How To Track The Status Of Your IRS Refund – Where Is My Refund?

Here is how taxpayers can determine the present status of their tax refund:

If you’re wondering about the status of your tax refund, use the Where’s My Refund? tool. You can access the tool easily either through the IRS2Go App or on IRS.gov. 

E-filed tax returns can be checked for a refund status within 24 hours.

Timing of Refunds
Where’s My Refund will send you an email when your refund is processed and approved. Most people get their tax refund within 21 days, but that timeline can change if the IRS needs to review your return for any errors.

The following are reasons that can cause a delay of your tax refund:

The return may include inaccurate information, or may be deficient.
There is suspicion that the return has been influenced by fraud or identity theft.
Most banks are not open on public holidays or weekends, and therefore won’t be able to process payments on these days.

Rest assured that it won’t slow down the processing of a 2020 tax return if you claim recovery rebate credit on it. Nonetheless, it is vital that the right amount is claimed. If adjustments are needed, the process may take slightly longer and become prolonged. If the IRS finds an error on your tax return, they’ll send you a notice with details on any changes. If the claim is successful, the tax refund will automatically include the recovery rebate credit as well. 

The IRS will get in contact with taxpayers by post if they require more data to process their assessment of their tax return.

Simple and quick refund updates

Taxpayers can track the status of their electronically-submitted return within 24 hours of its notified receipt by the IRS, or within four weeks if they filed their tax return using traditional mail. The tracking tool separates progress in three chronological categories:

1. The return has been received
2. The refund has been approved
3. The refund has been sent.

To make use of the Where’s My Refund tool, the Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number must be provided. The filing status, as well as the exact dollar amount of the refund must also be included. The IRS updates this tool once a day, so there is no need to check more often than that.

If you’re hoping to get your tax refund back quicker, calling the IRS unfortunately won’t help. This is because they have all the exact same information about your refund as is available online on Where’s My Refund? Therefore, it may be more helpful to check for yourself first instead!