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Track Your US Tax Refund

The IRS holds the answer and shows it to you directly, free, as soon as 24 hours after your e-filed return is acknowledged. This page covers what you need in front of you, what each status actually means, and what to do when the status stops moving.

Check My Refund at IRS.gov (opens in a new tab)

Opens the IRS refund tool. You enter your details with the IRS, never on this page — and never from a link in a text message.

Before you start

Three things, all on your return

The IRS asks for these three to prove the refund is yours. Have them to hand, then enter them on the IRS site — not here. We do not collect them, and nobody legitimate will ask you for them by text or email.

SSN or ITIN

The number printed at the top of your return.

Filing status

Single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household or qualifying surviving spouse — as filed, not as you think of yourself.

Exact refund amount

Whole dollars, taken from the refund line of the return you filed. Not the amount you expected, and not rounded.

Got all three? Go and check

The lookup is free, and the IRS mobile app shows the same information. If you would rather read the IRS’s own description of the tool before using it, that page explains it and links through.

Open the refund tool (opens in a new tab)Read the IRS page about it first (opens in a new tab)
The three stages

What each status means

The tool shows one of three stages. Each one tells you less than people assume, so it is worth being precise about where you are.

Return Received

The IRS has your return and is working on it. It confirms arrival and nothing more — it is not a check on the numbers, and it carries no refund date.

Refund Approved

Processing finished, the amount is settled, and a send date is set. This is the stage where the tool starts showing you a date, and where the amount shown can differ from the one you filed if something was adjusted or offset.

Refund Sent

The money has left the IRS. A direct deposit can take a few more days to appear depending on your bank, and a paper cheque takes longer still. The IRS has finished; your bank has not.

Timing

When the status appears, and how long the money takes

Status appears about 24 hours after the IRS acknowledges an e-filed current-year return, three days after an e-filed return for an earlier year, and about four weeks after you post a paper one. Before that the tool has nothing to show, which is normal rather than a warning sign. The three-day window is worth knowing if you are filing late or catching up on a past year, because people checking a prior-year return often assume the 24-hour rule applies and conclude something has gone wrong.

From there, the IRS issues most refunds in under 21 days where the return was e-filed and the refund goes to direct deposit. Treat that as the typical case and not a commitment — the section below is the list of things that lengthen it, and the first of them is a statutory hold that applies to millions of correctly filed returns every year.

The tool refreshes once a day, usually overnight. Checking it hourly tells you nothing new, and repeated failed attempts can lock you out temporarily. Calling the IRS does not accelerate anything either: phone staff see the same status you do, and the IRS asks people not to call about a refund until the published window has passed.

New for 2026

Direct deposit is effectively required now

The IRS began phasing out paper refund cheques on 30 September 2025, under Executive Order 14247. Most people now have to give routing and account numbers to be paid at all. Filing itself has not changed — this is about how the money reaches you.

The part that catches people out is what happens when bank details are missing or wrong. The refund is not quietly converted into a cheque in the post any more. It is held, and you have a limited window and a single notice in which to fix it.

Filed with no bank details

The return is still processed as normal, but the refund is held until you either supply direct-deposit details or ask for a cheque. Filing is unaffected; only payment is.

Deposit rejected by your bank

Most rejected deposits are now frozen rather than reissued as a cheque. A handful of reject codes are excluded, but assume yours is not one of them.

A CP53E notice arrives

It explains what to do and gives you roughly 30 days. You add or correct the bank details yourself in your IRS Online Account, under Profile, then Banking. Do nothing and a cheque follows after about six weeks.

You get one chance

CP53E is issued once. If a second deposit attempt is also rejected, there is no second notice and no further opportunity to correct the account — which is why the numbers are worth checking twice before filing.

If you do not have a bank account

A cheque waiver exists. You can request one through your IRS Online Account, or by calling the IRS on 800-829-1040 and asking a representative for a waiver if you have no online access. One thing worth knowing before you ring: IRS phone staff cannot add or change your bank details for you, and the information line printed on a CP53E notice is a recording rather than a person. Setting up an IRS Online Account before you file is the single thing that makes this easy to deal with later.

When it stops moving

Eight reasons a refund takes longer

Most delays are one of these, and several of them are nothing to do with a mistake on your return. This list covers every cause the IRS names, plus identity verification.

There is a mistake on the return

The plainest cause and the one the IRS lists first: an unsigned return, or an arithmetic error. The return cannot finish processing until it is corrected, and the correction is usually made by the IRS rather than by you.

You claimed the EITC or the Additional Child Tax Credit

By law the IRS cannot release refunds on returns claiming either credit before mid-February, even on a return filed in January and even when nothing is wrong with it. Nothing to do but wait.

The IRS wants to verify your identity

A letter — commonly 5071C or 5747C — arrives by post, never by phone, text or email. Processing stops until you respond. Answer it through the IRS verification service or the number printed on the letter.

You filed on paper

Paper returns are handled manually. Status does not appear for about four weeks, and the whole cycle runs considerably longer than e-file.

You amended

Form 1040-X is a separate process with a separate tool, and the original refund tool will not track it. See below.

Your refund was offset

Past-due federal tax, state income tax, child support or certain other federal debts can be taken from a refund before it reaches you. You are notified of the offset separately, and the tool may show less than you filed for.

You asked for injured spouse relief

A Form 8379 request has to be worked by hand rather than by the automated pipeline, because the IRS is dividing a joint refund between two people. Expect the return to sit considerably longer than the usual e-file window.

The bank details were wrong

This changed for 2026 and the old answer is no longer right. A rejected deposit is now FROZEN rather than converted to a cheque — see the section above. Check the routing and account numbers before you file, because the IRS gives you only one chance to correct them afterwards.

Amended returns use a different tool

If you filed Form 1040-X, the ordinary refund tool will not track it and its silence means nothing. Amended returns have their own lookup, the status takes about three weeks to appear, and processing can run to sixteen weeks because the work is manual.

Where’s My Amended Return (opens in a new tab)How we handle a 1040-X
Issued but not received

If your refund never arrived

This is a different problem from a delay. If the tool says the refund was sent and nothing reached you, the IRS considers it paid — so waiting longer achieves nothing and you need a refund trace instead. The route depends on how you filed.

  1. First, confirm it is actually late

    A cheque should reach you within about four weeks of the issue date, and the tool or your IRS Online Account will show you that date. A trace started before the full window has passed is just a slower way to wait.

  2. If you filed single, separately, or as head of household

    Start the trace yourself in the refund tool or the IRS app, for the current year, or call the automated refund line on 800-829-1954.

  3. If you filed jointly

    The automated route is not available to you. Call 800-829-1040, or send Form 3911, the taxpayer statement regarding a refund.

  4. If the cheque was never cashed

    It is cancelled and reissued, arriving in about four weeks. A cheque more than a year old comes back with a CP32 notice; if it cannot be reissued at all you get a CP32A instead, asking you to make contact.

  5. If the cheque was cashed — by someone else

    The Bureau of the Fiscal Service sends you a claim package and a copy of the cashed cheque. You complete and return it, and they compare the endorsement signature. That review alone can take up to six weeks, so start early.

Two things a trace will not fix

A trace recovers a refund that went missing in transit. It does not change an amount the IRS adjusted, and it does not reverse an offset against a debt — both of those come with their own notice explaining the change, and the amount shown in the tool is what you are actually owed. Worth saying the other way round too: the IRS sometimes corrects a return in your favour and the refund arrives larger than you filed for. If you are ever paid a refund you are not entitled to, you are expected to return it promptly rather than keep it.

State refunds

Your state refund is tracked separately

Federal and state refunds are processed by different agencies on different timetables. The federal status tells you nothing about the state one, and a gap of weeks between them is ordinary. Below is the lookup for each of the 41 states that levy an individual income tax, plus the District of Columbia.

Each link goes to the state revenue department itself. Links last checked .

Nine states are not on that list

Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming levy no broad-based individual income tax on wages, so there is no state return to file and no state refund to track. New Hampshire has repealed its interest-and-dividends tax and Washington taxes only large long-term capital gains; neither withholds from wages. Our state tax guides cover the rules in the states our clients file in most, and the state tax calculator estimates what a state return produces.

Why this page does not ask for your SSN

We could have built a box on this page that takes your Social Security number and refund amount and shows you a status. We deliberately did not. Looking up another person’s IRS account requires a signed Form 2848 or Form 8821 on file with the IRS and a preparer working through IRS e-Services — a per-client authorisation, which is the point of it. A public form keyed on an SSN skips that.

There is also a practical reason to be suspicious of any site that does offer it. A page asking for an SSN and an exact refund amount is the standard shape of a refund scam, and several state revenue departments have issued warnings about those messages. The IRS contacts you about a return by post. It does not text, email or call asking for your number, your bank details or your refund figure. Neither do we.

If you are a client and your refund has stalled, tell us and we will tell you what authorisation we need to look into it properly — and if your return went through us, we already know when it was filed and when the IRS acknowledged it.

Frequently asked questions

How soon can I check my refund status?

About 24 hours after the IRS acknowledges an e-filed current-year return, and about four weeks after you post a paper one. Checking earlier than that returns nothing, which is not a sign of a problem — the return simply has not been logged yet.

How long does a federal refund take?

The IRS issues most refunds in under 21 days when the return is e-filed and the refund goes to direct deposit. That is a typical case, not a promise: a return claiming the EITC or Additional Child Tax Credit is held by law until mid-February, a paper return takes considerably longer, and anything needing identity verification or manual review stops until it is resolved.

Why does the tool say my refund amount is different from what I filed?

Two common reasons. The IRS adjusted the return — a credit recalculated, a figure corrected — or the refund was offset against a debt such as past-due federal tax, state income tax or child support. In both cases a notice explaining the change is posted to you separately. The amount in the tool is what you are actually getting.

How often does the status update?

Once a day, usually overnight. Checking repeatedly through the day shows you the same answer, and too many attempts in a short window can lock you out of the tool for a while.

Can EvoTax check my refund status for me?

Not from a web page, and we will not ask you for a Social Security number to try. Looking up another person’s IRS account data requires a signed Form 2848 or Form 8821 on file with the IRS and a preparer working through IRS e-Services — a per-client authorisation, deliberately. If you are a client and your refund has stalled, contact us and we will tell you what authorisation we need and handle it from there.

Does the federal tool show my state refund?

No. Federal and state refunds are processed by different agencies on different timetables, and one says nothing about the other. It is entirely normal for a state refund to arrive weeks before or after the federal one. Use your state revenue department lookup, linked on this page.

I got a text saying my refund is ready and asking me to confirm my details. Is it real?

No. The IRS initiates contact about a return by post. It does not text, email or phone you asking for a Social Security number, bank details or a refund amount, and neither will we. Several state revenue departments have published warnings about exactly this scam. Go to the official tool yourself rather than following a link you were sent.

Sources

Reviewed by Teja K, CPA · last reviewed . General information, not tax advice for your situation. Refund timing is the IRS's to set and it moves with their workload; the windows here are the published typical cases, not guarantees. The 2026 direct-deposit rules are new and still settling, so check the two IRS sources above before relying on a detail. How we research and review this.