Where's my refund? IRS has an app for that
Not content to simply appear on YouTube, the IRS has created a smartphone app.
You've found the perfect pair of shoes but aren't sure you can afford them. You're waiting for your tax refund to show up in your account before you use your debit card.
No worries! Whip out your smartphone, click on the new IRS2Go app to find out the exact status of your refund.
Yep, the IRS is the hot, happening, technology embracing federal agency.
Really!
IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman announced today that the agency has its own smartphone app, free in both iPhone and Android iterations.
With IRS2Go you can check on the status of your refund usually around 72 hours after you get the e-mail from the IRS that it received your e-filed tax return.
If you snail mailed your 1040, you'll have to wait a bit longer. It will take around three to four weeks before IRS2Go can tell you where in the processing pipeline your tax return is.
Same search, difference device
The app works just like the popular online Where's My Refund? search engine.
You enter your Social Security number (encrypted, of course, for security), pick the filing status you entered on your return and enter the amount of money you're expecting as a refund.
Voila! You'll find out whether you can purchase the shoes or have to wait a little longer.
According to the tax commissioner, this is just the latest communications advance by the IRS, which already is on Twitter and YouTube. (Here's the IRS video on IRS2Go.)
"This phone app is a first step for us," said Shulman. "We will look for additional ways to expand and refine our use of smartphones and other new technologies to help
meet the needs of taxpayers."
As I noted when I mentioned the burgeoning tax app sector in a blog post this past weekend, it definitely is time for me to finally get a smartphone.
More from Don't Mess with Taxes and MSN Money:
Hmmm if you are waiting for your IRS tax refund to buy a pair of shoes you would probably be better off not having the expense of a smart phone and learn to save money instead of wasting it by a) having a smart phone you can not afford and b) giving the Federal Government an interest free loan for the year. Redo your W4 form so you can have some money right away.
Plus why is the government wasting time on things like this app when major structure problems are still going on in our economy. Like a) record high trade deficits -- solution build more manufacturing so we do not have to import things and perhaps make things people want like we use to b) record high national deficits -- solution quit paying for things that are not important and have government concentrate on things that are like bad drugs and food that kill over 10,000 Americans every year c) fact that since before WWII we have never paid off any of our bills and have run a deficit all this time (even those times when it looked like we had a surplus we were still running a deficit as they merely played with the money to give Clinton a couple of surpluses yet they had to balance the budget with extra S.S. payments.
No wonder we are going down fast. Real problems just keep not being solved and Bernanke keeps printing money to cover the fact that we are broke and can not pay our debts.
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