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?”

    • mine has stated that same thing for 11 days…my return was accepted 02/01/14. I can view both transcripts online and the only codes are 150 and 806 which are the standard ones. We have no debt. I’m calling tonight because this is crazy that it’s taking so long with absolutely no update and sorry but if it supposed to be ISSUED in 21 days you’d think WMR would show approved by now. I hope you hear something soon!! Also last year, the stupied WMR never updated for me and I still got my refund. I had to call and they gave me my ddd and the only reason I knew it was there, was checking my bank.

      • when did you file? i filed 2/2 and i’m on day 15 and still not update on WMR website and the irs hotline says the same thing. craziness right? says i should get it before 2/23 so thats a sunday we will see if i get it before then cause 2/21 is friday and i’m pretty sure they issue money out that day

      • Filed 1/29 accepted 1/29 waited with 1 accepted processing bar until 1/17 no bars and wmr says to wait for ddd. I can’t check my transcript I have to wait 24 hour I was locked out because I didn’t have the correct info as my most recent return. It has been well over 24 hours and I still can’t pull up a transcript. Ring Around The Rosie.

    • Hi Jimmy, did it say something different before? Mine says that now too. But Friday it was a different screen and said that it was STILL Processing and a refund date would be issued when it was available. Now it’s the simplified version exactly as you said yours says. But I got an email from turbo tax also on Frid. saying Thank you for filing with Us… so I assumed they got their payment – since I filled and had my fee taken out of my tax refund. Everyone I know filed the same time as me, and they ALL have gotten theirs.

  1. I filed on 1/28/14 through Tax Act and chose to have them take their fees out of the return because I was broke. I still have not received my refund. The IRS was showing that my refund was sent on 2/12/14. I called Tax Act on 2/14/14 to see if they received the refund and the CSR said that their bank, Republic Bank, did receive the refund but she is not able to tell when. She said to allow 3-7 business days to receive the leftover refund. However, when I checked my status with Republic bank using republictaxpayer.com, it was saying that my refund was not received. I’m about to call them now to see what is going on.

    • Similar to my situation. I gave the wrong account number. As long as that number doesn’t belong to someone else the bank should reject the funds and return to IRS. IRS will issue a check. Not sure how long that takes. However, I was expecting a deposit on 2/13 and waited until 2/17. However when I went to WMR the message had changed from dd 2/13 to “now being processed.” So that makes me think that it is preparing to be mailed. Hopefully………………..

  2. Update file and accepted 1/31 still is saying process… I order and can see both transcripts which has a date of 2/24?does anyone out tiger have the same date …or anyone that have a ddd of 2/20 does that date show on your transcripts

  3. filed and accepted 1/31. Transcripts say I haven’t filed for 2013!! My status still says “you should receive your refund within 21 days of when we received your return” ummm that is not seeming to likely to happen at this point! Grrrrrr

    • Mine same date still 17 days later still nothing I called that 1800 see if I owed anything it says I dont so idk why its taking so long

    • yeah i hear ya. my transcripts aren’t available yet and it’s been 15 days. i mean this is just crazy that people filed 2/6 2/8 and still got there refund already. within a couple days in some cases. the irs is so messed up. shouldn’t even be one

      • What are the transcripts? Where do you find it? Is it a timeline of the IRS progression with your taxes? I did mine early cause I’m tryin to move, and now I’m not even sure it will be here before I’m supposed to be out of here. A little unnerving.

  4. My return was sent to the bank (I triple checked for no errors esp since I have had my acct 14yrs and have all routing and acct numbers memorized) and the bank still hasn’t received it :/

    • Same here:I went back to double check my account numbers! my refund has been approved. Sent to the bank, yet the bank says they post all deposits immediately. As soon as they receive the credit, it is posted. How long does it take for the irs to send the money to the bank and the bank to deduct its fees and then be sent to me?

  5. I filed on the 5th at around 11:30pm got notice about 2hrs later saying it was revived updated around 2am on the 15th said my return was approved and it will be sent to my bank by the 20th.so far there has been no change. Its 8:48 pst so it will update in about an hour or so. Last year and the year before i got my refund about a day before it said sent and the year before got it a day before it even said approved. I checked sbbt it says nothing has been received. My jobs are direct deposit only so i still get paid on holidays as its all electronic ao maybe the irs will still process tomorrow. Before it hits your bank it processes through the reserve then goes to your bank. That’s usually the only hold up. I had the reserve hold up my d/d for a full day before because it was sent on a Friday after the closed so they did not send it to my bank until 4am Saturday. So if thw irs is processing electronic payments tomorrow i wpuld assume the reserve may be the only hold up

    • they must have had a large batch go through today. mine did not though.still no DDD or approval on WMR for me. .:(
      My turbotax sign in page is now saying this: The IRS accepted your federal refund on February 5.
      The IRS expects to issue more than 9 out of 10 refunds in less than 21 days. 88% of TurboTax customers whose returns were also accepted on February 5 have received their money.
      JUST YESTERDAY IT WAS SAYING 0%. . Does this mean I will be getting one soon as well? hmmm

  6. Update!!! I can’t order return transcript and it’s still on return receive since 02/05 and I filed on 02/01!!! Day 12. 🙁

    • Madelin, I created an account online but when I log in it stated that there having technical difficulties but my mom logged in and she was able to view them..is that what happened to you?

  7. Hi filed… 2/2 accepted 2/3 ddd from mytaxreturn 2/22 I am confused what to go by irs still says i have one bar still processing but on mytaxrefund from tt says i should receieve my refund on or before 2/22 can sumone help i tried to review my transcripts on irs but last time i was able to view it *2013 ive been trying to view my transcripts but its say attempted to many time try back in 24 hrs then when i do that its say unavaiable at this time…can someone plz give me sum inside

  8. I am confused what to go by irs still says i have one bar still processing but on mytaxrefund from tt says i should receieve my refund on or before 2/22 can sumone help i tried to review my transcripts on irs but last time i was able to view it *2013 ive been trying to view my transcripts but its say attempted to many time try back in 24 hrs then when i do that its say unavaiable at this time…can someone plz give me sum inside

  9. I efiled on 2/4 for some reason it was excepted on 2/12 checked on the wheres my refund today I have A ddd of the 2/21 thank God

  10. I filled on 1/ 30 got accepted on 1/31 says topic 152 for the longest but i received my state a week ago does that mean my federal will be approved ive waited long enough i just need a lil feedbaxk on my topic and if this applies to anyone else

  11. Ok what are they doing at the IRS?? I applied and was accepted on 1/24 and still have not been approved. I’m not able to order transcripts and I’m not showing any error code when I log in to wmr. WTF!!!

    • i feel the same way. i filed on 1-22 got accepted on 2-4 and nothing but still processing. but checked state and its on the way. The lady at IRS told me it was probably a 18 to 21 day wait. i told her thats sad and she hung up like so.

    • I was accepted too the same date and in the same vote….I cannot order transcript either. I lost my status bar late last week. Still says processing. This is crazy!!!!!!

      • Yes i lost my status bar to but it says when it is available i will have a date but it is still processing my 21 days will be Friday .

  12. Sorry I have another question. Is there a code for the child tax credit? I don’t see one on my transcript and I am just wondering if that could be holding it up. I have 3 kids and have always claimed them in previous years I see it in the details but I wasn’t sure if there is a code for that if they were maybe verifying it and that is the hold up.

      • Go to the irs.gov website. In the search bar put “transcipts”. when that comes up go to “get transcripts”. then select the online transcripts. you will have to set up an account with username and password. hope this helps.

      • Thanx..i figuref out how to do it but its sayn i didn file this yr :-/ with 0.00 but im able to c 2012 an 2011 transcript wth is goin on with these ppl at the irs!

      • From what I gather it means you have not been processed yet or are being processed. Which doesn’t make sense because was able to pull my transcripts on Thursday called on Friday and they said I was being processed and that there was no errors on my return. Not knowing what to look for at the time I had 2 codes, 570 and 971 on there that they never said anything about. Have not received a letter

      • Ok thanx one more question…i filed on the 29th got excepted on the 30th but the irs didn receive it until the 3rd so do i start counting my 21 days frm the day i got excepted or the day tey received it? Frm the 30th till nw makes 18days n frm the 3rd till now makes 14days im confused..

      • As bad as it sucks it starts from the time IRS has they accepted it. So your 21 days would start from the 3rd. Just keep checking your transcripts. If you see a * it probably means it hasn’t been processed. your going to want to look for code 846 which means refund sent. That will tell you a ddd. You will find that on the account transcript.

      • Well guess i half to wait smh my transcript has 0.00 n says i have not filed 2013 taxes…thanx a mill ima keep u posted 🙂

      • I would just keep trying every day. That’s about the only way you will know. Calling doesn’t really do any good it doesn’t seem. I got tired of calling lol . But good luck and diff keep us updated and I will too. Good luck!

  13. So this morning I woke up to no bars and the message still processing a date will be given when available. My cycle date was 20140605 I was on 1 bar up until last night and I was able to view transcripts yesterday now I can’t pull them up. Yesterday I had code 570 with the date 2/24 and $0.00 beside it and code 971 with same date and $0.00 beside it. So is it bad to have the bars disappear and not able to pull up transcripts and to have those codes all at the same time?

    • @Tina…I couldn’t help but to notice your situation because it almost mirrored mine. I also checked my transcript and had the same date 20140605. I luckily got a VERY nice agent at the IRS that did take a look at my return because I had codes 570 & 971…Code 570 means a “freeze” on your refund and the 971 means that they will be sending you a letter letting you know why. The agent that I spoke with told me that my return was in that status because I failed to file a 2010 return (and same as you I didn’t file that year because I never received 1 of my W2s from one of the employers I worked for in 2009). The bad thing is that your refund will remain on hold until you file the amendment that you stated about in your earlier comment and until they receive & process that amendment, you will not receive the refund for 2013. And unfortunately you can not do the amendment electronically due to it is not for the current tax year. It has to be done manually (by mail). I hope this helps you as not knowing for me was the worst. Best wishes to you in getting everything straightened out & I pray that your refund will be sent to you God speed!!!

      • @ Cotrina, when you checked WMR did it give you any error messages? All of my bars disappeared Saturday night and no error messages or anything. I spoke with IRS on Friday and they said there was no errors on my account that it was just still processing. So I don’t know if I need to fill out the amendment, which looking at the paperwork is confusing as heck, or wait till I get a letter or wait the 21 days which is Friday and see what happens. I just hope it is over soon!!!!

    • I think they get mailed out on Friday and maybe some left overs on Mondays from what I have been seeing on different sites so probably a few days after that. Not 100% positive on that but that is what I have read. Hope this helps!

  14. Did anyone receive there taxes from turbotax yet? I haven’t in I was accepted on Feb 28th. It say’s 0% has gotten them still.

  15. Has anyone had the issue where you chose direct deposit with turbotax & the IRS site says its going to be mailed?
    Very upset because if its mailed I probably want get till end of march.

  16. I. Filed on th 31st and accepted on the on th 1st. I still don’t have a dd. I talk to the irs and she said since it was my first time filing I might have to wait for the 3 weeks to be up then contact themm for more info…that’s 5 d ays from now. I don’t know if that’s tru…but I do no that if I don’t have a dd by thrusday then something is up…day 16 for me!!!

  17. Accepted 1/29 still on accepted processing bar. I cant check to see if I can get my 2013 transcripts until 4:30pm today. I’m really starting to worry. Day 18..

  18. Update!!!! Filed 02/01 got accepted on 02/05 I can’t order return transcript and it still on return receive bar since 02/05!!!! Day 11 🙁

    • I filed on 2/06 and was accepted on 2/06 and I don’t have an update yet, but all of my friends who have filed the day before me and after already have a deposit date of 2/20/2014.

      • I filed on 2/5 my return was received on 2/6 was able to order my transcripts on 2/14 check WMR at about 3am this morning EST and I was approved and my DDD is 2/21 patience I know it’s easier said bc I was loosing courage as well but it’s coming

      • I filed on 2/5 and still till this day i haven’t received my refund. All i see is on IRS.gov is “Your refund is being processed”. How much longer do i need to wait? It is overwhelming to keep waiting and not knowing when will the refund get deposited.

    • Madelin I am the same as you. cant order transcript, and no new info for me. .my turbotax page is now saying that of all those who were received on the 5th, 88% now have their refunds. . we are not part of that 88% I think. yesterday it said 0% had receieved theirs. . maybe this is good news. not sure. 🙁

      • just tried to order my transcripts on the IRS website and it locked me out because it states the information entered doesnt match their records. i can see the transcripts via PDF on the turbo tax websit it states I dont have a refund for 2013 and it states my amount of income tax for 2013 is 0 but my refund is $2000 and I dont have any codes either. last week i spoke to a supervisor and she stated that they have received my return and that it was still being processed and that if I dont have a status update by this friday 2/21 to call and they will look up to see why i havent received refund yet. do you know what time the wheres my refund does their updates

    • Mine was accepted February 3 as well and I have a DD of February 20 too. My sister filed her’s on the the same date but received her refund in 7 days.

      Natasha

      • Missy I had the same thing happen to me I filed on the 5th and was accepted on the 5th. I had the code 152 and they said it was in process, it remained on the 1st bar forever. On Saturday I check and the bar was missing and a message saying it was in process and a date will be available soon. The code 152 is the IRS verifying that you do have the authority to claim a particular child that you claim on your taxes this season, apparently this is something new shouldn’t hold up your taxes. But from what I see on different forums it looks like it should be approved and process for the 20th or the 26th… Fingers crossed!!!!

      • I just spoke with someone from HR block and I filed on 2/7 was accepted on 2/8 and they said that they see I should have my refund on or before 3/2….so I would say the IRS is taking a lot longer this year!

  19. Can anyone please tell me if yoy filed with turbo tax have already recieved your refund cause mine says o % have their return. Please let me know

  20. I filed on January 18, 2014 and go accepted February 2, 2014. I checked WMR and states “The department received your tax return on 1/19/2014. Refund information is not available at this time”. Everyone is talking about stage bars and seeing a process bar. i do not see a process bar. I have received my federal almost two weeks ago. I am waiting for my Pennsylvania State refund. I need that to go in by the 28th so i can pay my bills. I have been unemployed for almost 2 and half months. I do not know what is going or or understand.

  21. 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 on the transcript.

  22. I have codes 570 and 971 on my account transcript. When my husband and I filed our taxes last year I had not filed mine because we moved and I had not gotten my w2’s but we filed joint return. My intention was to file and amendment when I got them. I had completely forgotten about it until this all happened and I started looking more into my previous returns. But it is my understanding that you have 3 years to file an amendment. So would that have something to do with having these codes and am I going to have to file the amendment now before I receive my refund now?

  23. Mine says sent on 02/12/2014 for direct deposit and I still haven’t gotten it. It says the bank has until Feb 17 but thats a holiday. This is really frustrating.

  24. I noticed on my account transcript that I have codes 570 and then 971. Both say 2-24-14 as the date. My cycle date was 20140605 so by what i have read i should have had it already. And when I call the irs they say there are no errors on my return I just have to wait for a date. So what does the codes mean and what happens now? Does that mean im not getting my refund? I understood 846 meant refund sent but not understanding where the other is coming from. Has anyone else had this happen? I have already gotten my state. If there was a problem somewhere would they not have held that also?

  25. Filed on 1-26 and accepted on 2nd. When I checked my WMR the next day it showed being processed with the status bar showing one red bar. I checked a few days later and the status bar is completely gone and it states my refund is being processed………2 weeks later and still no status bar and saying refund is being processed. I will be patient since it hasn’t been 21 days yet……it will be difficult.

    • It finally took that 1121 code off now its saying processing so hopefully I can receive my refund this week,was supposed to get it 2/6/14 but got delayed

  26. The IRS accepted my TurboTax on January 21rst. According to the IRS “Where is my Refund” they deposited into my bank account on February 12th. Here we are an the 15th and not one person including myself has received anything. I am way past the 20 day window. Im considering not using TurboTax next year it should be called “Snail Tax.”

  27. I filed on the 31st still nothing:-( however I was able to order account transcript but not a refundtranscript what does this mean? Oh yeah and I filed with Jackson Hewitt

  28. filed on Feb 5th had my one bar stating my return was being processed. Does anyone know what it means when your bars disappear?? but on the WMR screen it still says processing?? NOW I’M SUPER NERVOUS Please any response Thanks in advance.

  29. update** I filed Jan 30th & was accepted jan 31st. it had stayed at one bar for 2weeks then finally last night it allowed me to order my return transcripts Which I was not able to do before last night. This morning at 5am it went to the second bar and said approved with a dd of feb 20th. Hope this helps. I know it’s frustrating but hang in there it will come!!!

  30. Update filed January 16 accepted January 26 ordered transcripts Feb 13 still no ddd no letters from irs and all my bars disappeared ughh this it’s getting ridiculous I think I filed before anyone on here and still nothing

    • I filed the same date as you and got accepted on the 30th. Sometime after I went to bed last night (Feb 14th) and before my bladder woke me up at 2:30am, my return was approved and I got a ddd of 2/20. Maybe yours will be updated to approved and a ddd of the 20th. But, that still puts yours over the 21days.

    • I filed on the 3rd of January excepted the 24 and only dd date i have is from tt ans that’s for Feb 20 wmr don’t say nothing ordered account transcript on Monday but return transcript cant order

      • I was never able to order the tax transcript and mine was approved today with a ddd of the 20th. Just tried last night to order the tax transcript and woke up this morning with a ddd. I really don’t know that it has anything to do with it or not. Hopefully you’ll get yours soon. My return was filed and accepted on 1/31.

    • Hi I had filed Feb 6th and on WMR online I had 1 bar stating that it was being processed and I checked today and it says its being processed but no bars they went away. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN??/

  31. update i filed on january 8 and was accepted on the 24th and this morning i received a date for the 20th of this month!!!! This was the longest i’ve ever waited. Good luck to everyone else!!!!

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