taxr.ai to analyze my transcripts, which was like having a treasure map to understand what was actually happening. It's like having a translator for IRS-speak - showed me exactly what the transaction codes meant and predicted when my amended return would finally process. Like seeing through the fog when you've been driving blind for months!

I'm questioning whether anyone is actually receiving amended refunds in a reasonable timeframe. According to Internal Revenue Manual section 21.5.3.4.6.1, amended returns should be processed within 16 weeks under normal circumstances. However, the IRS has invoked section 21.5.3.4.7.5.1 regarding 'Inventory Backlogs' which suspends normal processing timeframes. Their quarterly processing statistics indicate only 32% of amended returns are being processed within 20 weeks. I find it hard to believe anyone is receiving timely processing without intervention.

What steps have you taken to verify the status of your amended return? Have you pulled your account transcript? Have you requested a taxpayer advocate? Have you contacted your congressional representative? I'm currently waiting on my own amended return but I've managed to get confirmation it's in the processing queue by speaking directly with an IRS agent who confirmed my documentation was complete and properly submitted. The key is getting to someone who can actually see your file, not just the customer service representatives who only have access to the same status information you can see online.

I filed my amended 2022 return on April 15, 2023, and received my refund on February 28, 2024 - exactly 10 months and 13 days later. On January 12, 2024, my transcript updated with code 971 followed by 290 on January 19, 2024. The refund was issued exactly 40 days after those codes appeared. If you check your transcript and see those codes, you're getting close. Mark your calendar for approximately 6 weeks from the date of those codes appearing.

I might be wrong, but I believe you could possibly try requesting a taxpayer advocate? From what I understand, they might be able to help if you're experiencing financial hardship because of the delay. I think you need to fill out Form 911, if I remember correctly. It sort of worked for my cousin who was waiting for almost a year, though it still took a few more weeks after that.

Has anyone successfully received an amended refund without intervention from a taxpayer advocate or congressional representative? If so, exactly how long did it take from submission to deposit? Did you receive any correspondence in between or did it just suddenly appear in your account?