Federal taxes may be delayed

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - If you filed your taxes and are waiting on the government to give you a refund, you may have to wait even longer. This is all due to a recent software glitch.

H&R Block confirmed that a mandatory field, that's used to claim educational credits, was left blank. Tthe IRS would not say what percentage of the 600,000 returns came from H&R block.

Typically refunds are issued within 21 calendar days. But it's possible some customers may have to wait six weeks, which could become a huge inconvenience to many.

"If they have plans for the money and they're not getting it in-time, they're not going to be able to do whatever they need to do", said Nicholas Felton of Holyoke.
 
But it's not just H&R Block that has been in trouble recently. CNBC reports tax filing companies like TurboTax have been dealing with similar issues. Experts say this can be traced back to the infamous "fiscal cliff", which our country faced back in January.

"Usually we get forms the last week of January. This year, because of all the delays, there were glitches in the software and certain forms that weren't being released", explained CPA Andy Pignatare of Pignatare & Sagan in West Springfield.

To check on the status of your federal return, there's a page on the IRS' website called, "Where my refund", and it's updated every 24 hours.