IRS Tax Refund Status for IRS Tax Returns
Your personal IRS and/or state tax refund date can only be reported once the IRS/state has accepted and begun processing your latest income tax return(s). The IRS refund status tool shows your 2023, 2022, and 2021 Return statuses. If you filed your latest return through eFile.com, verify that your return was accepted before using the tool below to find the status of your latest tax refund.
Important: Steps to take before tracking your refund.
Where Is My IRS 2024 Tax Refund for 2023 Returns?
Start Over
Check the state tax refund status of your state return(s) after you have filed.
- If you used e-Collect and once the IRS and state agency have released your refund money, check the e-Collect refund status .
- The IRS acceptance date is not necessarily the same as the date you e-filed or submitted your return.
- Most returns will show on the IRS refund tool after being accepted within 24 - 72 hours after e-filing or four weeks after the taxpayer mailed their return.
2023 Tax Refund Status In 2024
Most federal tax refunds are issued within 21 days, but some take longer. The fastest way to get your refund is to e-file your return and use direct deposit. Taxpayers generally cannot "speed up" the process in any way; if your refund is delayed, you should not file an amendment, contact the IRS, contact a tax preparer, or order a transcript. The information that is available on the IRS refund tool is the same information that IRS telephone representative or tax preparation support agents will have access to.
How long are tax returns taking to process?
Note: your refund may be delayed as shown on the IRS status tool, but it does not necessarily mean anything is wrong with your return. The IRS states that they may review returns for various reasons and the only time something is needed of you is if they initiate contact via letter in the mail. See more refund and return statistics.
Your refund may be delayed due to:
If more than 21 days have passed on your e-filed return and/or the IRS refund status tool instructs you to take action, contact the IRS. If the tool indicates a change or an offset to the refund amount and your refund is not what you expected, there is generally a details button to select, but the IRS will also mail a notice explaining the changes.
After 45 days of filing and no refund being sent, the IRS begins accruing interest on the amount you're owed. Once you are sent the refund, interest will be included with the amount and you may get a 1099-INT next year which will need to be included with your return.
Tax Refund Delays
Here are common reasons for why your refund may be delayed:
- The return is being used to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit - both of these require additional processing times for identity verification purposes.
- The bank processing timeframe may be slower than others, perhaps due to your bank not processing on a weekend day.
- The return requires additional review, due to incompletion, errors, or identity verification.
If additional details are needed or the IRS makes an adjustment to your return, this is generally shown on the IRS refund status tool and they will issue you a notice through the mail explaining the changes and any action needed.
If your status shows that your information entered was incorrect when you are certain you have entered the right data, review that your data entered was accurate. If it is, verify that your return was accepted by signing into your eFile account or the filing website you used. See sample tax refund status messages you might see when you check your status on the IRS tool.
Your tax refund may still be processing due to these IRS delays. Taxpayers do not need to file an additional return nor tax amendment as this will not affect the rate at which the IRS processes returns and refunds. If your return is still processing, you can continue to check your status online once per day to see if it is updated by the IRS. The IRS tax refund tracker or "Where's My Refund?" tool has the latest updates.
If your return was e-filed and accepted, return here to check on the status of your IRS refund. Before the IRS can release your tax refund, your return must first be accepted by the IRS. Check your tax return acceptance status by signing in to your eFile.com account. Your tax return acceptance notice will be on the first page on the right. eFile.com sends out emails as soon as your return is accepted by the IRS and state.
If you mailed your return to the IRS, there may be further delays. The IRS processes mail in the order it is received and instructs taxpayers to not file a second return or call the IRS.
State tax refunds are processed by the state and some are quicker than others: check your state tax refund here.
Post e-Filing and Tax Refund Questions
For eFile.com users only: If the IRS has not yet accepted your return and you e-filed it via eFile.com, find out what your return status is with the IRS.
Sign into your eFile.com account and you will see the status of your tax return on the first page (pending, accepted, or rejected). If rejected, you will find instructions on how to make the correction and re-efile your return for no additional charge.
Direct Bank Refund Deposit
If you selected during the
e-file checkout process to receive your expected tax refund in your bank account via direct bank deposit, your refund will be electronically transferred from the IRS (U.S. Treasury) to the bank account you entered during your checkout and e-file online process on eFile.com. This is the fastest way to get your refund.
Deposit to Third Party App
If you elected to receive your refund via direct deposit to a third-party money sending app, like Venmo or PayPal, the IRS will send your refund to the account you provided during the eFile.com checkout process. This, like direct deposit, is the fastest way to receive your refund and may even be faster.
The Refund Date Estimator Tool allows you to estimate your tax refund date based on your personal refund transfer method. You can use this tool prior to e-filing or after you e-filed or submitted your tax return. Keep in mind, once the IRS has accepted your return, the above "Where's My Tax Refund?" IRS tool is the more accurate way to check your status.
Refund Delay due to Security Checks
Estimated tax refund dates are based on the IRS acceptance date and are not guaranteed by eFile.com, the IRS, or any other online platform. Depending on IRS security procedures, the tax refund date could take up to 21 days after the IRS tax return acceptance date or as early as 7 days via the bank direct deposit method. Security Delays: Since the IRS has added security measures for e-filing taxes to decrease tax fraud, your tax refund may be delayed. The IRS requires online tax websites to add identity verification steps to ensure that the taxpayer filing their return is exactly who they say they are (i.e. security questions/answers, stronger passwords, etc.). As a result of these new security measures, the IRS may issue more refunds as paper checks, even if taxpayers requested direct deposit.
Tax Refund Offset Program
Your refund may have been adjusted or offset by the Treasury Offset Program (TOP). The program is run by the Financial Management Services (FMS). Under TOP, various federal and state government agencies are authorized to seize outstanding federal or state debts from federal tax refunds. The FMS may offset part or all of your federal tax refund to pay: Unpaid child support, federal non-tax debts (including student loan repayments), state income tax debts, state unemployment compensation debts, etc. An offset for non-tax debts occurs after the IRS verified your refund to FMS for payment, but before FMS direct deposits the refund or mails a paper check to you. Though an offset reduces the amount of your expected refund via direct deposit or check, it does not delay the time you will receive the remaining refund (if any) after the offset. You will receive a notice from FMS via mail. The notice will list the original refund and offset amounts. It will also include the agency that received the offset payment and their contact information: You can call the Treasury Offset Program Call Center at (800) 304-3107.
If you e-filed or filed a joint tax return, you may be entitled to part or all of the refund offset. This rule applies if your spouse is mainly responsible for the debt. Be sure to eFile Form 8379,
Injured Spouse Allocation, with your return to request your part of the refund. See also:
Innocent Spouse Relief.
Tax Debt
If you have non-tax debts, you can contact the agency you owe. That way, you can determine if the agency submitted your debts to TOP for refund offset. You will need to contact the agency that received the offset part of your refund, not the IRS or FMS. The notice will include instructions on how to contact the appropriate agency or agencies.
Refund Delay due to
Tax AmendmentIf you filed or e-filed a tax amendment, generally you should wait 10-12 weeks before checking your
amended tax return status. The IRS online "Where's My Refund?" service does not keep track of amendment refunds, but you can click on the
Check Tax Amendment Status button from the above linked amendment page. This online tool provides the status of amended tax returns for the current year and up to three prior years. You can also call the IRS amended return hotline at
1-866-464-2050.
Amended returns may take up to 16 weeks (or 4 months) for the IRS to process, so you should wait at least 10-12 weeks before checking on the status of your tax refund. If it has been over 16 weeks since you filed your amendment and you have not received your refund, you should call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 and speak to a customer service representative. Here's a tip for when you call: Press 1 (for English), press 0 (zero), press 0 (zero), and you should be able to talk to a live person at the IRS. The best time to reach the IRS is between 7-9 AM and 6-7 PM, Monday-Friday.
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