You’ve filed your tax return and are expecting a tax refund. Congratulations! Now, you want to know when to expect your refund. Generally, if you e-file and use direct deposit, the IRS estimates that you should receive your federal refund between 8 and 14 days after they accept your return (i.e. the IRS does not send you a notification requesting additional information or an audit notice). The IRS issues more than 90 percent of refunds within 21 days.
The IRS expects more than 70 percent of taxpayers to again receive tax refunds this year. Last year, the IRS issued 109 million refunds, with an average refund of $2,860.
If you did not select the electronic deposit option, getting a paper check mailed to you adds about a week. If your return was filed by mail, then your refund can take up to 6 weeks from the date the IRS receives a complete and accurate return. Once your return is accepted by the IRS, the IRS processes your refund based on the IRS E-file Refund Cycle Chart. An estimated IRS refund chart for the latest tax season based on date range of your filing being accepted by the IRS is shown below. Exact refund dates are based on IRS processing times and can be found in IRS Publication 2043 and IRS Topic 152 for both e-filed and mailed returns.
| Tax Return Accepted by IRS After (WMR status = Return Received) | IRS Refund Accepted Before | Estimated Refund Date (via Direct Deposit) | Estimated Refund Date (via Paper Check) |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 28, 2019 | February 3, 2019 | February 15, 2019 | March 1, 2019 |
| February 4, 2019 | February 10, 2019 | February 22, 2019 | March 8, 2019 |
| February 11, 2019 | February 17, 2019 | March 1, 2019 | March 15, 2019 |
| February 18, 2019 | February 24, 2019 | March 8, 2019 | March 22, 2019 |
| February 25, 2019 | March 3, 2019 | March 15, 2019 | March 29, 2019 |
| March 4, 2019 | March 10, 2019 | March 22, 2019 | April 5, 2019 |
| March 11, 2019 | March 17, 2019 | March 29, 2019 | April 12, 2019 |
| March 18, 2019 | March 24, 2019 | April 5, 2019 | April 19, 2019 |
| March 25, 2019 | March 31, 2019 | April 12, 2019 | April 26, 2019 |
| April 1, 2019 | April 7, 2019 | April 19, 2019 | May 3, 2019 |
| April 8, 2019 | April 14, 2019 | April 26, 2019 | May 10, 2019 |
| April 15, 2019 | April 21, 2019 | May 3, 2019 | May 17, 2019 |
| April 22, 2019 | April 28, 2019 | May 10, 2019 | May 24, 2019 |
| April 29, 2019 | May 5, 2019 | May 17, 2019 | May 31, 2019 |
| May 6, 2019 | May 12, 2019 | May 24, 2019 | June 7, 2019 |
| May 13, 2019 | May 19, 2019 | May 31, 2019 | June 14, 2019 |
| May 20, 2019 | May 26, 2019 | June 7, 2019 | June 21, 2019 |
| May 27, 2019 | June 2, 2019 | June 14, 2019 | June 28, 2019 |
| June 3, 2019 | June 9, 2019 | June 21, 2019 | July 5, 2019 |
| June 10, 2019 | June 16, 2019 | June 28, 2019 | July 12, 2019 |
| June 17, 2019 | June 23, 2019 | July 5, 2019 | July 19, 2019 |
| June 24, 2019 | June 30, 2019 | July 12, 2019 | July 26, 2019 |
| July 1, 2019 | July 7, 2019 | July 19, 2019 | August 2, 2019 |
| July 8, 2019 | July 14, 2019 | July 26, 2019 | August 9, 2019 |
| July 15, 2019 | July 21, 2019 | August 2, 2019 | August 16, 2019 |
| July 22, 2019 | July 28, 2019 | August 9, 2019 | August 23, 2019 |
| July 29, 2019 | August 4, 2019 | August 16, 2019 | August 30, 2019 |
| August 5, 2019 | August 11, 2019 | August 23, 2019 | September 6, 2019 |
| August 12, 2019 | August 18, 2019 | August 30, 2019 | September 13, 2019 |
| August 19, 2019 | August 25, 2019 | September 6, 2019 | September 20, 2019 |
| August 26, 2019 | September 1, 2019 | September 13, 2019 | September 27, 2019 |
| September 2, 2019 | September 8, 2019 | September 20, 2019 | October 4, 2019 |
| September 9, 2019 | September 15, 2019 | September 27, 2019 | October 11, 2019 |
| September 16, 2019 | September 22, 2019 | October 4, 2019 | October 18, 2019 |
| September 23, 2019 | September 29, 2019 | October 11, 2019 | October 25, 2019 |
| September 30, 2019 | October 6, 2019 | October 18, 2019 | November 1, 2019 |
| October 7, 2019 | October 13, 2019 | October 25, 2019 | November 8, 2019 |
| October 14, 2019 | October 20, 2019 | November 1, 2019 | November 15, 2019 |
| October 21, 2019 | October 27, 2019 | November 8, 2019 | November 22, 2019 |
| October 28, 2019 | November 3, 2019 | November 15, 2019 | November 29, 2019 |
| November 4, 2019 | November 10, 2019 | November 22, 2019 | December 6, 2019 |
| November 11, 2019 | November 17, 2019 | November 29, 2019 | December 13, 2019 |
| November 18, 2019 | November 24, 2019 | December 6, 2019 | December 20, 2019 |
| November 25, 2019 | December 1, 2019 | December 13, 2019 | December 27, 2019 |
| December 2, 2019 | December 8, 2019 | December 20, 2019 | January 3, 2020 |
| December 9, 2019 | December 15, 2019 | December 27, 2019 | January 10, 2020 |
| December 16, 2019 | December 22, 2019 | January 3, 2020 | January 17, 2020 |
| December 23, 2019 | December 29, 2019 | January 10, 2020 | January 24, 2020 |
| December 30, 2019 | January 5, 2020 | January 17, 2020 | January 31, 2020 |
| January 6, 2020 | January 12, 2020 | January 24, 2020 | February 7, 2020 |
To find out online when the IRS currently expects to specifically issue your refund, check the IRS “Where’s My Refund?” tool which is updated every Wednesday. You’ll need to provide the following information from your tax return : social security number, filing status and the exact whole dollar amount of your expected refund. See more refund information from the bigger online tax providers – > TurboTax or TaxAct
Should I call the IRS if I haven’t received my refund?
For the latest tax season the IRS has already announced that there will likely be tax refund payment delays. In particular for taxpayers claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) refunds may not be processed until after February 15th in order to perform further identity verification checks. They have said to only call them after 21 days (Mid-March) if you do not get your refund payment.
Unfortunately calling the IRS won’t do anything to speed your refund since their call center staff are not the ones who process the (over 140 million) tax returns. The best option is still to use check the “Where’s My Refund” page or IRS2Go application. If you don’t receive your refund in 21 days, then and only then, contact the IRS to determine why it is taking so long to receive your return.
When to Expect Your State Tax Refund
State refunds are processed by each individual state, so processing times will vary. Also while your state and federal tax information is dependent on each other, refund processing is done differently at the state level and federal (IRS) level. As a general rule, you can expect your state tax refund within 30 days of the electronic filing date or the postmark date. To get the current status of your state tax refund, contact your state tax agency or search online for your state’s taxation website. You can see here for more on state tax refund processing times and sites. Per the comments on that article it is not unusual for state refunds to lag the federal refund, especially earlier in the tax season. Like federal returns however state returns are also going through a lot more identity verification checks which are holding up refunds again this year.
I’m not going to be able to file my taxes in time. What should I do? If you can’t make that mid April deadline for filing your taxes then file an extension. The IRS says it received requests for 11 million extensions, which amounts to about 8% of all tax returns. Taxpayers who ask for an extension get an extra six months to file—your new deadline will be in mid October. However you still need to make any expected tax liability payments. See this article for more details and restrictions on filing an extension.
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Oddly enough, I have already received my Federal refund, however, I seemingly can not check on the status of my State refund and am getting both worried and frustrated. I have not received any notice by the IRS to send additional information or audit information, or what-have-you, I just would appreciate some advice on, well, anything really.
I FILED MY TAXES ON FEB 4 2019.AND FEDERAL AND GA HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED. MY QUESTION IS DOSE 21 DAYS APPLY TO STATE OR JUST FEDERAL?
I filed my tax return on February 21 and have received my state return but not federal. When should I expect it? Every time I check it says being processed
Same situation here
I am wondering why i haven’t recieved my state refund and why the system is still saying that the state refund has not been processed yet but i electronically filed on January 27th 2017 and i recieved my Federal refund on February 22,1017 why hasn’t my state refund been processed when should i recieve it
Ot says my taxes r delayed code 1541 what’s that mean
Filed taxes 1-30 & still can’t tell me anything? We don’t receive eic and have no children. Still don’t say anything on where’s my refund I’ve called twice and nothing
I did my taxes on the 29th of January and the IRS2Go won’t show me Anything it just says they can’t provide me no information at this time
Can you view your transcript online? If so, this is where you will find out exactly why you are under review by the codes that will be listed. Indeed something is wrong since you filed and was accepted on 1/30. Can you think or any reason you were pulled for review. Did you have any of the following: Common Reasons Returns are pulled for Review or Full Blown Audits: 1. NEW changes this year compared to your last 3 years of filing? This will most definitely flag your return. 2. Address Change? 3. Did you file prior to receiving your W-2? (ex: did you use your last paycheck stub?) there could be a math error. 4. Educational Credit? 5. ID verification 6. Add/drop dependents? 7. Offset (owed back taxes for a prior year) which will not show up on the offset line. 8. Have you checked the offset line (800)… Read more »
I filed my taxes JANUARY 27 N MINES STILL SAY ITS PROCESSING I CALL THE TAX LADY WHO DID IT FOR ME N ITS STILL SAYING N PROCESSING I NEED TO KNW WUTS GOING ON THIS IS FRUSTRATING BC I SHOULD HAVE BEEN GOTTEN MY TAXES I KNOW PEOPLE THAT FILED WI THE SAME LADY THAT DID MINE TAXES N THEY HAVE GOTTEN THEY MONEY ALRE DIRECT DEPOSIT N
I filled soon as they opened when i check wmr no information called no info now wen i call this num it says march 8th 8003043107 its gonna ask just for ur social it should tell u if u have a debt or something
I did my taxes on turbo tax , they was accepted January 28. But I put the wireless routing number. How long will it take to receive the check?
* I put the wrong routing number by mistake
Filing taxes is such a PAIN! For 2014 I couldn’t e-file for the first time because the IRS said my DOB was wrong. Wtf? So I got that resolved and my taxes were delayed 2 wks by snail mail. For 2015, I moved so my W2 got lost in the mail and I had to wait 2 WEEKS for my employer to resend it. For 2016, my PO box rejected my W2 and got lost in the mail AGAIN! Theres NO WAY im waiting 2 wks again. I called corporate at least 15 times and I finally got my W2 electronically. I just got my DD today!!
Who did they taxes got the refund
I mail my taxes on February 15,2016 and haven’t got anything back or hear from the irs
I did my refund of Feb 9 and I still havent recieved my refund so I called the IRS and they told me on March 2 it got sent to the identity theft dept. If i send my pin along with my refund why are they taking so long to prove it is me? They also told me it takes 6-8 wks to process this really that long?? Does it really take long?
I need my refund.everyday I exceed the number of times I’m allowed per day to check.this blows I’m really anxious I owe some clown some $.i wish he was a clown , he’s a big ugly monster.
Hello! If I filed my taxes on February 12th and still have yet to receive my refund, when is the latest that I should be expecting my money? My girlfriend filed on the same day and got hers back last week. We both filed electronically.
I had mine done at H&R Block on 1/27 and they were immediately accepted.Status changed to processing last week. I have already received my state but nothing from federal. Everyone else around me is getting theirs and I’m still waiting. This is so frustrating. I wish someone could just give me a straight answer so I know what’s going on!
I also filed mine with hnr block and haven’t heard anything it still says pending
Mine got accepted January 30 and I still haven’t received mine yet
Mine was accepted on 2-5 also n hasnt moved from first bar either!
Same here that’s why I’m here trying to find a possible date that my direct deposit mite hit.. any clue
Its not going to be deposited until the 27th
i filed on the feb 11th and still havent moved they say when u get the email it says when the irs accepts it then be looking at your direct deposite in to 7 to 14 days but the irs websites says the 19th
Same here it probably be here Saturday or Sunday
I filed mines electronically through turbotax & my federal got received on the 11th & state got received on the 12th & the website still say received but don’t know what number to call to actually see what’s going on.!!!! Can anybody help me figure this out please so I can find out what’s going on with my taxes?
The websites says the 19th u will have it on the 19th
I filed on 02/03 I have not received my yet
I filed 1/24 and my bar has not moved. Anyone else!
Did u file turbo tax or thru cpa
I have filed on the 5th of February and was accepted on the 5th of February and today I looked at my status and it says your refund is still processing waiting on a release date what do that mean and can I get it as early without them putting it up there they just updated that today
I filed the same day and ask for direct deposit when u recive a cycle date please let me know
Same here.. I didnt even recieve a staus bar. That’s all it said. I did recieve a loan. Does that mean I’m getting a refund?
I filed the 27 of january got an advance but nothing else its very frustrating
Did my taxes 1\27 i have yet to see my refund
Anyone with a accept date of 2/5/16 did you move to the approved status?
I filed on 2/5, was accepted almost immediately, and my bar hasn’t moved either
I have filed on the 5th of February and was accepted on the 5th of February and today I looked at my status and it says your refund is still processing waiting on a release date what do that mean and can I get it as early without them putting it up there they just updated that today
I also filed on 2/5/16 and mine only has said accepted. Hasn’t moved past the 1st bar though.
All my bars are gone. I filled on 2/3 and accepted on 2/5. For about 1 week i had one bar on accepted then all bar disappeared!!!
I was accepted 2/5/16 and still have not moved past the first bar.
The first bar means received not accepted once it goes to the 2nd bar then that means your return was accepted and ull get a date
Nope
Nope today is 2 weeks that I still haven’t received anything and I was accepted on the 5th
I called my emerald card today and it said that my refund was complete i filed on the 25th and it said it was processed on the 25th does anybody have a good idea when it will be loaded since its complete and on the app it doesnt even say complete i think that app isnt working properly
I filed Jan 25 and it’s still in ‘return accepted’ status. A friend of mine who filed after me has already got to ‘refund approved’, but I’m still waiting.
Yes, me too. It’s really frustrating!
Same here. I filed on my tax on 1/18 and till this day it says its in review. It has not gone to the second bar where it says “approved” whats going on?
I have used Turbo Tax, my return very simple yet I filed 19th and still waiting as well, so TT isnt always going to get it faster
I file my taxe return on January 19,2016 it is being process, How long before you usually get a date for approved return
I filed the same day u did and it still saying process
I filed on 1/29 and was accepted the same day. I finally awoke this morning to a DD of 1/10, which also happens to be today’s date but still no refund. Turbo Tax is where I was given my deposit date yet WMR shows no change past received. I have a feeling that the recently announced breach has affected much more than the IRS will admit to. This is aggravating to say the least.
I filed my tax return in January 2015 and I had to take my id and social security in and now it’s been 3 months and it’s still saying processing I have called can’t get know one
I filed my taxes in early April electronically. They were kicked back saying someone stole my identity and already filed them. I was told by my tax person I had to file a paper return and would get a questionnaire and password probably in June or July. It’s almost December and I’ve heard nothing. When I call Where’s my refund I just get a message saying it hasn’t been processed yet. I can not reach any one on the phone to talk to. Will I need to drive to their office in Cincinnattie?
[…] if you e-file and use direct deposit, the IRS estimates that you should receive your federal refund between 8 and 14 days after they accept your return (i.e. the IRS does not send you a notification […]
[…] providers) and use direct deposit, the IRS estimates that you should receive your federal refund between 8 and 14 days after they accept your return (i.e. the IRS does not send you a notification […]
I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster.
I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster.
Wow – great response to the competition and thanks for some of the supportive comments. To pick a winner, I used the Excel Random number generator and came up with 3 numbers (between 1 and 26 for number of entries) and the numbers were : 5, 8 and 24. This corresponds to (in chronological order, with 1 being the earliest comment)
5 – Daniel
8 – John D
24 – Cathy Edwards
I will email each of these winners shortly. Given I want to help all my readers, I will ask my Turbo tax contacts to see if we can get some more copies to give away. Stay tuned.
I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster.
Great offer!!
I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster
I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster.
This would make things much easier!
Thanks
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I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster. and I am a Winner!!!!
I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster
I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster.
I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster.
– I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster.
I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster, although I think that is a funny statement given it is March 21st and I haven’t filed yet… :) Thanks for all the info in your blog, it’s been helpful.
I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster!
Thanks for all the practical tips, and the sources to look further.
I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster
I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster. Turbo Tax really does walk you thru the whole process as if you were sitting with a tax advisor!
I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster
I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster
I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster.
I want to use Turbo Tax to file my software and get my refund faster
I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster.
I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster
I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster
I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster!
Great blog, keep the posts coming!
I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster
Hey
So I am a lurker but I have been reading the blog for a while I do like your content. I regularly forward articles on to my wife so we can discuss them as we look over our finances each month.
Oh ya.
I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster.
want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster
Wow, this article was just in time as was planning to file my taxes tonight. Hope I win! Here is the catch phrase – I want to use TurboTax to file my software and get my refund faster