Skip to content
Business Tax

IRS Provides Update on Status of Processing Quarterly Returns and Tentative Refund Forms

Thomson Reuters Tax & Accounting  

· 5 minute read

Thomson Reuters Tax & Accounting  

· 5 minute read

On a webpage, the IRS has updated the status of processing Forms 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, 941-X, Adjusted Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return or Claim for Refund, 1139, Corporation Application for Tentative Refund, and 1045, Application for Tentative Refund.

Status of processing Form 941 and Form 941-X.

The IRS is now opening mail within normal timeframes. The IRS has made significant progress in processing Forms 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return. As of May 6, 2021, it had about 200,000 Forms 941 received prior to 2021 in the processing pipeline. Including current year returns, as of May 6, 2021, the IRS had 1.9 million unprocessed 941s in the pipeline.

The IRS is rerouting tax returns and taxpayer correspondence from locations that are behind to locations where more staff is available and is taking other actions to minimize any delays. Tax returns are opened in the order received. If you filed electronically and received an acknowledgement, you do not need to take any further action other than promptly responding to any requests for information. The IRS asks that you do not file a second tax return or contact the IRS about the status of your return.

As of May 7, 2021, the IRS’s inventory of unprocessed Forms 941-X, Adjusted Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return or Claim for Refund, was approximately 100,000; these returns cannot be processed until the related 941s are processed. While not all of these returns involve a COVID credit, the inventory is being worked at two sites (Cincinnati and Ogden) that have trained staff to work possible COVID credits.

Status of filed Forms 1139 and Forms 1045.

The IRS cannot currently provide a timeframe for processing Forms 1139, Corporation Application for Tentative Refund, and Forms 1045, Application for Tentative Refund (used by individuals, estates, and trusts). Submissions are processed in the order in which they are received. The IRS merely suggests that you consider the possibility of significant additional approval time and plan for it. Do not submit duplicate claims as that will only cause more delays.

To continue your research on Form 941, see FTC 2d/FIN ¶S-2603. For Form 941-X, see FTC 2d/FIN ¶S-5533. For tentative refund claims, see FTC 2d/FIN ¶T-6501.

 

Subscribe to our Checkpoint Daily Newsstand email to get all the latest tax, accounting, and audit news delivered to your inbox each weekday. It’s free!

More answers