Generally, the IRS will process and issue refunds within 21 days. In some situations, your refund may take longer to be processed by the IRS or your financial institution. The IRS Where's My Refund? page provides an actual personalized refund date as soon as the IRS processes your tax return and approves your refund. The website is updated no more than once every 24 hours, usually overnight.
Refund Delays Due to requirements under the PATH act, refunds for returns with Earned Income Tax Credit (EIC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) are not processed or issued until mid-February each year. If a return is filed before the middle of February, the return may show as accepted, but refunds will be held. The Where's My Refund page for these returns will not be updated until after February 15th. See Refund Timing and Some Refunds Delayed to Combat Fraud for more information.
Some tax returns will also take longer to process if it:
Includes errors
Is incomplete
Needs further review, in general
Is affected by identity theft or fraud
Includes Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation
Refund Issues
Amount Differs
If your refund is different than you expected, all or part of your refund may have been used (offset) to pay off past-due federal tax, state income tax, state unemployment compensation debts, child support, spousal support, or other federal nontax debts, such as student loans.
This includes if you owe taxes for a different federal tax period for which you are making payments under an installment agreement or payment plan. The IRS will automatically apply any refund (or overpayment) due to you against taxes you owe.
To find out if you may have an offset or if you have questions about an offset, contact the agency to which you owe the debt, or call the US Treasury Offset Program at 1-800-304-3107. See Tax Topic 203 for more information about refund offsets.
If your refund is reduced:
You’ll get a notice showing the original refund, the amount taken, and the agency paid.
The remaining refund is sent as usual (check or direct deposit).
Contact the agency listed on the notice if you dispute the debt.
Contact the IRS only if the refund amount shown on the notice doesn’t match your tax return.
In some cases, a refund will not be direct deposited. The IRS will issue a paper-check for one of the following reasons:
The account was not listed as belonging to the taxpayer or spouse. The IRS can only deposit refunds electronically into accounts in your own name, your spouse's name or in a joint account.
A financial institution rejected the direct deposit.
The IRS can’t deposit more than three electronic refunds into a single financial account.
Erroneous Refund If you receive an erroneous refund, see Tax Topic 161 for more information.
Other Issues
The return or refund may require additional processing time for the following situations:
Name and Social Security Number Mismatch: If the last name and Social Security number of the primary taxpayer do not match the prior year's return, there will be a delay of at least one week while the information is re-matched. (Use the name exactly as it appears on the mailing label of the tax package.)
Estimated Tax Payments Discrepancy: If the Estimated Tax payments reported on the return do not match those recorded in the IRS Master File, the return may be delayed. This issue may arise if:
The spouse made separate Estimated Tax payments but filed a joint return (or vice versa), or
The return was filed before the last Estimated Tax payment was credited to the account.
Schedule E Issues: If the taxpayer claims a deduction for a questionable tax shelter on Schedule E (Supplemental Income and Loss), it may cause delays.
Unallowable Deductions: Refunds may be delayed or reduced if the taxpayer claims deductions that are clearly unallowable.
First-Time Filers: A taxpayer who has not filed a tax return as either a primary or secondary filer in the previous ten years is considered a first-time filer, and this can lead to delays.