Filing Electronic if no refund for paper return filed on 2-22-22

According to Wilson snipped-for-privacy@nearyou.com:

I would suggest setting up an IRS online account if you don't have one yet and checking your tax transcript. That will tell you if the IRS has processed your form yet.

A similar question was asked here a day or two ago, and the answer was: it's a bad idea to file two tax returns.

I don't understand why people are still filing paper returns and then are surprised when they don't get their refund promptly. The IRS's backlog in handling paper has been fairly well publicized.

One thing you _can_ do is create an online account, here:

you will at least be able to find out if your return has gone through the first steps of processing.

Or you could go through Where's My Refund:

The other thing you can do now, _especially_ if you're planning to file a paper return next year, is adjust your withholding (or estimated tax payments for the next three quarters so that you receive only a small refund, one you won't mind waiting for, or so that you owe a small amount.

But really, why not plan to file electronically? You can file for free next year using IRS Free File:

if your income is too high to qualify for Free File (adjusted gross income above $73,000), then a paid tax preparer isn't going to cost you a significant part of your income, and they'll be able to file electronically.

I feel no obligation to assist IRS. Even before the shut down, they took

6 to 9 months to answer correspondence. I've got returns sitting unprocessed and they can take as long as they are going to to process anything I might file in future.

One anecdote: A paper return for 2020 that the IRS received on October

14, 2021 (a timely return due to an extension) was recently processed and has a process date shown on the IRS transcript of June 6, 2022 (almost 2 weeks in the future - ???). Anyone filing a routine paper return shouldn't really expect it will be processed in less than 6-8 months and should plan on being patient.