The Where’s My Refund? tool provides taxpayers with three key pieces of information: IRS confirmation of receiving a federal tax return, approval of the tax refund and issuing date of the approved tax refund. Information for returns from tax years 2023, 2022 and 2021 is available. The deadline for most taxpayers to file a tax return, pay any tax due or request an extension to file is Monday, April 15.
How to use Where’s My Refund?
To use Where’s My Refund?, taxpayers must enter their Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification number, filing status and the exact whole dollar amount of their expected refund from the original tax return for the year they’re checking.
Once the IRS acknowledges receipt of a return, refund status information is typically available within:
- 24 hours after receipt of a taxpayer’s e-filed tax year 2023 return.
- Three to four days after receipt of an e-filed tax year 2022 or 2021 return.
- Four weeks after mailing a paper return.
Taxpayers should note that the IRS updates the tool once a day, usually overnight, so there’s no need to check more often. The IRS reminds taxpayers that the fastest way to get a refund is by filing electronically and using direct deposit. The IRS will contact taxpayers by mail if more information is needed to process a return.
Refund delivery
Many different factors may affect the timing of refund delivery:
- The tax return has errors, requires additional review or is incomplete.
- The return needs a correction to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or Additional Child Tax Credit.
- The time between the IRS issuing the refund and the bank posting it to an account may vary since processing times fluctuate.
Taxpayers who file electronically and choose direct deposit typically get their refund in less than 21 days.
Check out IRS for more information about the 2023 tax season.