2020 return not refunded (paper form)

Hi all,

I'm not getting very far with advice on this topic, so appreciate any help.

I filed back in end Feb 2020, paper forms as I have struggled to use e-file before with complex overseas filing. I sent it by signed delivery, and I know the IRS have received and processed it, as I rung up in June and they found it on the system.

However, when I mentioned that I guess I would expect my refund in due course, the IRS agent was confused and said she saw no refund. I explained I should receive a refund based on Schedule 8/additional child tax credit, and she said the form she was looking at did not show a refund. I made the electronically and signed wet ink, so checked and it is all correct from my end. She had asked me to fax it across, which I did later that day (who uses fax?!) but heard nothing since.

Every time I have tried to get in touch, the IRS are too busy to answer the international line. This info also made me realise why the IRS app for checking progress on my return wasn't working, as I was putting in a refund amount I thought I was due. When I put that amount in as "$1", it showed that the form had been processes in April.

Any advice what to do? I'm due $2800 from them from my calculation, and it is nearly 2021 and it seems impossible to get in touch with them and when I have they are utterly useless. Is it worth resubmitting electronically or is that ill-advised?

Many thanks for any help.

Not knowing what you filed, I would suggest that there could be two problems.
1) If you file, Married Filing Separately, you are not eligible for many credits.
2) If you claim foreign earned income exclusion, you can't claim the additional child tax credit.

Hi there, thanks for your reply!

In answer to your questions:
1) Filed MFJ (both dual UK/US citizens with children both dual citizens too)
2) I do not use FEIE - I use FTCs (1116)

In addition, this is how I have filed the past few years and my circumstances haven't changed, I have always received my CTC refund from Schedule 8. Also, when I spoke with the agent on the phone the one time I managed to get through, she claimed the form she was looking at for my filed return with them didn't have a refund on it nor did it have anything for the child tax credit line, which differs to mine. I faxed as per her request my copy, but this was 6 months ago and heard nothing.

Many thanks!

Have you contacted the Taxpayer Advocate Service? On page 3 of form 911 you'll find the fax number or mailing address for overseas filers. On the first link below, scroll down to find a phone number, but it is not toll free.

https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/contact-us/

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f911.pdf

You may wish to mention the inability of expat filers to resolve such issues as yours.

Thanks OAP! No I have not - I was not aware of this. Will try to contact them.

It is funny isn't it, if we are late with our payments or get something wrong we will get charged interest and penalised. Yet if the IRS get it wrong or drag their heels on a refund...!

Happy new year!

UPDATE: I finally got through to the IRS!

I have had a mixture of helpful and unhelpful agents.  The first agent was extremely helpful, and she said that if I have a different result to what the IRS has, and the IRS changed/adjusted my return, they should have sent me a notification (CP11 letter). I have not received anything. As I have a different result for line 28 (1040) as they have, I would either submit an amendment or re-submit, however she wasn't sure which (amendment would be much longer). She said Tax Law (division of IRS) should be able to help me, so she transferred me to them. I got straight through, however the lady on the phone painstakingly went through all my numbers asking me to give them to her to see if I was eligible for the ACTC. I had done all of these and I know I am, and she got confused throughout, but then came to the conclusion that I was eligible and my calculations were correct. When I tried to get her to give me the advice the original Agent said Tax Law could give, she couldn't and said I should be transferred back to the main IRS to see if they did have on record sending me a CP11 letter.

After all this, I got through to an extremely helpful gentleman, who said he could see what the problem was. The IRS had amended line 28 to "0" on my 1040 but I had still claimed $2800 on my refund lines. He went into form 8812 and could see it was "damaged" hence he believes this is why they changed it to 0 because there was no evidence for the $2800 claim (intact form 8812). He said the IRS should have sent a letter if it was damaged like that so from his perspective this was not correct procedure.

As it was end of year and systems were down for update, he said I should ring back from Mon 3rd Jan and get an agent to update my 1040 and 8812 with me faxing the forms to them. He said they should be able to do it then and I shouldn't take no for an answer, because they each have a personal fax number.

Now I am on the phone waiting for a free agent, with an online fax service at the ready. Finger's crossed....

Thanks for all the responses, and happy new year all.

UPDATE: I had to really push the agent I got today to accept a personal fax, which he eventually did. It really is hit and miss as to the quality of the agent you get. This one was claiming I was sent refunds for a different amount however these were sent before my 2020 tax return went in so were stimulus payments! I could not have been clearer this was to do with my 2020 return.

In the end, he said after I faxed the forms in that I would have to mail them in with a covering letter explaining why I am re-submitting the 8812.

Will see where that gets me. Anyway, hopefully some of this is useful to anyone else who might get in a similar situation in the future!

Thanks for the running commentary, and good luck in your endeavors