{"id":1144,"date":"2017-02-15T14:29:00","date_gmt":"2017-02-15T14:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/statement_refunds\/"},"modified":"2021-02-26T06:00:21","modified_gmt":"2021-02-26T06:00:21","slug":"statement_refunds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/statement_refunds\/","title":{"rendered":"Individual tax filings down in January; Consumers warned to beware of fraudsters taking advantage of processing delays – National Consumers League"},"content":{"rendered":"

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February 15, 2017<\/p>\n

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Contact: Cindy Hoang, NCL,\u00a0cindyh@nclnet.org<\/a>, (202) 207-2832<\/p>\n

Washington, DC\u2014Beginning this year, a new law required the IRS to delay issuing refunds for certain taxpayers claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit. Starting\u00a0tomorrow\u00a0(February 15), the IRS will begin issuing refunds for those consumers impacted, but has\u00a0warned consumers\u00a0that they should not count on seeing their refund until the week of\u00a0February 27.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This delay is believed to be responsible for a\u00a078 percent drop in refund amounts\u00a0compared to this time last year, leaving many asking: where\u2019s my refund?<\/p>\n

The following statement is attributable to John Breyault, Vice President Public Policy, Telecommunications, and Fraud at the National Consumers League.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year\u2019s delay may be why the IRS is seeing a significant decrease in the number of people filing returns as compared to this point on the calendar in previous years. Though the IRS will begin issuing refunds for Earned Income Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit recipients starting today, it is important that filers know that, due to processing times, taxpayers may not receive their refund for another two weeks. A tax refund can account for as much as 30 percent of working families\u2019 annual incomes. Thus, any delay in getting a refund can be a significant source of stress and, potentially, an opportunity for fraudsters or others to take advantage of consumers\u2019 short-term cash crunch. If you are worried about the status of your refund, the best way to check is by visiting\u00a0irs.gov\/refunds<\/a>\u00a0or by using the IRS2Go smartphone app. While this won\u2019t speed up the arrival of a refund check, it can help consumers better plan for any cash shortfall a refund delay causes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Background<\/strong><\/p>\n