We already know that you are eagerly awaiting your tax refund. That sum of money makes the difference between catching up on your bills or planning a vacation. Or simply knowing that you have a financial cushion that allows you to live a little more peacefully! But what happens when that money takes a while to arrive? If you have felt the anxiety that comes with waiting for this refund (just like when you order a package online and you hope that, by the time you hit “accept payment”, the delivery person is at home with your package), you are not alone. Luckily, there are very simple tools that you can use to track your refund and avoid these worries. Below we are going to tell you everything you need to know to regain your peace of mind and your money.
How to track your refund?
If you filed your tax return several weeks ago and you still haven’t received your refund money, it could be due to several reasons, such as choosing the paper option instead of an electronic refund. But if it’s been more than 21 days since you filed your return and you still haven’t received your money, it’s time to use the IRS’s refund tracking tool to verify that everything is correct.
Most taxpayers filed their return on April 15 (this was the last day to file returns unless you requested a tax extension or reside in a state with different filing dates).
IRS tools to track your refund
That’s right, the IRS itself offers online tools and a mobile application that simplifies the process so that you can track your tax refund. It’s called “Where’s my refund” and it’s a web portal with English and Spanish options, which allows all taxpayers to check the status of their refund. You will only need to have your social security number or tax identification number, the marital status of your return, and the exact amount that the IRS has to return to you. Once you have entered this information, you will receive an update on the status of your refund. There will be three options: received (meaning that the IRS has received your return and is still processing it), approved (meaning that the refund is confirmed), and sent (meaning that the money has been transferred to your bank account or sent as a paper check by mail and should be arriving soon).
If you filed your return online, you can track it just after 24 hours of filing it. If, on the other hand, you chose the mail option, you will have to wait 4 weeks to track it.
IRS2Go – what is it?
Another of useful tool provided by the IRS is this mobile application (available for Android and iOS) that allows you to check the status of your refund anywhere. This system is updated daily, so if there are no immediate changes, it is recommended to wait a little longer, impatient people!
What are the most common reasons for refund delays?
There are several reasons why your refund may take longer than expected. The most common is that there are small errors in your return such as incorrect calculations or discrepancies in personal information, so these errors will lead to a manual review of your request, which will make it take a little longer.
The additional reviews, as you well know, will be reviews that the IRS performs exhaustively to prevent fraud (in the event that the IRS has indications that your return may have fraudulent errors, it will take a little longer to return what they have to return to you).
As for refund methods, it is obviously much easier to choose direct deposit than paper checks because it generally lengthens the wait, and direct deposit arrives immediately.
Important information
- If you have not received your refund, you can contact the IRS phone number during regular business hours: 800-829-1040 or 800-829-8374
- If you receive your tax refund by direct deposit, IRS code TREAS 310 indicates that it is a tax refund, and you may see TAX REF as confirmation in the transaction description.
- Tax Topic 152 indicates that you may receive a refund, but it has not yet been approved or sent.
- Tax Topic 151 means that the IRS is reviewing your return and you may receive adjustments to your refund.
We hope that all this information has been useful to you!