But this tax season could see a repeat of last year's snarls in processing, when about 30 million taxpayers had their returns — and refunds — held up by the IRS. .

That's largely due to the IRS' sizable backlog of returns from 2021.

As of December 23, the agency had 6 million unprocessed individual returns — a significant reduction from a backlog of 30 million in May, but far higher than the 1 million unprocessed returns that is more typical around the start of tax season. .

That may make taxpayers nervous about delays in 2022, but most Americans should get their refunds within 21 days of filing, the IRS said on Monday — with some caveats. .

In the meantime, tax experts say there are some steps taxpayers can take to help ensure a quick tax refund, which is even more important this year given that the IRS is starting with a backlog.

Although some people may simply like filing paper returns — and others may have no choice — the agency says that taxpayers who file electronically are more likely to have their returns processed quickly. .

That's because the IRS relies on computers to electronically process filed returns, while paper returns must be handled by human employees.

In the early days of the pandemic, the IRS shut its offices and employees stopped opening mail — delaying processing of paper returns.

About 10 million people filed paper returns last year, or about 7% of the 148 million returns filed in 2021, according to data from the Taxpayer Advocate Service.

Tax experts urge people to join the roughly 138 million taxpayers who are already using e-filing.

About 95 million people received refunds last year, with about 87 million of them opting for direct deposit.

Most taxpayers who file electronically and choose direct deposit will get their refund within 21 days, assuming there are no problems with the return, according to the IRS.

The IRS checks its data against the figures taxpayers detail on their returns.

A major reason tax returns were delayed in 2021 was because taxpayers made mistakes in reporting their 2020 stimulus payment amounts on their returns, resulting in their tax filings getting flagged for manual review