Your tax refund could come later or be a different amount than expected. Here’s why

With the 2022 tax filing deadline approaching on April 18, many Americans are wondering when they will receive their refund and why it might be lower than last year’s.

Changes to the Child Tax Credit could explain why some families might receive a smaller refund this year, Lisa Greene-Lewis, a certified public accountant with TurboTax, told McClatchy News.

But others may be surprised to see a heftier refund than expected.

Will refunds be smaller than last year?

As part of his American Rescue Plan signed into law last March, President Joe Biden increased the amount eligible families could receive per child through the Child Tax Credit — up to $3,600 per child over the course of a year, an increase from the previous $2,000 credit.

This also marked the first time families could receive half of their total credit in advanced, direct payments. The second half of the sum could then be claimed when parents filed their taxes.

So, even though the credit increased overall, some families can expect to be left with a smaller sum to claim in their annual filing.

Toby Mathis, a founding partner of Anderson Law Group, predicted to CBS News in January that “a lot of people will get their refunds and won’t get as much as anticipated.”

“The people it’ll hurt are those who are anticipating the full amount, unaware that the money they got [in 2021] was a prepayment of the tax credit,” he said.

But even though some Americans may see a smaller refund this year, on average, refunds are higher than they were last year.

According to IRS statistics for the week ending March 11, the average refund in 2022 is $3,352, while last year Americans got an average of $2,967 back from the IRS. That’s a 13% increase on average.

But this number could change as more Americans file their taxes over course of the next few weeks, Greene-Lewis said.

Some other factors could point to higher refunds for some taxpayers, including an increase in the Child and Dependent Care Credit and an expansion in the eligibility requirements for the Earned Income Tax Credit, she said.

Some Americans may also be eligible for the Recovery Rebate Credit, which allows those who are missing stimulus payments or didn’t receive everything they were eligible for to claim more on their taxes.

“All those really boost your refund,” Greene-Lewis said.

Why your tax refund might be taking longer than usual

While most taxpayers who file electronically and select direct deposit will receive their refund within 21 days, certain types of returns can take longer to process.

If the return has errors, is incomplete, or is identified as being affected by identity fraud, tax agents may need to conduct a manual review, according to the IRS.

Also, if taxpayers didn’t report the correct amount of money they received in stimulus funds or in advanced Child Tax Credit payments, the IRS may need to make adjustments to their returns, Greene-Lewis said.

Greene-Lewis reminded taxpayers that the fastest way to receive a refund is to file electronically and select direct deposit.

She also cautioned filers to be careful not to make errors when doing their returns, particularly when reporting how much they received in advanced child tax credit and stimulus payments.

“I suggest that people have two letters in front of them,” she said. “Letter 6419 that reports the amount of advanced child tax payment you received and Letter 6475 that reports the amount of stimulus.”

This story was originally published March 24, 2022 at 3:51 PM with the headline "Your tax refund could come later or be a different amount than expected. Here’s why."