BankRate.com, said the IRS will be paying interest of 5% for refunds that are delayed.“The IRS is paying interest on refunds that have been delayed because of the pandemic,” McBride said. ”The interest they’re paying is better than what we can earn in a savings account, so if there is a silver lining to that dark cloud, that could be it.”The National Tax Payer Advocate, Erin Collins, told Congress the IRS backlog for paper tax returns was a staggering 4.7 million by mid-May and that figure did not include E-file tax returns.If you have an IRS or unemployment issue email us: [email protected] check your tax refund status, click here..