INDIANAPOLIS— You should have received your W-2 from your employer by now, and that means it’s time to get started on filing your 2021 taxes.
For years, WRTV Investigates has been telling you about backlogs at the IRS.
A new report from the National Taxpayer Advocate says the IRS will be starting the 2023 filing season in much better shape than the last two years.
The IRS began 2022 with an unprocessed paper backlog of 4.7 million original individual returns.
But by Dec. 23, the IRS had further reduced its unprocessed paper backlog of original individual returns to about 400,000, the report said.
In this week’s Tax Tip Tuesday, WRTV investigates is looking into how you can get your money faster.
First of all, prepare your taxes electronically using IRS Free File or other software.
This is always faster than mailing in your paper tax forms.
RELATED: Tax Tip Tuesday: Use IRS Free File to do your taxes for free
Second, select direct deposit.
This is quicker than asking the IRS to send you a paper check.
Just doing those two things should get you your tax refund within 21 days, according to the IRS.
“If you do a paper return, processing for a paper return generally takes 6-12 weeks to get the return processed and then 6-8 weeks to the check actually mailed,” said Stacy Engle, a spokesperson for the IRS based in Indianapolis.
80% of taxpayers use direct deposit, plus iT avoids the possibility that your refund check could get lost, stolen or returned to the IRS as undeliverable.
Direct deposit also saves taxpayer money.
It costs more than $1 for every paper refund issued, but only a dime for each direct deposit, according to the IRS.
MORE:IRS warns Indiana taxpayers of tax scams as season begins | Indiana taxpayers could see smaller refunds this tax season
