Tax Refunds Where’s My Tax Refund? How to Check Your Refund Status Read the Article Open Share Drawer Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Written by TurboTaxLisa Published Feb 12, 2024 - [Updated Mar 30, 2024] 4 min read The average direct deposit tax refund was close to $3,100 last tax season, and with tax season well underway, it’s no surprise that the most common tax season-related question we’re now hearing is: “Where’s my refund?” The time it takes the IRS to process your tax refund is based on how you chose to file your tax return – either e-file or by mail. E-filed tax returns with direct deposit: E-file with direct deposit is the fastest way to get your federal tax refund. Typically, the IRS expects to issue most tax refunds within 21 days after acceptance if there are no issues. Mailed paper returns: Avoiding a paper return is more important than ever to avoid refund delays, if possible. The IRS cautions if you need your refund quickly do not file on paper. Usually, the IRS says to allow 4 weeks before checking the status of your refund, and that refund processing can take 6 to 8 weeks from the date the IRS receives your return. Tax Refund Processing Start checking status 24 – 48 hours after e-file: Once you have e-filed your tax return, you can check your status using the IRS Where’s My Refund? tool. You will need your Social security number or ITIN, your filing status, and your exact refund amount. 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 need the following information when checking refund status: Social security number or ITIN, your filing status, and your exact federal tax refund amount shown on the tax return. You will not see a tax refund date until the IRS finishes processing your tax return and approves your tax refund. 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.” The change in status can take a few days, and a tax refund date will not be provided in Where’s My Refund? until your tax return is processed and your tax refund is approved. Where’s My Refund? tool shows refund date: The IRS will provide a personalized refund date once your status moves to “Refund Approved.” Where’s My Refund? shows “Refund Sent”: 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 opted to receive your tax refund via mail, it could take several weeks for your check to arrive. Track your refund in TurboTax You could experience delays in receiving your tax refund if your return: Includes errors – The IRS has indicated that your refund could be delayed if the information you provided on your tax return does not match the IRS records. Is incomplete – If you didn’t have all of your documents and filed an inaccurate return Needs further review in general Is affected by identity theft or fraud Includes Earned Income Tax Credit or an Additional Child Tax Credit – Under the Path Act, the IRS cannot issue a refund that includes the Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit before mid-February. Includes a Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation PDF, which could take up to 14 weeks to process Tax Refund Status FAQ Will I see a date right away when I check the status in “Where’s My Refund”? The IRS Where’s My Refund? tool will not give you a date until your tax return is received, and 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 include incomplete information, an error, or the IRS may need to review it further. I requested my money be automatically deposited into my bank account, but I was mailed a check. What happened? The IRS is limiting the number of direct deposits that go into a single bank account or prepaid debit card to three tax refunds per year. Your limit may have been exceeded. In addition, for a small number of returns, the IRS decides there may be indications that the bank account on the return is suspicious and they may decide to issue a check instead. Track your refund in TurboTax Previous Post Can You Deduct 401K Savings From Your Taxes? Next Post What is a Tax Bracket? Written by Lisa Greene-Lewis Lisa has over 20 years of experience in tax preparation. Her success is attributed to being able to interpret tax laws and help clients better understand them. She has held positions as a public auditor, controller, and operations manager. Lisa has appeared on the Steve Harvey Show, the Ellen Show, and major news broadcast to break down tax laws and help taxpayers understand what tax laws mean to them. For Lisa, getting timely and accurate information out to taxpayers to help them keep more of their money is paramount. More from Lisa Greene-Lewis Follow Lisa Greene-Lewis on Twitter. 2,010 responses to “Where’s My Tax Refund? How to Check Your Refund Status” « Older Comments Newer Comments » I filed my taxes with turbo tax on February 13 and I haven’t heard anything or been given a date. Reply How do I know when my 45 day review is up and over with.i filed my taxs jan 28 2019,I called the IRS 2 weeks ago and she said I had to undergo a 45 day reveiw and Friday I finally got the letter telling me about it but it didn’t say when I would get my taxs how do I find out where my taxs are. Reply I filed my taxes Feb 4th and still haven’t gotten my return. IRS.gov doesn’t show a tracking bar like they used to mine says “your refund is still being processed. A refund date will be provided when available” is this normal? Reply I filed on 1/14; accepted 1/24. Verified identity on 2/19, still nothing on WMR and when I called was told to wait nine weeks! I do have an offset of $80 for DOE. But why is the WMR not showing any bars? Just Topic 152 and ref. code 9001. Called IRS and still no answers… I’ll keep my fingers crossed for an update next week Reply I filed on January 31. It was approved and i only received my state but not my federal. The irs tool does not bring up anything on my status?? What now?? Reply How long do I have too wait for the check after it got sent back to the Treasury Reply Filed and was accepted by IRS on February 6. It’s the 11th of March…ok..I need answers. Turbo.!. Reply How are you able to check on the status of your star refund I already received my federal refund a month ago Reply Why your adds showing file for free on my bank website, but I paid $39.99 for federal and $39.99 for state to file? Reply Same!!! $120 came out of my portion for me to “file free.” 🙄 Reply Same here I have not received my refund I file Jan 29. Reply I filed my taxes on 2/15 and they both were excepted . I received my federal tax return,but have not seen my state refund as of today,3/11/2019… could you please look to see if there is a problem? The amount is for 370.00$….. Reply Is it the same process for state returns? Reply I never received my pre-paid refund card even though it says it was sent? Can’t find a real person to talk too….. someone contact me! Reply i filed 2/4 … how much longer for my refund “wheres my refund” says its still being processed for two weeks now … did any get theirs? Reply I filed on 2/4 and its says its still being processed and a refund date will be issues when completed. Is there a number I can call? My boyfriend filed after me and got his already. I file the same way as the last few years. Not sure what the issue is? This maybe the last time I use turbotax. Reply I will never use Turbo tax again ..i filed 2/29 and still nothing… I feel its the turbo software that has my taxes jacked up…. Reply Didn’t receive all of my federal refund . Reply I didn’t receive all my money Reply What is issue #28 Reply I want paper copies of my taxes from turno tax Reply The card that my funds are being loaded on to was stolen Reply mine was never received and now it won’t let me log in, and seems the only contact for the card is regular mail ? not happy ! Reply I had filed early February and got a response right away. This was when the Gov’t shutdown was over and before trump was threatening to do another shutdown. The response I got was when I was receiving my return. I had gotten my refund 2 1/2 weeks later with no problem. Just need some patience. Turbotax is actually the easiest on line to do. Reply I owed money – I opted to have it withdrawn on a particular day, but I cannot recall what day Specified. I can’t seem to find the information on my return. Is there spot where this info is located on my turbo tax return file? Reply My taxes were approved on 2/5/19 I still don’t have my taxes. What’s taking so long. This my first time using this app. It maybe my last time. Reply Same here!last time for sure Reply I don’t think it’s turbo tax, my friend is also waiting and she went with a personal tax preparer. We both filed and were approved on 2/05. I’m wondering if it has something to do with the government shutdown? Reply I filed my taxes and they were accepted on the 16th of January. It is now March 10th and WMR says they are STILL being processed. I just did my son’s taxes on the 8th of March and his are due to be deposited on the 14th already. Everyone else I know that has filed has already gotten them back. When I try to contact the IRS I can’t even speak to an actual person any longer. All I get is the automated person telling me what I already know. I am so frustrated right now. Reply Filed on Feb 7 and approved the next day. Received my state return on 14th but no status on my Federal…what’s going on??? Reply I filled my taxed with TurboTax and had my refund in 7 days!! Great job TurboTax! I will be using them again next year! Reply Yeah, im pretty dissapointed with turbotax. I usually go to jackson hewitt but they are expensive. I claim 2 during the year and have kids so i usually do really good on my return. This year i thought “if i go turbo i could save $600+ dollars”. So i filed with turbotax on 2/4/19. Its now 3/9/19 and the irs tells me my return is under review. Not sure exactly sure why and getting answers from anyone is like beating my head against a wall. But irs says if everything checks out ill recieve my refund in 8 weeks from the 18th. Like… super awesome. My fault or not at least with jackson hewitt if there is any issues they are there to tell you whats going on. Like i said, pretty dissapointed. Reply my refund should have been here 2/26, the bank sent it back because it had 2 preceding zeros on the account number. What do I need to do now? Reply My federal tax was filed and accepted February 2nd. We have not received any further information. What is weird is my three children filed theirs same day and all have received their federal retur. We have used Turbo Tax year after year for the past 20 years so what boggles my mind is this is the first time where it was accepted and weeks later no tracking of where it is! Could you please explain this! Very disappointed! Reply I filed my taxes with turbo tax early February…my refund as been sent but I have yet to receive my card…..so where is my bank card and my refund? Reply I filed my taxes and they were accepted February 6th, the status on my return says still processing..it’s been about 2 weeks now! Why is it taking so long this year? I have used TurboTax for about 6 years and never had a problem and this year I have people all around me with more difficult returns that filed after me and already got their return back! What gives TurboTax? I am seeing a bunch of people with this same problem! I won’t use y’all again!!! I need my money!! Reply I filed mines on February 13 and hadn’t heard any thing got my state back so my Be federal should be fine right says still processing haven’t received any kind of letter Reply Somewhere my routing numbers has been changed, along with my account number, there is no way I could have gotten all my numbers wrong, but I have also been locked out of my account, and cant get back in and turbo has done nothing to help or change this, my refund is in some other account, and Im being the one who has to investigate my status of my refund, Turbo has been paid their fee, and the Santa Barbra Tax Group has gotten their fee, but no one one is helping me, this is very bad on Turbo and Intuits part. Reply I E-filed with TuboTax on 2/7, payed almost 90 bucks because of a 1099, then another 35 to use my return to pay for it (that’s a new charge!). Sorry, I love to bellache. Anyway, I E-signed just like I have done using Turbo for years, and boom, 2 hours later IRS says my return has been accepted. 30 days later IRS Where’s my refund says Pending approval. We opted for direct deposit because it’s quicker too. I’ve been told maybe because of issues with 1099s and the government? I don’t know. Reply I will NEVER FILE with turbo tax again! I see alot of turbo users saying the same thing their MONEY IS LATE I filed Feb 5th accepted feb 5th received a letter from irs on feb 25th saying verify identity, verified same day. Its march 9 still no refund??????? Why turbotax why? Reply Received my IRS tax refund in the mail on March 8, 2019.. When can I expect to receive my State refund check? Reply I still ain’t got my card in the mail and it’s been 5weeks. It’s says the $ went to a bank account but I didn’t put anything in about a bank account. So IDK what going on were is my card. Help plz. Reply Looking for my return done thru turbo tax, and IRS cannot verify my info, I entered my SS#, date sent, and amount twice, sent 2-11-2019 Reply filed for the first time using turbo tax and it says my return is “ready to mail”, however i requested direct deposit. its been “ready to mail” for around a month. i have been out of the country and constantly checking to see if it has been deposited. i filed as soon as i got my W2 and that was beginning/middle of january Reply this is the worst program I have ever used. what a waste of money I could not efile my taxes after I had already printed it but had not mailed it off yet. tax support help is horrible I will never use again or recommend to anyone Reply I filed through trubo tax and I did everything correctly and I got a letter back from the IRS needing a completed form 8962 and a copy of a1095A for the health insurance market place I faxed irs everything on next day Monday 3-4-2019 and I still don’t have my check I filed on 2-8-2019 irs said yes I probably did fill this part out but trubo tax didn’t submit it…so next year I will not be using trubo tax!!! Reply I checked the status of my return and it is for a future date, but I have a deposit pending to my account for a different sum with the label issue 449. What is this and why am I getting it. Reply This validate my identity process appears over reach by irs. Sending them data on my credit report I don’t believe is supported by public law. Besides I used turbo tax which documented my identity by government issued driver data. Bottom line another 9 weeks for my refund. Sounds strange Reply I havent got my atarte refund yet but it says i have 🙁 Reply Anyone else get an email from intuit saying Your Taxes are Done to check your refund status but it still says processing Reply I recieved my federal refund like 3 weeks ago but where is my state refund . Reply I filed my taxes 2/15 they were accepted that day. I got my state but no federal. Never had it take so long. Reply 1 owe the irs $960 ,i set it up to be withdrawn from my account since last month,and no sign of witthdrawn from my checking. how long does it take Reply This is our first time to use Turbo tax , we filed on Feb 24 and received our tax return on March 6 , that means it took only 10 days , WOW that’s unbelievable , thank you Turbo tax. Reply « Older Comments Newer Comments » Leave a ReplyCancel reply Browse Related Articles Tax Refunds What To Expect When You’re Expecting…a Tax Refund Tax Refunds Where’s My Tax Refund?: IRS Has $153 Million in … Tax Refunds Where’s My Tax Refund? Tax News Facts About the PATH Act and Tax Refunds Tax News IRS Updates “Where’s My Refund?” Tax Tips Find Out When Your Tax Refund Will Be Sent Announcements Where’s my refund? Tax Refunds 4 Steps from E-file to your Tax Refund! Tax News IRS Opens E-file on January 23: Get A Jump on Your Tax … Tax Refunds TurboTax AnswerXchange Question of the Month: When Wil…
I filed my taxes with turbo tax on February 13 and I haven’t heard anything or been given a date. Reply
How do I know when my 45 day review is up and over with.i filed my taxs jan 28 2019,I called the IRS 2 weeks ago and she said I had to undergo a 45 day reveiw and Friday I finally got the letter telling me about it but it didn’t say when I would get my taxs how do I find out where my taxs are. Reply
I filed my taxes Feb 4th and still haven’t gotten my return. IRS.gov doesn’t show a tracking bar like they used to mine says “your refund is still being processed. A refund date will be provided when available” is this normal? Reply
I filed on 1/14; accepted 1/24. Verified identity on 2/19, still nothing on WMR and when I called was told to wait nine weeks! I do have an offset of $80 for DOE. But why is the WMR not showing any bars? Just Topic 152 and ref. code 9001. Called IRS and still no answers… I’ll keep my fingers crossed for an update next week Reply
I filed on January 31. It was approved and i only received my state but not my federal. The irs tool does not bring up anything on my status?? What now?? Reply
Filed and was accepted by IRS on February 6. It’s the 11th of March…ok..I need answers. Turbo.!. Reply
How are you able to check on the status of your star refund I already received my federal refund a month ago Reply
Why your adds showing file for free on my bank website, but I paid $39.99 for federal and $39.99 for state to file? Reply
I filed my taxes on 2/15 and they both were excepted . I received my federal tax return,but have not seen my state refund as of today,3/11/2019… could you please look to see if there is a problem? The amount is for 370.00$….. Reply
I never received my pre-paid refund card even though it says it was sent? Can’t find a real person to talk too….. someone contact me! Reply
i filed 2/4 … how much longer for my refund “wheres my refund” says its still being processed for two weeks now … did any get theirs? Reply
I filed on 2/4 and its says its still being processed and a refund date will be issues when completed. Is there a number I can call? My boyfriend filed after me and got his already. I file the same way as the last few years. Not sure what the issue is? This maybe the last time I use turbotax. Reply
I will never use Turbo tax again ..i filed 2/29 and still nothing… I feel its the turbo software that has my taxes jacked up…. Reply
mine was never received and now it won’t let me log in, and seems the only contact for the card is regular mail ? not happy ! Reply
I had filed early February and got a response right away. This was when the Gov’t shutdown was over and before trump was threatening to do another shutdown. The response I got was when I was receiving my return. I had gotten my refund 2 1/2 weeks later with no problem. Just need some patience. Turbotax is actually the easiest on line to do. Reply
I owed money – I opted to have it withdrawn on a particular day, but I cannot recall what day Specified. I can’t seem to find the information on my return. Is there spot where this info is located on my turbo tax return file? Reply
My taxes were approved on 2/5/19 I still don’t have my taxes. What’s taking so long. This my first time using this app. It maybe my last time. Reply
I don’t think it’s turbo tax, my friend is also waiting and she went with a personal tax preparer. We both filed and were approved on 2/05. I’m wondering if it has something to do with the government shutdown? Reply
I filed my taxes and they were accepted on the 16th of January. It is now March 10th and WMR says they are STILL being processed. I just did my son’s taxes on the 8th of March and his are due to be deposited on the 14th already. Everyone else I know that has filed has already gotten them back. When I try to contact the IRS I can’t even speak to an actual person any longer. All I get is the automated person telling me what I already know. I am so frustrated right now. Reply
Filed on Feb 7 and approved the next day. Received my state return on 14th but no status on my Federal…what’s going on??? Reply
I filled my taxed with TurboTax and had my refund in 7 days!! Great job TurboTax! I will be using them again next year! Reply
Yeah, im pretty dissapointed with turbotax. I usually go to jackson hewitt but they are expensive. I claim 2 during the year and have kids so i usually do really good on my return. This year i thought “if i go turbo i could save $600+ dollars”. So i filed with turbotax on 2/4/19. Its now 3/9/19 and the irs tells me my return is under review. Not sure exactly sure why and getting answers from anyone is like beating my head against a wall. But irs says if everything checks out ill recieve my refund in 8 weeks from the 18th. Like… super awesome. My fault or not at least with jackson hewitt if there is any issues they are there to tell you whats going on. Like i said, pretty dissapointed. Reply
my refund should have been here 2/26, the bank sent it back because it had 2 preceding zeros on the account number. What do I need to do now? Reply
My federal tax was filed and accepted February 2nd. We have not received any further information. What is weird is my three children filed theirs same day and all have received their federal retur. We have used Turbo Tax year after year for the past 20 years so what boggles my mind is this is the first time where it was accepted and weeks later no tracking of where it is! Could you please explain this! Very disappointed! Reply
I filed my taxes with turbo tax early February…my refund as been sent but I have yet to receive my card…..so where is my bank card and my refund? Reply
I filed my taxes and they were accepted February 6th, the status on my return says still processing..it’s been about 2 weeks now! Why is it taking so long this year? I have used TurboTax for about 6 years and never had a problem and this year I have people all around me with more difficult returns that filed after me and already got their return back! What gives TurboTax? I am seeing a bunch of people with this same problem! I won’t use y’all again!!! I need my money!! Reply
I filed mines on February 13 and hadn’t heard any thing got my state back so my Be federal should be fine right says still processing haven’t received any kind of letter Reply
Somewhere my routing numbers has been changed, along with my account number, there is no way I could have gotten all my numbers wrong, but I have also been locked out of my account, and cant get back in and turbo has done nothing to help or change this, my refund is in some other account, and Im being the one who has to investigate my status of my refund, Turbo has been paid their fee, and the Santa Barbra Tax Group has gotten their fee, but no one one is helping me, this is very bad on Turbo and Intuits part. Reply
I E-filed with TuboTax on 2/7, payed almost 90 bucks because of a 1099, then another 35 to use my return to pay for it (that’s a new charge!). Sorry, I love to bellache. Anyway, I E-signed just like I have done using Turbo for years, and boom, 2 hours later IRS says my return has been accepted. 30 days later IRS Where’s my refund says Pending approval. We opted for direct deposit because it’s quicker too. I’ve been told maybe because of issues with 1099s and the government? I don’t know. Reply
I will NEVER FILE with turbo tax again! I see alot of turbo users saying the same thing their MONEY IS LATE I filed Feb 5th accepted feb 5th received a letter from irs on feb 25th saying verify identity, verified same day. Its march 9 still no refund??????? Why turbotax why? Reply
Received my IRS tax refund in the mail on March 8, 2019.. When can I expect to receive my State refund check? Reply
I still ain’t got my card in the mail and it’s been 5weeks. It’s says the $ went to a bank account but I didn’t put anything in about a bank account. So IDK what going on were is my card. Help plz. Reply
Looking for my return done thru turbo tax, and IRS cannot verify my info, I entered my SS#, date sent, and amount twice, sent 2-11-2019 Reply
filed for the first time using turbo tax and it says my return is “ready to mail”, however i requested direct deposit. its been “ready to mail” for around a month. i have been out of the country and constantly checking to see if it has been deposited. i filed as soon as i got my W2 and that was beginning/middle of january Reply
this is the worst program I have ever used. what a waste of money I could not efile my taxes after I had already printed it but had not mailed it off yet. tax support help is horrible I will never use again or recommend to anyone Reply
I filed through trubo tax and I did everything correctly and I got a letter back from the IRS needing a completed form 8962 and a copy of a1095A for the health insurance market place I faxed irs everything on next day Monday 3-4-2019 and I still don’t have my check I filed on 2-8-2019 irs said yes I probably did fill this part out but trubo tax didn’t submit it…so next year I will not be using trubo tax!!! Reply
I checked the status of my return and it is for a future date, but I have a deposit pending to my account for a different sum with the label issue 449. What is this and why am I getting it. Reply
This validate my identity process appears over reach by irs. Sending them data on my credit report I don’t believe is supported by public law. Besides I used turbo tax which documented my identity by government issued driver data. Bottom line another 9 weeks for my refund. Sounds strange Reply
Anyone else get an email from intuit saying Your Taxes are Done to check your refund status but it still says processing Reply
I filed my taxes 2/15 they were accepted that day. I got my state but no federal. Never had it take so long. Reply
1 owe the irs $960 ,i set it up to be withdrawn from my account since last month,and no sign of witthdrawn from my checking. how long does it take Reply
This is our first time to use Turbo tax , we filed on Feb 24 and received our tax return on March 6 , that means it took only 10 days , WOW that’s unbelievable , thank you Turbo tax. Reply