Tax Refund Delays: What to Check Before and After Filing
File a complete return and check your direct-deposit details to reduce avoidable refund delays. IRS reviews and legal holds can delay payment even when the return is correct.
Before you file
Check that the return includes all your income and the information needed for any deductions or credits. Forms W-2 and 1099 help establish those amounts, along with your own records. The IRS explains the basics in its filing preparation guide.
Electronic filing avoids the processing time associated with mailing a return. For a refund by direct deposit, check the routing and account numbers carefully. The IRS is phasing out paper refund checks, with limited exceptions. Missing or invalid bank information can add another step before payment.
The hold for two refundable credits
For a calendar-year return claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit, the IRS cannot issue the refund before February 15. The hold applies to your entire refund, not just the credit.
February 15 is the earliest the IRS can release the refund. Bank processing or further IRS review can delay its arrival. The IRS publishes filing-season guidance for these refunds.
Check your refund status
Use Where's My Refund? to check the progress of your return. Status information generally becomes available on this schedule:
| How you filed | When to check |
|---|---|
| E-filed a current-year return | After 24 hours |
| E-filed a prior-year return | After 3 days |
| Mailed a paper return | After 4 weeks |
These are times for checking status, not receiving payment. The tool updates once a day, usually overnight.
The IRS lists typical refund timing as about three weeks after e-filing, or six weeks or more after it receives a mailed return. Corrections, identity checks, or further review can extend that time.
The IRS generally recommends calling about a refund only after more than three weeks since e-filing, more than six weeks since mailing a paper return, or when Where's My Refund? directs you to contact the IRS.
If the IRS sends a notice
Use the instructions and deadline on the notice. If it asks you to verify your identity or provide information, complete that step through the process it describes.
A CP53E notice may ask for missing or corrected bank details. Under the current procedure, you have 30 days from the notice date to update banking information or select an available paper-check exception through your IRS online account.