Tax Refund Never Came In? Good Luck (It Could Take Many Weeks) The backlog of unprocessed tax returns has resulted in delays in the distribution of refund payments by up to 6-8 weeks. This has even impacted those people who filed their 2020 returns early. The extended tax day deadline for filing 2020 tax returns has now come and gone. But for the IRS, much work remains as it continues to work through a backlog of unprocessed tax returns. This, in turn, is delaying the distribution of refunds for many Americans, including those who filed their tax returns early. This backlog is the result of a number of compounding challenges facing the IRS. In addition to working on 2020 returns, for example, the IRS has been working through a number of 2019 tax returns that the agency was unable to process last year. This was the result of the temporary shutdown of tax processing centers last summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as ongoing limited capacity at those centers even after they reopened in order to maintain social distancing requirements.