Where’s My Tax Refund?

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The IRS officially opened for the 2014 tax season today and a common question asked around this time is “Where’s My Refund?”

Many taxpayers also have questions about how the process of getting tax refunds and refund timing works.

We know you work hard for your money and wanted to answer some of the most common questions we see about the issuance of tax refunds.

Here is a breakdown of how your tax return will progress through 3 stages with the IRS -“Return Received”, “Return Approved”, and “Refund Sent” once you e-file and where you can go to check your refund status so you understand “Where’s My Refund?”:

Refund Process

  1. Start checking status 24 – 48 hours after e-fileOnce you e-file with direct deposit, you can start checking the status of your return 24 – 48 hours after you e-file on the IRS Where’s My Refund tool.
  2. Return Received Notice within 24 – 48 hours after e-file – The IRS Where’s My Refund tool will show “Return Received” status once they begin processing your tax return.  You will not see a refund date until the IRS finishes processing your tax return and approves your tax refund.
  3. Status change from “Return Received” to “Refund Approved” – Once the IRS finishes processing your tax return and confirms your tax refund is approved, your status will change from “Return Received” to “Refund Approved”.  Sometimes the change in status can take a few days, but it could take longer and a date will not be provided in Where’s My Refund? until your tax return is processed and your tax refund is approved.
  4. Where’s My Refund? tool shows refund date – The IRS will provide an actual refund date once your status moves to “Refund Approved”.  The IRS issues more than 9 out of 10 refunds in 21 days or less.
  5. Where’s My Refund? shows “Refund Sent” – You’re now closer to your biggest tax refund! If the status in Where’s My Refund? shows “Refund Sent”, the IRS has sent your tax refund to your financial institution for direct deposit.  It can take 1 to 5 days for your financial institution to deposit funds into your account.  If you requested that your tax refund be mailed, it could take several weeks for your check to arrive.

Here are more answers to your common questions about your tax refund:

Will I see a date right away when I check status in “Where’s My Refund”? 

Where’s My Refund will not give you a date until your tax return is received, processed, and your tax refund is approved by the IRS

It’s been longer than 21 days since the IRS has received my tax return and I have not received my tax refund.  What’s happening?

Some tax returns take longer than others to process depending on your tax situation.  Some of the reasons it may take longer are incomplete information, an error, or the IRS needs to review it further.

What other sources can I use to check my refund status?

Once you have e-filed your tax return with TurboTax, you can check your status using MyTurboTax.  You can even check your status on the go from your mobile device using TurboTax free app MyTaxRefund.

If you haven’t e-filed your taxes yet, you can start today.  You may even be able to e-file your federal tax return for free and have your biggest tax refund in your pocket within 21 days.

3,444 responses to “Where’s My Tax Refund?”

  1. I’m trying to be patient but after getting told two different things, its kind of hard not to. Our return got accepted January 28. I checked our status and we were told we would get it on February 6th. If its not in our account by the 11th, call our bank. The 9th showed up and our status said we got our refund, but nothing was deposited in our account. When it hit the 10th, our status completely changed. It says and still says its being processed. Why accept our refund then turn around and not?! We’re depending on our refund and we need it asap. It’d be different if we weren’t told two different things but we were. Its very annoying and very frustrating. And it needs to be fixed now.

  2. I filed on the 23rd and was accepted on the 28th….I was able to order my return transcript on yesterday morning…I just got up this morning and check wmr….I got a ddd for the 20th!!!!! Ye$$$$$$!!!! Good luck everyone!!!

  3. Just checked the Irs wmr website it was accepted on 2/5 and stayed on the 1st bar forever now the bar is completely gone and a message is saying that my refund is being processed. I did mines through Turbotax has this happen to anyone and if so what was your outcome?

  4. Filed on the 23rd and was accepted on the 28th….I was able to order return transcript on yesterday morning…Just got up this morning and checked wmr…I have a ddd for Feb 20!!!!!!Yes$$$$$$$!!!!! Good Luck everyone!!!

      • i fied on 2/1 also and was accepted on 2/2… just got approved and ddd for the 20th also.. i think the “batches” idea is true.

      • I live in California and filed on 2/1/14. I was accepted that same day. On 2/12/14 I requested my TS online and saw that my 2013 had been processed. It showed a refund date of 3/4/14. The next day the WMR showed a DDD for 2/18/14. I got my DDD this morning. The estimated ddd is the last day it can be on your account. So count 5 days before your ddd and that’s the first day it can be in your account. I’m praying for those who need it.

  5. I filed turbo tax on the 27th of Jan. I was accepted on 29th of Jan. I am still seeing processing on the IRS page. Turbo says a refund should be here by the 21st of Feb. Any suggestions?

  6. Update!!
    Filed & accepted 1/31, was approved this morning with a deposit date if 2/20!! Guess they’re doing them in batches like others have said. It took 15days just to get approved this year, usually I’ve got my refund back within 6-8 days. Not sure what the hold up is this year, but hang in there!

    • Okay so you made me hopeful… I logged on to WMR and is finally said Approved! Scheduled for Feb 20 deposit.. I filed on Jan. 24, accepted on Jan 28th. This is the longest we have ever waited. Hopefully this nightmare can be over and we actually get our money deposited.

      • Geez. I filed the same date and got accepted the same date as yours. Mine is still in processing!! I used Turbo Tax! I filed my sisters on 1/30 and my moms on 2/4, both on Tax Act and they have gotten their refunds!! Crazy! There is no process to this madness!! And I’m the one with the kids and needs it!

    • IRS is blaming the 2 week government shutdown for the delay…POPPYCOCK! They’ve been pulling random returns since the beginning of January to test the system, just like they did last year (I was one of the lucky ones last year but not at all lucky this year.)

  7. I filed with turbo tax on Jan. 23 got accepted Jan.28. I have been waiting forever and checking the status everyday like a lot of people. Yesterday I finally was able to order my return transcript thru the irs app I had it mailed and didn’t get any info from it. And this morning the status finally changed! It says approved direct deposit date scheduled Feb. 20.

  8. I checked the application and they said that my return was sent yesterday, so how long should it take to get to me? It’s not a very large sum at all, so I’m guessing that it will be here soon…… Does anyone know the timeframe it usually takes to get these things?

  9. I was able to view my transcripts yesterday. According to that my date should have been2/10. Nothin on WMR has changed. Still saying received. According to the account transcript it has a processing date of 2/24. So does that mean my refund date is 2/24 or that they aren’t even going to look at it till 2/24.

  10. Had 1 Bar and now all that is displaying is a message that says
    “Your tax return is still being processed.

    A refund date will be provided when available.”

  11. Update..I did get my ddd today for the 20th after I was able to order my transcripts yesterday…so yes once you can order trans you will get a ddd the next day..good luck guys and be patient its coming

  12. I filed on 02/09/14 got a DD for feb 18th money was in the bank today when i checked at 5 am the bar on the where’s my refund is still on the secound bar not sent but it was sent last night to my bank and i have BOA so keep checking your bank

  13. Day 17. Accepted on the 29th. Woke up this morning to a DD date of Feb. 20th. I am excited and anxiously waiting to see gonna happen on that day. I will definitely keep you posted

    • Also accepted on 1/29 I think my transcripts are ready now. I was locked out because the address was spelled incorrectly and now I have to wait 24 stinkin hours to see my transcript. The ddd is

    • Hey Madelin mine was received on the 24 or 28th let the IRS tell it and I just got a DD of the 20th this morning. So please be patient you will get your date 🙂 And I was able to order transcripts last Friday so that doesn’t apply to everyone the you will get a date right after you order them because I didn’t get a date until a week after

    • @Madelin- Mine was accepted on the 29th. I was able to order transcripts just yesterday (on day 16) and today I have an approval and deposit date on the tracker. It is taking longer for some reason for some people, but don’t worry, it will get there 🙂 I was a nervous wreck until yesterday so I hear ya!

  14. Yeah ! After waiting since 1/31, got approved and a ddd of 2/20 this morning. I was one where the bars and amount had disappeared. The bar never returned till this am when I got approved and a date. Hope others got great news as well ! I was really starting to stress thinking it was going to be a replay of last year ! Good luck everyone !!

  15. OAN: a friend of mine filed on 1/31 accepted the same day had a dd of Feb 13 just told me that she never got a deposit and the irs needs more info because she’s married and usually has to file innocent spouse. So a dd doesn’t always = success… If you don’t see your dd right away call them & check your mail asap.

  16. Accepted Feb 2, I was able to order transcripts last Monday, got a ddd on Thursday and got my money this morning at 1 am. I used tax act… FYI wmr still showing refund approved, not sent. Hope this helps! Good luck.

  17. Ok so after showing processing for 11 days, i finally got a ddd. for 2/20. This has been a very long and somewhat nervous 11 days not knowing. Now i feel a whole lot better. It really is a waiting game!

  18. I did my taxes threw H&R block jan 26th accepted jan 31 still today I am stuck on still processing called the 1800# it says no dedts owed to this ss#

  19. I filed on 02/06 and the “where’s my refund app “says received, and has been like that since. Tried to order my 2013 tax transcript and it says I don’t have one filed for 2013! This is very frustrating when everyone else has received theirs within a week or less of filing. Can anyone tell me why this is happening?

  20. I just created an account on irs.gov and I was able to view my transcripts and other info. It shows that I have not yet filed a return for this year! The exclamation point was used because I filed and was accepted 1/31. WMR still shows processing. So if this helps anyone in a similar situation, it appears that they just have not had a chance to process my return yet. Simple as that. SMMFH

    • Did you have bar still ? Or had it disappeared along with the refund about? Mine still says, still profession but no bars , or amount 🙁

    • @ Shad I just created me an account as well and it’s telling me the samething. I also was accepted on the1/31 smh this is just ashame. What is the IRS doing this year this has never happen to me before……

    • If you guys have a 2013* it just means your return hasn’t been processed yet. I had that the other day. Yesterday (2/14) the asterisk was gone and only 2013 was up there. I was able to click it and see that it had been processed.

    • Same situation here! It’s now the 18th and my husband and I filed and were accepted on 1/31 via TaxAct. We have had no updates whatsoever. The orange progress bar on WMR disappeared on the 7th and ever since then it just gives us the message that our return is still being processed and a refund date will be provided when available. Every time I call the IRS, I keep being told that they can’t even look at our account until it has been 21 days, which would be the 21st for us, and that’s only 3 days away. We’ve NEVER had to wait this long! We already received our state return on the 7th. We tried to order our transcripts, but ours aren’t showing up either, even though it’s been 18 days since we were accepted! UGH!!! I’m losing my mind over this!

  21. I have been following this blog bc it’s been helping me out with my taxes okay so I filed on 2/5 and got accepted on 2/6 still at one bar,but I have been able to order my transcript tonight looking over it I have a cycle date of 20140801 which means my DDD IS 2/20 hopefully that’s correct! I’ll keep you Guys posted also I’ll let u know if WMR updates my DDD since I’ve been able to order transcripts.

  22. So I am on Day 14 of the waiting game. I suspect the IRS will be FLOODED with calls on the 21st and the wait time will be HORRENDOUS. But I do have a question: I received my state refund today. Does this mean that I will eventually receive my federal one. Do problems with the federal refund affect the state one or vice versa or are they completely different?

  23. I file my return on the 31 but h&r block put the wrong day of birth so I went back feb the 3th to change it the irs receive it on the 4th does anybody knows how long does it take to be approve houston texas

  24. I filed 1/31 and was accepted 1/31. I had one bar about a week then my bar was gone as well as my refund amount. IT just says ” still processing” I read somewhere that if that happens your tax return is being reviewed, normally because of the education credits were claimed. Has this happened to anyone that didn’t use the education credit ? Has me really stressed, need my refund and thought we’d have it by now. Praying it updates tonight with a ddd but not very confident as my bars never returned. Anyone else experiencing this ?

    • I’m sorry it was recieved on 1/31 not accepted. Was approved this am with a ddd of 2/20, I never did try to order transcripts. Hope some others got their ddd this morning ! Good luck !

    • Mine was accepted 1/26. On 1/31 i got the bar saying it had been received. Then on 2/6 the bar was gone and it said it was still being processed and a date would be provided for a refund as soon as it was avail. Sat like that til the 15th, then it was another new page, and just says Refund has been received and is processing. That is ALL.. no codes, no “when there is a date we will provide it” nothing else… just that. No other info. IRS will not look anything up til 21 days, that is friday. I’m upset too, needed that to move. Have already given notice and may not have $$ before we have to leave the property.

      • Mine still says the same crap. Processing. No bars nothing. We filed on the 31st accepted on the 3rd or 4th filed with HRblock. What the hell? Has anyone got there federal yet and wmr still says processing? Last year we got our return max 10days. I get due to the shut down shit is slower.

  25. This is what happened to me last year: my status bar reminded on received for 21 days. On day 21 I got a letter from the IRS saying they needed more information to process my refund and had an 800 number to call. It took about 24 hours to finally get thru to a person. It turned out that they needed to verify my identity. I can only assume that it was because I had moved and changed jobs from the year before. This person ask me some odd questions that only I would know. He told me he “thought” that was all he needed and I could expect my refund in 4 to 6 weeks! I was upset to put it mildly. I ended up getting my refund in about 2 1/2 weeks from that phone call. I would almost bet the same thing has happen again this year. I filed and was accepted 1/31 and have no progress since then. And this year I have again changed jobs and also having dd to a different bank then last year. So if you have had changes from last year just be aware this might be what’s going on. I hope I am wrong!

    • I had ddd @/12/14 still not in my account, so I call the bank, they said they don’t have it, I call the I irs they told me my bank rejected my tax return, will be mail after the bank sent it back to them. so I call the bank back to see why they rejected it, they say that the prepare which is H&R block put my account number in wrong, there not they can do, so I have five weeks before I get it by mail, piss off.

    • Maybe that is what is happening with us. This year, my filing status changed because I got married and this is the first year I’m filing as married filing jointly and all other years I’ve filed as single. Of course, every time I call the IRS, they won’t even look up our account because it hasn’t been 21 days yet, but we also haven’t received any letters and WMR just says that it’s still processing and hasn’t given us any codes or messages that we need to call. This is so frustrating!!!!

  26. Welp i guess we are all in the same boat i filed on the 29 of January and got excepted on the 30th the irs didnt receive my tax until the 3rd of February from the 3rd till now makes 11days and its still on the first bar “return received” idk wjats going on but o was thinking about amending them thinking maybe i did something wrong,,should i?

  27. I filed my taxes on Feb 5 and was accepted on Feb 6. It is still processing. This is the first year this has occurred previous years i have always gotten it back within a week. I’m not sure what the deal is this year. I tried checking for a transcript and nothing is showing up for 2014 yet.

    • I filed on january 8,2013 and was accepted opn the 24th. i check my transcripts today and i was able to view them all. the QUESTION I HAVE IS WHY IS MINE SAYING THAT MY REFUND WAS ISSUED 3/3 2014? that is a long way off especailly since i filed and was accepted early????????

  28. I had e-file my 2013 refund on February 6 it was recieved the same day and approved on February 8th !! When should I recieve my refund in my bank account it already said sent refund !

  29. I’m so depressed and nervous!!! I filed on 02/1/2014, got accepted on 02/05/14 and been on the first bar( return receive)since then!!! Late last night i could order and view my 2013 account transcript but not my return transcript it staes 2013* (I don’t know what that means!!! This is basically Day 9 going into Day 10 but the end of the night if noting happens!!! 🙁

  30. We filed on Feb 2, 2014. Been waiting and waiting. Just got the letter from IRS, that we have been audit. This is going bad fast. Seeing as how we have a house payment, light bill and more put off.

  31. just got my refund today and my ddd was the 18th…patient everyone. If your status is at the first bar you can get surprised any day now. it happened to me last year and my sister this year.Bless you all!

    • when was the date your was suppose to receive your refund because i’m suppose to get mines tomorrow but in wmr it doesn’t say refund sent when should i expect it in my bank account

    • I’m wondering the same thing Mine has 2/24 on it too but WMR just says received and the turbo tax website said 2/20. So not sure what to go by.

  32. Ok! So I went in and was able to view my account online. It gives you refund date and amount. You can also print it. I feel better now….

  33. ok I was able to order a transcript last week from the irs2go app but was not able to create a account from the wesite to view it online. I was able to do that and was able to print one out. Now can someone tell me how to read it?????? I see a cycle date of 20140605. no clue what that means. I thought someone had posted on here before that that would tell you your deposit date but im not sure what it means or how to read it. Can someone help???? Thanks

      • how do you figure out the weeks what is the start week to count from mine says 20140705 don’t know how to figure it out

    • IMF Cycle Date is a daily cycle designated by an eight digit number indicating the year, the two digit cycle number and the two digit number indicating the day of the week (YYYYWWDD). The following values for DD are defined:

      01 = Friday

      02 = Monday

      03 = Tuesday

      04 = Wednesday

      05 = Thursday

      • So when would the 6th week be. Because I still haven’t gotten my refund nor have I gotten past the first bar.

        >

    • So I had the same cycle date and I’m still at one bar. I was told that meant you were getting paid the 12th. It never happened for me

  34. Question when i go online and check for transcript i can see account but not return transcript, what does that mean? And also on my account transcript all it says its 0 for eveyrthing , what does that mean ?

  35. I e-filed on Jan 16th, was accepted on Jan 30th. Today (Feb 14th) is day 15 and am still not approved. BUT today is the first day I’ve had transcripts available and they show I will be getting the refund amount I expected; so nothing was wrong with my VERY SIMPLE return. I would dearly love it if they would give me a DDD!!

    • How did you see your refund amount? Did you check the transcript online? I signed up for an account, but now I can’t log back into the online portion of the transcript. Its telling me my user name is incorrect, but I’m using the one they gave me.

      I was able to order transcript by mail finally a few minutes ago, but I would like to see my amount that will be deposited. 🙂

      • Yes, I saw it online. They didn’t assign my user id, I chose it. Did you try double-clicking in the user id field to see if it was saved in cache? There’s also a “Forgot User ID” link below the field you could try clicking on.

      • @themom51 I got to see my transcript. Which section shows the deposit amount? I was supposed to have some of my return go to the IRS from a 2010 1099 debt forgiveness income statement that I didn’t know about until last year. On my transcript, I don’t see that they took the amount I was supposed to pay back. Should it have shown that? I’m seeing the full amount on the line with the -$_____ refund amount.

    • I got my transcript on 2/12/14. I filed and got accepted the same date. My transcript said that I would get my refund by 3/4/14. Then the next day the wmr site said that my refund would be in my bank by 2/18/14. Turbo Tax told me not to e-file my taxes until after 1/31/14 because that was the date the IRS would be processing e-files. I live in California. I don’t know if this means anything. I read here that the phone operators at IRS are saying the 21 days start after 1/31/14.

      • sorry I meant to say that I e-filed on 2/1/14 with TT and got approved that same date. I asked for my TS on the 12th. The information on it said that I would get my refund by 3/4/14 but today it said on WMR that the ddd would be 2/18/14

  36. Update..I filed and was accepted on the 4th.I was finally able to order my transcripts 30 min ago…crossed fingers that I will have a ddd tomorrow..I will let everyone know . In the am

    • When you tried to order your transcript did you try more than once a day? I am so worried!!! I filed on 2/03 and was accepted the same day. My state taxes were already processed and my DDD is 2/21. Last year I filed around the same time and I did not get my federal refund until the middle of May!!! I don’t want the same thing to happen again.

  37. The irs has a 21 day deadline to process e-filed returns if you dont receive a direct deposit date by the 21 that means you have been selected for an actual person to review or as some people an audit they 3 weeks after the 21 days to send a letter to you then you reply they 6 weeks to issue your refund im having the same problem no return yet direct deposit date was 2/6/2014 8 days later and still the same crap when i call wait until the 21 days they say its because turbo tax sent tax returns to early and caused the system to pull 90% of those returns for audit

  38. Please help someone!!! I filed my taxes on 1/31. I was told that it was accepted later that day.However, upon reviewing the wheres my refund site it didnt show up as accepted until around the 3rd of this month. I have tried calling to get further infrmation but have had very little luck. One thing i didnt notice today is that i was able to order a transcript for the 2013 tax year. Does this mean that the tax return has now been processed and will be refunded soon? and if so how long does it generally take if you have chosen direct deposit.

    Thanks in advance.

  39. why when I check on my refund it just say processing which has been for over a week. I dnt see no bars or the three stages that everyone is talking about received, approved and send. Is there another website to check

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