What if my IRS refund is taking longer than 21 days? (2024)

FAQs

What if my IRS refund is taking longer than 21 days? ›

Refund timing

If you paper-filed, wait at least 4 weeks before checking Where's My Refund?. The IRS is taking more than 21 days (and up to 90 to 120 days), to issue refunds for tax returns with the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. You should only contact the IRS if: It's been 21 days or more since you e-filed.

If the IRS is reviewing your return, the review process could take anywhere from 45 to 180 days, depending on the number and types of issues the IRS is reviewing.

Some tax returns take longer to process than others for many reasons, including when a return: Is sent by mail. Contains errors or is incomplete. Needs further review in general.

If your refund details state that it's still processing, you can check your tax return to see if you catch any errors. If your refund status instructs you to contact the IRS, you can speak to an agent to get clarification by calling 1-800-829-1040.

If you file a complete and accurate paper tax return, your refund should be issued in about six to eight weeks from the date IRS receives your return. If you file your return electronically, your refund should be issued in less than three weeks, even faster when you choose direct deposit.

The agency either needs to verify certain credits or dependents, or it has determined that your tax refund will be reduced to pay money that it believes you owe. You'll need to wait about four weeks to receive a notice from the IRS explaining what you need to do to resolve the status.

Taxpayers whose tax returns have been flagged for possible identity theft should receive one of the following letters: Letter 5071C, Potential Identity Theft during Original Processing with Online Option – Provides online and phone options and is issued most widely.

The intimation also includes a detailed tax computation of the tax as per the taxpayers and the income tax department. The whole process generally takes 20-45 days from the day of e-verification or the receipt of ITR-V by the CPC.

The IRS issues more than 9 out of 10 refunds in less than 21 days. However, it's possible your tax return may require additional review and take longer.

Should I be worried if my refund is delayed? ›

If the IRS is delaying your refund, you'll need to understand why, and navigate the IRS to issue your refund as quickly as possible. This can be a daunting task because refund holds can feel like audits. But, be patient, and don't worry.

If you owe a federal tax debt from a prior tax year, a debt to another federal agency, or certain debts under state law, the IRS may keep (offset) some or all your tax refund to pay your debt. In fact, in many situations the IRS is legally required to forward your refund to pay the debt.

You can file a suit in a United States District Court or the United States Court of Federal Claims. However, you generally have only two years to file a refund suit from the date the IRS mails you a notice that denies your claim.

There is no regulation that requires the IRS to issue refunds within 21 days. The only regulation that applies to refunds is that the IRS must pay interest on any refund that is not issued within 45 days of the filing date (April 15) when the return is filed on or before that date.

If my refund on the IRS website says still processing does it mean I will be audited? There's absolutely no reason to necessarily think that you're under review or that an audit is pending, so please don't worry. The "processing" message you see is perfectly normal. In fact, the messages and bars on the IRS.

An incomplete return, an inaccurate return, an amended return, tax fraud, claiming tax credits, owing certain debts for which the government can take part or all of your refund, and sending your refund to the wrong bank due to an incorrect routing number are all reasons that a tax refund can be delayed.

Although most of the time it takes 3 weeks or less (depending on how, when, and with whom you do the filing); 3 weeks is HARDLY long enough to wait for a federal tax refund before you “worry”. Wait at LEAST 2 months before you start to “worry”.

An incomplete return, an inaccurate return, an amended return, tax fraud, claiming tax credits, owing certain debts for which the government can take part or all of your refund, and sending your refund to the wrong bank due to an incorrect routing number are all reasons that a tax refund can be delayed.

Pending means that your e-filed return is on its way and that the government hasn't accepted or rejected it yet. If you e-filed your return before the IRS starts processing returns this year, it'll stay in pending status until then.