This online tool helps taxpayers track their refund
Tax Tip 2023-53
April 19, 2023
After filing a return, taxpayers due a refund are usually eager for that money to hit their bank account. They can check the status of their refund easily and conveniently with the IRS “Where’s My Refund?” tool at IRS.gov/refunds and with the IRS2Go app. Refund status is available within 24 hours of the IRS letting the taxpayer know that they got the e-filed return. The tool also gives the taxpayer a personalized refund date after the IRS processes the return and approves the refund.
To use the tool, taxpayers need their:
- Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification number
- Filing status
- Exact amount of the refund claimed on their tax return
The tool shows three statuses:
- Return received
- Refund approved
- Refund sent
When the status changes to “refund approved,” the IRS is preparing to send the refund, either as a direct deposit to the taxpayer’s bank account or directly to the taxpayer by check in the mail to the address on their tax return.
Taxpayers don’t need to check the status more than once a day. The IRS updates the Where’s My Refund? overnight in most cases. Calling the IRS won’t speed up a tax refund. The information available on Where’s My Refund? is the same information available to IRS telephone assistors. Taxpayers should allow time for their bank or credit union to post the refund to their account or for it to arrive in the mail.
Refund timing
The IRS issues most refunds in fewer than 21 days. Some tax returns require more time to review, and this can delay a refund. It takes longer to process a return if the taxpayer:
- Filed their return on paper.
- Is expecting a refund from an amended return. Find processing times of amended returns with “Where’s My Amended Return?”
- Filed an injured spouse
- Attached an ITIN application to their refund claim. Taxpayers can review Topic No. 857, Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, for details.
- Filed a Form 1040-NR to request a refund of tax withheld on a Form 1042-S. In this case, it can take up to 6 months from the original due date of the 1040-NR return or the date they filed the 1040-NR, whichever is later, to get any refund due.
More information:
Topic No. 152, Refund Information
