As the two-year anniversary of my father’s death approaches, I never expected to worry about his tax refund.
Ann Tergesen, left with her siblings and parents.But as executor of Dad’s estate, I spent a surprising amount of time trying to track down his refund for 2023. What I’ve learned through this process: Such delays are common for people sorting through loved ones’ possessions, but the story I’m going through can be avoided by others.
My father’s missing $686 tax refund is now the only thing preventing me from settling his estate. It has been 19 months since I filed the return claiming the refund.
Despite now accruing interest at 7% on delayed refunds, the situation is creating some financial pain for me and my three siblings.
This is because I asked the Internal Revenue Service to direct deposit the refund into a bank account that requires a $30,000 balance to avoid the $15 monthly service fee. I stopped disbursing that last $30,000 piece of Dad’s estate so we wouldn’t have to charge fees, the money would be released soon after it came back.
But the money is still in the bank, earning no interest. My siblings, meanwhile, can use their share for college tuition for their children.
My anxiety about the situation began to remind me of my father’s worries about his finances, which intensified as he got older and my parents’ expenses increased due to health-related needs. (I’m with you, Dad!) Dad would have loved to get a tax refund, and the missing $686 really stressed him out.
A common problemOne consolation—if it can be called that—is that I’m the only one far from it.
From January 2021 to July 2024, the IRS manually processed more than 600,000 returns for deceased taxpayers. According to a report last year by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, or TIGA, it took an average of 444 calendar days to issue these refunds.
This compares to a 21-day wait for taxpayers filing electronically.
For some beneficiaries, including surviving spouses, delayed refunds can cause financial hardship and exacerbate the pain of losing a loved one.
“Ultimately, this delay deprives families of closure,” said National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins, whose firm helps taxpayers resolve issues with the agency.
My problem is in 2024, when I file dad’s 2023 tax return.
Because the father died, the IRS asked for an additional document: Form 1310, which tells where to send it back.
This form was not required when my mother died in 2020, as my father was on their joint return. But the IRS needed instructions after his death.
At the time, Form 1310s were often required to be filed on paper, which triggered a manual verification process and routing of documents “across multiple, disconnected processing streams,” Collins explained in an email.
In recent months, the IRS has simplified the refund process for deceased taxpayers, making it possible to e-file a Form 1310 along with the 1040. But if you file a 1310 alone, you still need to mail it
In April 2025, nine months after I filed Dad’s return, the IRS asked me for another Form 1310. As requested by the agency, I have attached my court issued certificate as executor.
Technically, court-appointed representatives can avoid 1310 if they attach a copy of their court certificate to the return when they file it, says Phyllis Jo Kube, an enrolled agent, a tax expert who represents taxpayers before the IRS. But the IRS routinely asks for both, he adds.
Two months later, the IRS wrote that it would send a $686 refund at the end of last summer.
Problem solved! Or so I thought.
avoid a similar fateMailing in the 1310s was an error, since mail typically took three weeks to reach an IRS employee’s mailbox, according to the Tigta report.
I should have listened to my father’s accountant, who asked me to fax the forms. Around this past Christmas, I received a check from the IRS for $54.39. It was our father’s refund of $52 in 2024, with interest tacked on.
“It’s a Christmas miracle,” I texted my siblings.
But where was the $686?
I plugged dad’s social security number into “where is my refund” at irs.gov. It said returns were being processed but did not say when the money would be expected.
“I should have called the IRS’s customer-service number months ago,” Kube said. He told me to ask “is there anything we can do to speed it up?” It’s code, he said, “Please let the person handling my case know.”
So I picked up the phone. I spent an hour on hold before hanging up for a work call. A few days later, I was through a man! But the news wasn’t good: the refund request was sent to the wrong department and the case I need to file another 1310 to reopen.
“I’m sorry you’re going through this,” the rep said, which was nice but OMG.
I began thinking about next steps, including filing a Form 911 or calling Dad’s congressional representative, requesting help from the Taxpayer Advocate Service.
Then, I heard from our accountant, who also called the IRS. The rep she spoke with said dad’s case was reopened and said we should expect a refund within 60 days.
I’m hopeful, but not holding my breath.
Write to Anne Tergesen anne.tergesen@wsj.com
