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. Very sad I filed 1/31/14 thru TurboTax have direct deposit and I have no bar still saying refund still being processed and a refund date will provide what we n available and I no people that already got there refund a week after filing ugh hoping I geta date tomorrow

      • I filed on 1/23 received 1/28 and my bars disappeared Saturday. I haven’t gotten any letters or anything and no messages on WMR. Just a 570 and 971 on my transcript but when I called on Friday they said my return was fine just still processing. Idk what is going on this year but its frustrating!

    • I actually recently read that anyone who filed before January 31st will have a two week hold on their taxes due to fraud checks. So filing early for some, ended up not being a good idea this year.

  2. NOT TO HAPPY EVERYONE I KNOW AROUND ME IS GETTING A DDD OF 2/20 AND MINE STILL IS ON ONE BAR AND THEY ALL USED DIFFRENT TAX PROGRAMS SO IDK WHATS GOING ON WITH THE IRS THIS YEAR BUT I DONT LIKE IT!!!!

    • Talked to irs this morning she looked upy return still processing with no errors. Filed January 3 accepted January 24. Tt deposit said the 20 wmr said still processing accepted bar disaapeard first week after accepted.
      I’m sure we will get our deposit this week into the weekend. I think early returns got stuck in processing and possibly pushed back after the 31st.
      I need my money just like everyone else sbtg said wed they get the bull of the rerun money so I pray to god we get deposits.
      Light of god surrounds us
      Love of god enfolds us
      Where ever we are
      God is and so is our deposits
      Amen

      • I’m in the same boat. I called the irs today and she was able to pull up my account and saw that it’s in processing and no errors. We should get a DDD this week 🙂

      • I hope your right. My 21 days is Thursday. I have never waited this long to get my refund. I got my state 2 weeks ago so hopefully everything is fine with my federal.

    • Do U think maybe its some type of slow processing for turbotax because everyone else used different filing and have theirs but turbotax seem to be delayed or something

  3. I filed. 1/14. Got accepted 2/3 got. Approved 2/14 DD of 2/20.And still still on approved. Haven’t recieved anything yet into the bank guess still got to wait….ill keep u updated

    • I have been checking my balance $0 I checked SBBT and they have not received anything. I have codes 570 and 971 on my transcript I also have a cycle date of 20140705.

      I filed early Jan. WMR has all bars gone with code 152. totally confused on what is happening

      • QUESTION::::: I CAN VIEW MY TRANSCRIPTS BUT I SEE PEOPLE SAYING THEY HAVE CODES WHERE ON THE TRANSCRIPT IS THE CODES IF THERE IS ANY?

      • Hello MelissaMarie any word on your taxes i have the same thing on my transcript same numbers and cycle date?

  4. UPDATE: My refund was direct deposited in my checking account at 8:40am today (2/18). “Where’s my Refund” gave me a ddd of 2/20. Here it is, 3 hours after I got my refund and “Where’s My Refund” still just says “approved” and not “sent.” So, if you don’t have eAlerts for direct deposits on your bank account, check your balance…it might have already been sent.

  5. File with H&R Block got a ddd 2/20/14 I have a straight direct deposit from Wells Fargo just checked Wells Fargo’s nothing yet

    • Yes. It happened to me. Expected deposit on 2/13 but nothing and then the holiday weekend. So I waited and waited until Tuesday. No deposit. I e-filed with TaxAct and supplied bank information. I reviewed my bank info and I gave wrong account #. Everyone PLEASE be very careful with your bank info. Wrong info can cause you to lose your refund. Now I have to wait for it to be mailed. NOTE: Went to WMR and the status has changed to now being processed instead of the deposit date I had before. That gives me hope….good luck everyone.

    • Call your bank and ask. IRS says that if they’ve sent it then call your bank. Especially if it’s been more than 21 days.

    • The amount the IRS showed my refund was approved and sent and due to be received by 2/12/14, which I did receive a deposit onto my emerald card but oddly the ACH deposit was only for a portiion of my total refund. When I called IRS I was told that they showed the full amount to be correct, but could not understand why the ACH transfer only put a portion of my full return onto my emerald card. The rep. told me to wait util the 2/21 , then call back again if not received. As of 2/19/14 I have not received my state refund.

    • I have been doing personal taxes for a small group of people for 20 years. I have seen this exact situation one time…it was last year with one of the returns….I provided this person with her DDD date as shown on WMR…she also never received the deposit in her bank. I contacted IRS and they assured me the funds were sent…after about a week of arguing with her bank….I contacted the bank that was used to deduct fees and deposit her refund (REPUBLIC BANK) they had randomly selected for IDENTITY VERIFICATION but never notified me. I had to fax a copy of her DRIVERS LICENSE/ID to Republic bank and then they released her refund. There was no rhyme or reason to her being selected…I had done her taxes for 5 years and nothing had ever changed, not her job, mailing address, name, filing status, bank account…nothing! I would recommend you contact the bank that is handling your refund. I would bet this is the case. Hope this helps!

  6. I got my paper check! Filed on Jan. 21, accepted on Jan. 27, (“Where’s My Refund” tool indicated “Accepted”), approved on Feb. 9 (“Where’s My Refund” tool indicated “Approved”) and got a date (Feb. 14) when my check should be mailed BY, paper check was actually mailed on Feb. 14 (“Where’s My Refund” tool changed to “Sent”), got my paper check in the mail today! Thank god! Good luck to the rest of y’all!

    • I filed on the 29th got excepted on the 30th it didn gt to the irs until the 3rd Still not approved frm the 3rd till now makes 15days frm the 30 til now makes 19days Wmr was stil on the first bar Until Yesterday now my bars r gone and it says still processing a refund date will b available soon an my transcript says i haven’t filed this yr smh this is completely annoying ;(

    • I filed on Jan 30,IRS accepted on the Jan 31, WMR say its still being processed and thursday will be 22 days for me,. I’m praying that i have a deposit somtime this week or the first of next week . Has anybody else bars disappeared

  7. Turbo tax sucks and i will not be returning next year i would rather pay h&r block the 380 to do my taxes then to come back to turbo tax

  8. Idid mine the 30 in two weeks later got a date for the 19 which is tomar.but im also get in my check mailed to me so I waited the hold 21 days it.sucks but still waiting on my check

  9. Update! According to SBBT rep. That if they have not recievd it yet then they most likely wont until tomorrow at the earliest their bs story is 1-2 business days for the irs to release the funds to them, then 1-2 days for SBBT to process your funds then 1-2 days for your bank to process. So much for turbo tax saying that it will not delay your refund. My ddd is the 20th. I called irs the rep their said there is no reason for sbbt to not have funds already so seems to me sbbt is holding funds as long as possible as they collect interest on your payment everyday they hold it for “processing” my roommate, gf,and four co workers all filed between the 02/05 and 02/08 they have all received their refunds starting as early as last Friday night. We all had the same projected ddd time frames. I however am the only one who is dealing with SBBT.

    • I spoke directly with SBBT and they said they do not hold funds for even a whole day. The rep said as soon as they get it, they immediately take out what is owed to them then send the deposit to your bank. My bank (American Express) also told me that as soon as they get the funds, they will deposit it into my account and will not hold it for any amount of days. I also have a ddd of 2/20

      • They are full of crap. Ive seen hundreds of ppl who have been told by irs their refunds are sent and some have even checked the trace numbers sbtg has held their refunds all the way up to four days. Giving the excuse it takes 1-2 businesses days for them to receive it and 1-2 business days for them to process it to you. Saying they dont hold funds is just a politically correct answer instead they say it takes so long to process sbtg is the longest delay in refunds

      • Idk, SBBT got my deposit this morning and sent it to my bank in less than an hour. So, they were true to their word in my case.

  10. Brandi. Turbo tax does not seem tp update that quick. They seem to stick with accepted probably to avoid pissed off people if they say approved and give you a ddd and it is not met. When mine was first approved it did say i was approved and gave me my ddd info provided by the irs however the main page never changes. Also i was able to the percentage by logging in to the mobile site for tt and clicking the track my refund where it shows the calendar

    Madelin your transcripts vary upon person. Some people have viewed theirs and ordered them before it was approved. Some the day its approved and others not til a few days after. If your refund is not approved yet and transcripts are unavailable you may be stuck waiting the 21 days. I have seen other people get thwir refunds and transcripts at the last second so it’s all a waiting game.

  11. I went to WMR this morning and the bars are no longer showing, but displays text indicating my return is still being processed and a DDD will be provided when available. I called IRS and spoke with someone who said they had rejected my return and that I needed to refile it, but she could not explain why I was still showing as processing. Anyone else have similar experience with WMR changing like this?

    • Did you have the 152 code showing when you checked or was it another code? Everyone is saying when your bar disappears and you have the 152 you are fine but if it is a four digit code there is a problem. Is this true in your case?

  12. Day 19 still no refund yet ordered transcripts February 13 no code 971 only code 570 with a balance of 0 any one having this situation wmr says processing a refund date will be provided when available

    • Me to its been 19 days for me to can’t order transcript and all my bars are gone its just saying refund still processing and date will be provided when available sad I filed the 31st called irs and told me I have to call back when my 21 days are up very mad

  13. Ddd of 02/20 fees deducted through sbbt. Turbo tax says 85% who were approved on 02/05 have received their money. No update yet on sbbt. Or my bank. Sbbt said they update in real time as funds are processed so i am hoping it updates any time now. I have seeen people on other message boards check sbbt between 7-8 am then check again after 9am and funds have been received some as late 12-4pm. So im hoping it updates quickly as the longer it takes the longer sbbt holds funds as they are not like netspend or oother banks who release funds immediately they instead release in batches in morning afternoon then over night batches

    • I was filed and accepted 1/31. with 2/20 date. nothing yet, and it got rid of the percentage thing for me on turbotax. Only irs says approved, turbotax still only says accepted.

  14. Good Morning all, My DDD date is the 20th and that is before the excpected 21 day mark. We all need to be patient, yes I know we want our money back but you need to remember how many millions of people were filing at the same time. Also just a hint, if you owe anyone taxes there may be a delay in the processing. You can call the Bureau of the Fiscal Services at (800) 304-3107 to see if you owe debt to anyone and that may explain the delay.

  15. Have ddd of 2/20 still.. nothing at sbbt or my bank yet. If you have 2/20 date, please update on here when you get the $$. I’m so anxious!

    • What is sbbt? My ddd is 2/20 also and I’m anxious as well to know something. So afraid something will go wrong with the deposits after reading some of the posts where people are five and six days past their ddd and still haven’t got them in their account !! Please any updates on those with a 2/20 deposit date would be greatly appreciated !

      • Michelle SBBT= Santa Barbara bank that takes the fees for Turbo tax if you don’t pay them up front. It will go from government to sbbt to my bank. I didn’t have the money to pay the turbo tax fees up front. https://cisc.sbtpg.com/ is the link for sbbt

      • I feel like I was suckered on TurboTax though. I bought into the business package of 79.99 plus the 29.99 fee. 🙁 All to file schedule C 🙁 Oh well, just want my refund! haha

      • Thanks Brandi ! I actually filed using h&r block at home. I also file for self employment so I bought the business edition. I get 5 free e files with it so I’m able to do the kids taxes as well. Think the program cost $60. I’ve used it the past five or six years and have been pleased with the ease of it. Just hoping we get our refund soon !

      • the website was very helpful. it just broke everything down and said the bank forwarded my refund to my bank.

    • Filed and Accept on 1/31 wit DDD of 2/18 but managed to receive my refund on Saturday, 2/15! (Finally) WMR still says approved and not sent. Good luck to you

    • Did you receive any updates from sbbt? I have same ddd. Irs says refunds are processed daily Monday- Saturday excluding holidays. Accts updated usually around 11am est. Sbbt says same thing but also tells people that receive them in batches on Wednesday. Which i call bs on because the irs used to do dd on Wednesday paper checks on Friday but say this year it is different as they have a new system idk who to believe irs also told me this morning that although my acct had not updated they see no reason to why sbbt does not have my refund as just about everyone with my time frame have already had funds released guess ill see after midnight pst if it updates to sent

  16. Has anyone with a ddd of the 20th who used turbo tac received their money yet? My roommate and i filed at the same time she got her check in her acct About 3am on the 15th we both filed and got accepted on the 5th both had a ddd of the 20th only difference is i used turbo tax and had my fees deducted i checked sbbt they still say they haven’t received it. Its a west coast bank so im hoping that it will update after 9am pst but as of 7:19am still says bank has not received your refund so curious if anyone else who used turbo tax and had fees deducted and had a ddd of the 20th received theirs yet

  17. Has anyone with a ddd of 02/20 who had their turbo tax fees taken out of taxes got their direct deposit yet? My roommate and i filed on the 5th both of us were accepted same day with a ddd of the 20th. We were updated to approved the evening of the 15th and she got hers on Saturday i however did turbo tax with fees deducted from taxes and sbbt still says they have not received my refund yet. Wmr still says refund approved just curious if anyone else who used turbo tax and had their fees deducted and have the ddd of the 20th received theirs yet. I am assuming sbbt since in san diego will not update until after 9am pst but still curious

  18. The account I gave irs has been closed and I have a new account.my bank told me they send the money back so how do I get my money from the irs.i called but can get anyone

  19. Anyone using regions bank for their direct deposit? My ddd is 2/20 and I’ve seen where several people have already got theirs on a net spend card. And bobby I know it can take up to five days, I was just wanting to see how regions is handling their tax refund deposits or if their putting a hold on them.

    • I efiled on the 9th using direct deposit and also have a net spend account still no money yet.In fact The Where My Refund site has not budged (still saying received).Not Sure What Is Going On With Irs Too Many Coffee Brakes.

    • My e-file was done by H&R Block -this year is real bad on receiving our refunds,but H&R Block had shown me the last preparer sheet that they will be using next tax season .It will ask about the health care insurance and if non it would be $1,200 and up and up depending on income.This will really delay our refunds for next year.

  20. Went to WMR and all I got was text telling me it’s being processed and a DDD will be provided when available. Graphics are gone. Anyone else experience this?

    • I had the same thing happen to me as well. My sister and I filed on February 9th. I checked the WMR tool the last few days and it said “Return Received”. My sister checked hers today and she had the full graphic and indicated “Refund Sent”. I checked mine today and it no longer had the graphic but the following text: Your tax return is still being processed. A refund date will be provided when available. I hope I get mine soon!

    • yes filed on 1/31 it was accepted and acknowledged 1/31 after 24 hours on wheres my refund it stated my refund was received then three to four days after that my status bars disappeared and it has said the same thing ever since that my refund is still processing and a refund date will become available when done processing

  21. Went to WMR this morning and no longer see the graphics. All I have is text telling me that the return is being processed and a date will be provided when available. Anyone else have this happen?

  22. I filed 1/21 was accepted on 2/5. Still nothing, says it’s been received and it’s processing. Going on 2 weeks just for processing. Ugh…

    • Good Morning all, My DDD date is the 20th and that is before the excpected 21 day mark. We all need to be patient, yes I know we want our money back but you need to remember how many millions of people were filing at the same time. Also just a hint, if you owe anyone taxes there may be a delay in the processing. You can call the Bureau of the Fiscal Services at (800) 304-3107 to see if you owe debt to anyone and that may explain the delay.

  23. If 85% of the people that filed their return the same day as I did already received their return, does that mean somethings wrong?
    Also, I tried -creating an account- for my tc at irs.gov and they told me my account log in was incorrect. But I was signing up… please HHEEELLLLPPPP 🙁

  24. So my return was accepted on 2/31 and says I have till the 20th for it to be 21 days. When I checked today it said that 90% of turbo tax customers that filed on my day received their refund. Is this true? I’m going to call the irs tomorrow bc I can’t get my transcript s either bc my info was apparently wrong. Can anyone give me some info/advice?

  25. Update!!! Still nothing!!! I cant order return transcript and im still on return receive since 02/05 and I filed on 02/01!!!! 🙁

  26. ANYONE HELP!!! I have been tryint to order my transcripts but it keeps saying that the irs does not have the address I am giving on file and it is my address I filed with tt. I also tried it with my city and state on same line but nothing is working does this mean they have not even touched my 2013 return yet??? I filed on the 6th of febuary and still on bar 1

      • I also filed mine with Tax act and my date to get them was Feb 18. We had it put in two accounts. The first account got the money and I am still waiting for it to hit my account. Idk if it is a Bank of America issue or what the deal is but I am def irritated!

  27. So frustrating..filed 2/6, accepted 2/6, still no date and 2013* on transcript. Two of my daughters filed last week, one on 2/10, the other on 2/12. Both have DDD 2/20 and 2/21…oldest filed 2/3 and had ddd od 2/8….out of 5 of us that have filed since 1/31. I’m the only one without a DDD.

  28. I was accepted on 2/6 and im still accepted. Hasnt processed yet using turbo tax. I know somebody who filed on the 4th using turbo tax and she got her refund on the 12th. She only claimed one dependent.

  29. I checked the wmr and it stated that my taxes is being reviewed and they are sending me a paper that i need to fill out and send back in. Does this mean I’m being audited?

    • Nor necessarily. I was sent papers a few years back wanting addition information. Had something to do with property out-of-state as I recall.

    • yes you r being reviewed they will send u a paper requesting additional info
      yes its an audit … dont expect anything to soon .. the irs uses snail mail .. I got reviewed last year didn’t receive my return until june – july ish

    • Hi Glenise,
      No this does not mean you are being audited. Less than 1% of taxpayers are actually audited. The IRS sometimes just needs additional information. Please see more information about audits, adjustment letters, and correspondence audits.
      Thank you,
      Lisa Greene-Lewis

  30. I did my income tax 1/31/14 thru TurboTax they got accepted the same day I checked my refund on wmr and now it has no bars it’s saying refund still processing and refund date will be provided when available I can’t order no transcripts at all

  31. My question is, my refund is set to be sent to my financial institution tomorrow (02/18) now does that mean they will deposit the money on 02/18 or is there still a “ballpark” number I should anticipate?

    Also a lot of the comments on here are so ridiculous! Im pretty sure if the IRS said you would get your money on the ex-19th your not going to get it earlier. Also lets try to remember they are processing the entire counties tax returns, a few mistakes, and some leeway should be given. That’s just me though.

  32. Mines was accepted on 1/31/14 and was processing from then til 2/15/14 now I have a DD of 2/20/14 hopefully it comes soon… all I can say is be patient you dont wanna jinx it. 🙂

  33. Finished my return 2/1. Accepted and everything good. Checked w/where my refund on irs webiste and said deposited to my boa account on 2/10..Umm today 2/17 still have not received it. Boa say can take 7-10 business days to process..???

  34. Ok so I filed the 31st accepted the 2nd
    I was able to order my transcripts as of 1 week ago
    Cycle 20140605
    There are 570 and 971 codes at the bottom
    No update on wmr and no 1121 code

    So my husband called the irs today and spoke to rep who told him the return is still processing and he just needs to wait and also said we weren’t accepted until the 4th! Wmr says something different. When we asked about the codes she said there was nothing on her end just still processing! Wtf!!!!!

    • I filed on Jan 30, 2014 and WMR still has me on step 1. So I called IRS just a few minutes ago and a nice rep told me that I too, needed to wait until the 21 day mark. WTH!!! She said that as long as there were no errors or anything that it’s just being processed and to wait. My expected date says Feb 20 on my turbotax app. Is this normal this year to wait so long?

    • How did you call them? They’re saying they don’t have my info “invalid information” still and I filed on January 31st. I even received “accepted” notices from Turbo Tax. I’m freaking out here. I would love my interest free loan back but now I’m worried they’ll penalize me because they never got my efile.

  35. I did my daughter’s taxes through TT and we filed on 1/19 and it was received on 1/26. She checked WMR on 2/5 and had all three bars, then the next day the bars were gone and it said returns received and are being processed and no DD date. It has remained this way since. she is frustrated and doesn’t know what the problem could be. It was a simple one page return. Has this happened to anyone else??? I did my son’s return on 2/2 as well as my nephew’s, and they both received their refund on 2/11 and my son had a dependent and a more complicated return. That is just rediculous that she hasn’t received anything yet.

  36. I have a question, if I can view just account transcript and it states no Tax return filed and on return transcript its shows like yhis 2013*, what does this mean?

    • It means your 2013 return is still being processed. I also saw 2013* up until about 36-48hrs before my return was approved. I have a ddd of “by 2/20” and my return has not been sent as of 3:30pm today, 2/17.

  37. I was told from irs employee that actually irs only make deposit in wed thur fri and sat…the updates on the rest of the days is just accepting tax return and also when u order online transcrips if it don’t have the code 846 than it’s still process…if u owe a debt it will be a week later

  38. My return was rejected by my bank (prepaid card) for being over the daily direct deposit limit. Can anyone tell me how to find out when a paper check has been issued or who to actually physically speak to at the IRS in order to find out what happens next? Thanks!

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