When will I get my tax refund?

When will I receive my federal tax refund?

How quickly you receive your tax refund depends on when you file, how you file, how you choose to receive your refund, and whether you claimed certain credits and deductions. In general, you can expect to get your refund money within 21 days (about 3 weeks) after the IRS has accepted and processed your tax return, if there are no issues. 

If you chose for your tax refund to be directly deposited, instead of getting a paper check in the mail, most banks will get the money near the same day the IRS releases your tax refund.

If you’re a Jackson Hewitt client and choose the Serve® American Express card, you may receive your refund as early as the same day it's released by the IRS – up to two days faster than standard direct deposit!

If you claim the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Child Tax Credits: Don’t be concerned if you file your taxes as soon as you’re able and don’t get a refund within 21 days (about 3 weeks). By law, the IRS holds all tax returns for those who claim the EITC and/or the Child Tax Credits until mid-February, and those refunds can't be released before February 15. This gives the IRS more time to match returns with the information it has on file, generally because people who claim this credit are getting big tax refunds and the IRS wants to ensure it’s not a fraudulent return. 

How do I track the status of my federal refund?

The IRS has a great tool called “Where’s My Refund” and you can find it on IRS.gov/refunds. You can start checking the status of your income tax refund 24 hours after e-filing.

If you filed a paper return, you can still use the Where’s My Refund tracker, but it can take up to four weeks before it’s in the online system.

To use the Where’s My Refund tool, you just need to enter a few things on IRS.gov, including your Social Security number, select your filing status, and the dollar amount of your refund as reported on your tax return.

The IRS updates the tool once a day, usually overnight, so there’s no need to check multiple times a day.

If you’re a Jackson Hewitt client, you can log into your MyJH account and track the status of your refund.

You can also call the IRS and speak to an agent to get clarification. 

What factors affect refund processing?

Even though most people will get their refund within three weeks, some refunds take longer. Many different factors can go into this, including if the return has errors, mismatched or incomplete data from your tax return to IRS data on their systems, or is affected by identity theft or fraud.

Other causes for a tax refund to be delayed include:

• The return has been flagged in the system and needs additional review – we covered some of those reasons earlier including mismatched data.
• The return needs a correction to a credit, like the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Child Tax Credit.
• “Simple” things are mismatched because of a typo, like the wrong spelling of a name or a Social Security number error.
• Wrong direct deposit information was entered.
• A paper return was filed instead of electronically filing and has math errors or other issues.
• The return had correct numbers, but they were entered on the wrong lines or sections.

If there is an issue with your return, the IRS will contact you by mail. They will not call, text, email, or reach out on any social media platform. If you get “contacted” by the IRS in any way besides a letter in the mail, it’s probably not the IRS and is likely a scam.

Unfortunately, there are also some scammers who mail letters that aren’t real. If you get a letter in the mail and you’re not sure if it’s real, just bring it to a tax expert and they’ll be able to figure it out for you.

What if I made a mistake on my tax return and it was already filed?

First off: Don’t panic! Mistakes happen. Just because there’s a mistake on your tax return doesn’t mean an IRS agent is going to come knock on your door.

You could have missed an important credit or deduction, made a math error, forgotten income or another item that would have changed your tax return, and ultimately must fix it by amending the tax return. The IRS is not obligated to correct your mistake when you’re entitled to get money back but you have up to three years to correct the error and claim your refund.

Be aware that the IRS has three years to notify you of an error that requires you to pay more in taxes, which might increase any penalty or interest you might also owe.

The way to correct any mistake is to file an amended return.

To file an amended return, you must follow several steps. Starting with using the current form 1040X, the amended income tax return, which covers changes to the forms 1040 and 1040SR, and this can be done electronically.

When you send your amended tax return to the IRS, you also need to include copies of all other schedules or forms that have changes, any new forms created, and any W-2s or 1099s received after the original tax return was filed.

Lastly, it can take up to 16 weeks, or four months, for the IRS to process an amended return.

If you’re still not sure when your tax refund might be and have questions, find an office near you and work with a Tax Pro today to learn more.

About the Author

Mark Steber is Senior Vice President and Chief Tax Officer for Jackson Hewitt. With over 30 years of experience, he oversees tax service delivery, quality assurance and tax law adherence. Mark is Jackson Hewitt’s national spokesperson and liaison to the Internal Revenue Service and other government authorities. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), holds registrations in Alabama and Georgia, and is an expert on consumer income taxes including electronic tax and tax data protection.

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