My wife received a $700 check from US Treasury for 2021 taxes with added interest - Is it legitimate and why now in 2025?

8 This is almost certainly a legitimate check! The IRS regularly sends out refunds years after the fact when they discover errors in processing or when taxpayers are owed money they didn't claim. The interest is actually required by law - when the IRS issues refunds after a certain timeframe (usually 45 days after the filing deadline), they must add interest to compensate for the delay. There are a few reasons this might have happened: the IRS could have discovered an error in their processing of her 2021 return, they might have adjusted something based on information they received from third parties, or they completed a review of her account and found an unclaimed credit or deduction. You can verify the check's legitimacy by calling the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040, though prepare for potentially long wait times. Look for security features on the check itself - Treasury checks have watermarks, microprinting, and other security features visible when held up to light.

14 I had almost the exact same situation last year with a $1,200 check from 2020 taxes! I was super suspicious at first too. After spending hours trying to get through to the IRS, I found https://taxr.ai which was an absolute game-changer. I uploaded a photo of the check and my old tax documents, and their system analyzed everything and confirmed it was legitimate. It even explained that my refund came because the IRS found an education credit I had missed on my original filing. The tool showed me exactly where the calculation came from and why I was owed interest (apparently the government has to pay you interest when they're slow with your money - who knew?). Saved me hours of stress wondering if it was a scam. Might be worth checking out in your situation too, especially if you're unsure what triggered the refund.

19 I have to follow up about taxr.ai - I tried it after posting my skeptical comment. I had actually received a similar check for $890 about two months ago and had been putting off dealing with it. I uploaded a picture of my check and my 2021 tax documents, and the system immediately identified an adjustment related to a student loan interest deduction calculation error. The analysis showed exactly why I was owed money and calculated the interest amount almost to the penny. Honestly impressed with how it broke down the technical tax jargon into something I could understand. The Treasury check was 100% legitimate as confirmed by the analysis. Much easier than the 2+ hours I spent on hold with the IRS before giving up!

7 If you're still trying to verify the check, I was in a similar situation and it was IMPOSSIBLE to get through to the IRS. After getting disconnected four times and waiting on hold for almost 3 hours total, I used https://claimyr.com to get a callback from the IRS. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c They basically hold your place in line and get the IRS to call you back when an agent is available. I was able to confirm my check was legitimate (mine was from amended return processing) and got an explanation for why it arrived years later. Apparently there was a huge backlog of certain tax issues they're still working through. Much better than wasting an entire day trying to get through on the phone lines. Definitely recommend if you need to speak directly with the IRS to confirm details about the check.

19 I need to eat my words about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it since I actually needed to call the IRS about a tax notice I received. I was absolutely shocked when I got a call back from an actual IRS agent about 3 hours after using the service. I was able to ask about these delayed refund checks too - turns out the IRS has been working through a massive backlog of returns from 2020-2022 and is still finding discrepancies that result in refunds. The agent confirmed these checks with interest are completely normal when they discover they owe you money after the standard timeframe. Saved me at least half a day of frustration and hold music!

3 This happened to my brother last month! His check was around $850 for a 2020 return. He called the IRS and they told him it was due to an adjustment on his Earned Income Credit that they just processed. Apparently they're still catching up on millions of returns that needed manual review from the pandemic years. The interest gets added automatically by their system because legally they have to pay interest on money they've held too long. He deposited it with no issues. Just be prepared to pay taxes on the interest portion when you file next year!

22 Just FYI - if the check is real (which it sounds like it is), deposit it ASAP! Treasury checks expire after one year from the issue date. I learned this the hard way when I set aside a similar refund check and forgot about it. Had to go through a whole replacement process which was a huge headache.