With the two-year anniversary of my father’s death approaching, I didn’t expect to be thinking about his tax refund.
But as the executor of Dad’s estate, I’ve spent a surprising amount of time trying to track down his refund for 2023. What I’ve learned through the process: Such delays are common for people sorting the estates of loved ones, but there are ways others can avoid the saga I’ve been going through.
My father’s missing $686 tax refund is now the only thing preventing me from settling his estate. It’s been 19 months since I filed the return claiming the refund.
Despite the fact that interest is now accruing on the delayed refund at a 7% rate, the situation is creating some financial pain for me and my three siblings.
That’s because I told the Internal Revenue Service to direct deposit the refund into a bank account that requires a $30,000 balance to avoid a $15 monthly service fee. I had held off on distributing that last $30,000 piece of dad’s estate so we wouldn’t incur the fee, figuring the money would be freed up soon when the refund arrived.
But the money is still in the bank, earning next to no interest. My siblings, meanwhile, could use their share for college tuition for their children.
My anxiety over the situation is starting to remind me of my father’s anxiety over his finances, which intensified as he got older and my parents’ spending rose because of health-related needs. (I’m with you, Dad!) Dad loved getting tax refunds, and the missing $686 would have really stressed him out.
A common problem
One comfort—if it can be called that—is that I am far from the only one going through this.
From January 2021 through July 2024, the IRS manually processed more than 600,000 refunds for deceased taxpayers. On average, it took 444 calendar days to issue these refunds, according to a report last year by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, or Tigta.
That compares with a 21-day wait for taxpayers who file electronically.
For some beneficiaries, including surviving spouses, delayed refunds can cause financial hardship and compound the anguish of losing a loved one.
“Ultimately, these delays deprive families of closure,” said National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins, whose organization helps taxpayers resolve problems with the agency.
My problem dates to 2024, when I filed Dad’s 2023 tax return.
Because Dad had died, the IRS asked for an extra document: Form 1310, which tells it where to send a refund.
That form wasn’t needed when my mother died in 2020, since my dad was on their joint return. But after his death, the IRS needed instructions.
At the time, Form 1310s were often required to be filed on paper, which triggers a manual verification process and the routing of documents “across multiple, disconnected processing streams,” Collins explained in an email.
In recent months, the IRS has streamlined the refund process for deceased taxpayers, making it possible to e-file a Form 1310 along with a 1040. But if you’re filing a 1310 alone, you still have to mail it.
In April 2025, nine months after I filed Dad’s return, the IRS asked me for another Form 1310. As the agency requested, I attached my court-issued certificate of appointment as executor.
Technically, court-appointed representatives can skip the 1310 if they attach a copy of their court certificate to the return when they file it, said Phyllis Jo Kubey, an enrolled agent, a tax specialist who represents taxpayers before the IRS. But the IRS routinely asks for both, she added.
Two months later, the IRS wrote to say it would send the $686 refund by the end of last summer.
Problem solved! Or so I thought.
Avoiding a similar fate
One error I made was mailing the 1310s, since mail generally takes three weeks to get to an IRS employee’s mailbox, according to the Tigta report.
I should have listened to Dad’s accountant, who urged me to fax the forms. Around this past Christmas, I got a check from the IRS for $54.39. It was our dad’s 2024 refund for $52, 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’s My Refund” at irs.gov. It said the return was being processed but didn’t say when to expect the money.
Kubey said I should have called the IRS’s customer-service number months ago. She told me to ask if there’s “anything we can do to expedite this?” That’s code, she said, for “please nudge the person handling my case.”
So I got on the phone. I spent an hour on hold, before hanging up for a work call. A few days later, I got through to a human! But the news wasn’t good: The refund request had been sent to the wrong department and I’d have to file another 1310 to reopen the case.
“I apologize that you’re going through this,” the representative said, which was nice but OMG.
I began contemplating next steps, including filing a Form 911 requesting help from the Taxpayer Advocate Service or calling Dad’s congressional representative.
Then, I heard from our accountant, who had also called the IRS. The representative she spoke with reopened Dad’s case and said we should expect to see the refund within 60 days.
I’m hopeful, but not holding my breath.
Write to Anne Tergesen at anne.tergesen@wsj.com