Reply To: What ‘s the life cycle of an individual tax return?

[Anonymous]

IMO there must be a method to the madness. I highly doubt an agency that relies so heavily on precision can act as randomly as many of us perceive. Last year I started a thread entitled “Is there a Pattern” under the username E (I actually went by Typhoon Dragon as well but it’s a long story). Anyway, as I’ve been reading the posts here and elsewhere I realized that in order to determine if there was a pattern at all I would first have to understand what happens during the life cycle of an individual tax return. What’s actually going on between point A (the receipt of our forms at the IRS) and point B (the receipt of our refunds in our accounts)? For people to file and be accepted on the same day yet receive their refunds days or even weeks apart suggests that some returns must take more steps between points A and B than others. Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated by me and may prove to be very useful to all of us.

[Anonymous]

Just because you file before somebody doesn’t mean you’ll be processed before them. There isn’t one waiting line there’s a whole bunch of waiting lines (servers). Try to compare it to checking out at the grocery store on a super busy day. Some lines (servers) are moving way faster and smoother than others. If your return is taking way too long then you’re probably in line (server) 5 with the lady ahead of you that has 150 coupons (deductions) that disputes prices (errors) then has to fill out a check and balance her check book prior to exiting the lane (server). Basically, that’s what it’s like. You’re in one of many lines and you may or may not get out fast depending on who and how many people are ahead of you in that particular line (server).