IRS return refund: when will it arrive and how to check the status
Many are still waiting for their federal IRS refund, here is how to check the status after filing.
Tax season has mostly wrapped up, but there are still many waiting for their refunds after submitting their returns after the April deadline.
Typically the IRS is able to distribute a tax refund within twenty-one days so long as the return is filed electronically. Those who file a paper refund, they must wait between six and eight weeks to receive their refund. Providing the IRS with direct deposit information, rather than an address to receive a physical check, can expedite receiving the refund.
How to check the status of your refund
The IRS offers a tool called “Where’s My Refund.” This allows taxpayers to check the status of their refund by providing their Social Security Number, the refund total, and their tax filing status.
In late May, the IRS announced that they had made “important enhancement[s]” to the platofrm, which allow “taxpayers to check the status of their current tax year and two previous years’ refunds.”
Information on the status of one’s refund should be available within twenty-four hours of submitting an electronic refund or within the day that the IRS receives a paper refund in the mail. There are three steps within the process that taxpayers will be able to track their refund through: return received, refund approved, and refund sent.
Using the tool can be very helpful to those who may have made a mistake on the return and for that reason have not been sent their refund. The tool can alert taxpayers to filing errors so that they can quickly correct them and resubmit their updated return.
For those who have not seen any changes to their filing status and filed a paper return, the IRS offers a help line which can be reached at 1-800- 829-4477.
Final 2021 Tax Deadline
The tax deadline to submit a 2021 return is 17 October 2022. However, IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig does not recommend waiting if taxpayers have the information they need to submit their return.
“There’s really no reason to wait until October 17 if filers have the relevant information to file now,” said Commissioner Rettig, who also noted that “Free File is still available for extension recipients to use to prepare and file their federal tax return for free.”
Those who are still collecting the information they need to submit a refund can submit an extension to avoid further penalities acrewing between now and October.