It surely has been the year of multitasking for the Internal Revenue Service.

From coronavirus stimulus checks and tax refunds to child tax credits and unemployment benefit refunds, the agency continues to take on more responsibilities as it tries to fast-track millions of other payments that need to be sent out to eligible Americans.

Therefore, it is not surprising to see that the tax agency is struggling to quickly send out this year’s tax refunds, which, like the stimulus checks, are desperately needed by many Americans to keep financially afloat.

According to recent reports, the average wait time for a tax refund has been roughly six weeks to eight weeks—which is far longer than the typical wait time of three weeks or less. Further delaying the refunds is the fact that the IRS is holding nearly thirty million tax returns for manual processing, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate, an independent arm of the tax agency that looks out for interests of consumers.

Do take note that the May 17 Tax Day deadline has already passed, but non-filers can still apply for an extension and file by the October 15 tax filing extension deadline. Know that filing a return can expedite other government-issued funds as well.

“Although (stimulus) payments are automatic for most people, the IRS continues to urge people who don’t normally file a tax return and haven’t received Economic Impact Payments to file a 2020 tax return to get all the benefits they’re entitled to under the law, including tax credits such as the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit, the Child Tax Credit, and the Earned Income Tax Credit,” the IRS stated.

For those who have already filed their tax returns, keep in mind that there are a couple of handy ways to track the refunds.

First is the IRS tool Where’s My Refund—just enter the necessary personal information on the portal and that should eventually take the taxpayer to a page that shows the status of the tax refund. If there are any problems, the individual may be asked to verify their personal information and try again.

There is also a mobile app called IRS2Go that can quickly check the status of tax refunds. The IRS updates the data in this tool about every twenty-four hours, so taxpayers can be confident knowing that they are seeing the most up-to-date information regarding their refunds.

As for when to call the IRS, make that a last-resort option. But do consider that route if at least three weeks have passed since the filing of taxes or the Where’s My Refund tool says to contact the IRS. Whatever the case, do not file a second tax return.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Minneapolis-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.