Is your income tax return still pending? The IRS may have to pay you interest
Every year, when the income tax campaign ends, many people find themselves in the same situation: they filed their tax return with a refund, time has passed and the Treasury has still not paid them the money. What many people do not know is that, when the Administration delays more than allowed, the taxpayer may be entitled to charge interest in addition to the pending refund.
The regulations establish that the Tax Agency has a period of six months from the end of the campaign to make the payment of the refunds. If this period is exceeded, the Treasury enters into a situation of delay and must pay late payment interest automatically, without the need for the taxpayer to expressly request it. However, this does not mean that all cases are the same or that delays always occur for the same reasons.
In practice, refunds that do not arrive are usually linked to more detailed checks by the Tax Agency. These may be reviews of deductions applied, information contrasts with other administrations, doubts about rentals, real estate sales, transactions with cryptocurrencies or discrepancies between the initial tax data and those declared by the taxpayer. It is also common for those rectified returns that the citizen himself has modified after receiving notices or notifications to be delayed.
Therefore, when a return takes too long, it is not advisable to simply wait indefinitely, but to check what is really happening with the file. It is advisable to review the return, make sure that there are no pending notifications and verify whether the Tax Authorities have initiated any verification procedure or whether the delay is already generating the right to interest.
In our firm we frequently intervene in cases of taxpayers who have been waiting for months without a clear explanation, people who have received requirements and do not know how to respond or situations in which the expected refund finally becomes a different result than expected. In these cases we review whether the Treasury is acting correctly, whether the calculations are well done, whether it is appropriate to claim additional interest and, when necessary, we present allegations or appeals to defend the taxpayer’s rights.
If you are still waiting for your income tax refund, if you have received a communication that you do not understand or if you suspect that you have not been paid everything that corresponds to you, at Martínez Caballero Abogados we can help you. We analyze your situation, we explain clearly what is happening and we accompany you throughout the process so that you do not lose money or rights against the Administration.
DIANA CABALLERO AGUIRRE
CEO – Founding Partner
M&CAbogados
