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How to check the status of your tax refund

The Where’s My Refund? tool makes tracking the progress of a tax refund quick and easy. It can be accessed at any time by visiting IRS.gov or downloading the IRS2Go App. After the return is completed and a refund is approved the Where’s My Refund? tool will give you an estimated date for when the money will be deposited into your bank account or sent by mail. Although the majority of tax refunds are processed within 21 days, some may take longer if the return requires additional review.

A tax refund may take longer for a number of reasons, including:

  • The return may include errors or be incomplete.
  • Fraud or identity theft may have an impact on the return.
  • The return includes a claim for Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit or Recovery Rebate Credit.
  • The time between the IRS issuing the refund and the bank posting it to an account because many banks do not handle payments on weekends or holidays.
  • IRS staffing shortages and a backlog of tax returns

The good news is that if your tax refund is delayed, the IRS will be required to pay you interest. By law, the IRS has 45 days to process returns and issue refunds. If your refund isn’t issued within 45 days of accepting tax return, then the IRS must pay interest on the amount owed. Beginning July 1, 2022, the underpayment interest rate will increase to 5% and to 7% for large corporate underpayments.

If further information is required to process the return, the IRS will get in touch with you via mail. It should be noted that getting in touch with the IRS won’t speed up the processing of your tax return. The information available on Where’s My Refund? is the same information that IRS phone representatives can offer.If you have difficulty accessing online resources, you may contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1954 or 1-800-839-4477 to obtain information about your refund.

When is my tax refund information available?

You can start checking on the status of your return within 24 hours after the IRS acknowledges receipt of an electronically filed return or four weeks after a mailed paper return. Additionally, the IRS recently announced a new feature that enables taxpayers to check the status of their refunds from the previous two tax years as well as the current tax year.

The tool’s tracker displays progress in three phases:

  • Return received (the IRS has your return and is processing it)
  • Refund approved (the IRS has processed and approved your return)
  • Refund sent (the IRS has sent the refund to your financial institution for direct deposit or mailed a check)

How do I check my refund status?

The IRS requires that you have some information from your tax return to check your refund status. You’ll need the following information from it:

  • Your Social Security number, which you include at the top of your tax return.
  • Your filing status, which can be found near the top of the first page of your tax form.
  • Your tax refund amount, as stated at the bottom of your tax return.

How do I check my refund status for my amended return?

The “Where’s My Refund” tool does not provide refund information for an amended federal income tax return on Form 1040X. However, you can track the status of an amended return for the current tax year and up to three past tax years using the IRS “Where’s My Amended Return?” tool.

To use this tool, you’ll need to enter your Social Security number, birth date, and zip code. An amended return may take up to four weeks to appear in the portal after you’ve mailed it. Normally, amending a return takes up to 16 weeks, but due to COVID-related processing delays, it’s been taking the IRS more than 20 weeks. If your amended return has been received, changed, or finalized, use the “Where’s My Amended Return” feature to find out.

Your amended return will go through three steps while being processed, just like it did with the “Where’s My Return?” tool:

  • Return received (Your amended return has been received and is being processed.)
  • Return adjusted (The term “adjusted” refers to a change in your account by the IRS. A refund, a debt due, or no tax change will result from the adjustment.)
  • Return completed (The IRS has processed your return and mailed you all relevant information.)

Where can I check the status of my state tax refund?

Most states now allow you to check the status of your state tax refund online. The following are links to each state’s online tax status portal:

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