When will the IRS send my tax refund? How to track your money now

Over a month past the May 17 tax deadline, the IRS continues to work its way through 2020 income tax returns and refunds. What are the delays about? For one, the tax agency continues to issue weekly batches of stimulus checks and is adjusting returns for the tax break on 2020 unemployment benefits. It’s also focusing on rolling out the expanded child tax credit for the first payment on July 15. 

To taxpayers who have already waited over a month for their IRS money, the average “21 days or less” timeline is frustrating. And many may’ve already pulled out their hair trying to call the IRS for help. Fortunately, there are some online tools that can give you personalized refund information based on the processing of your tax return. 

We’ll help you navigate why your refund could be held up and tracking it with web tools. If you have children, there are ways to know if you qualify for the advance monthly child tax credit payments that start next month. As a side note, there are ways to track your third stimulus check if that hasn’t arrived in the latest round of payments. We’ve updated this story recently. 

What’s causing delays with your tax refund?

Because of the pandemic, the IRS ran at restricted capacity in 2020, which put a strain on its ability to process tax returns and send out stimulus checks. The IRS is open again and processing mail, tax returns, payments, refunds and correspondence, but limited resources continue to cause delays.

The IRS said it’s issuing most refunds in less than 21 days right now but some are taking longer, including for mailed paper tax returns and manual processing. The IRS said it’s also taking more time for 2020 tax returns that require review, such as determining recovery rebate credit amounts for the first and second stimulus checks — or figuring earned income tax credit and additional child tax credit amounts.

Here’s a list of reasons your refund might be delayed: 

• Your tax return has errors.
• It’s incomplete.
• Your refund is suspected of identity theft or fraud.
• You filed for the earned income tax credit or additional child tax credit.
• Your return needs further review.
• Your return includes Form 8379 (PDF), injured spouse allocation — this could take up to 14 weeks to process.

How can you track your IRS tax refund online?

To check the status of your income tax refund using the IRS tracker tools, you’ll need to give some information: your Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, your filing status — single, married or head of household — and your refund amount in whole dollars, which you can find on your tax return. Also, make sure it’s been at least 24 hours before you try tracking your refund.

Using the IRS tool Where’s My Refund, enter your SSN or ITIN, your filing status and your exact refund amount, then press Submit. If you entered your information correctly, you’ll be taken to a page that shows your refund status. If not, you may be asked to verify your personal tax data and try again. If all the information looks correct, you’ll need to enter the date you filed your taxes, along with whether you filed electronically or on paper.

The IRS also has a mobile app called IRS2Go that checks your tax refund status. The IRS updates the data in this tool overnight, so if you don’t see a status change after 24 hours or more, check back the following day.

What do these status messages mean from the IRS?

Both IRS tools (online and mobile app) will show you one of three messages to explain your tax return status.

• Received: The IRS now has your tax return and is working to process it.
• Approved: The IRS has processed your return and confirmed the amount of your refund, if you’re owed one.
• Sent: Your refund is now on its way to your bank via direct deposit or as a paper check to your mailbox. (Here’s how to change the address on file if you moved.)

What is the IRS 310 direct deposit in your bank account?

If you receive your tax refund by direct deposit, you may see IRS TREAS 310 for the transaction. The 310 identifies the transaction as an IRS tax refund. This would also apply to those receiving an automatic adjustment on their tax return or a refund due to new legislation on tax-free unemployment benefits. You may also see TAX REF in the description field for a refund.

If you see a 449 instead, it means your refund has been offset for delinquent debt.

How much time will you have to wait for your refund? 

The IRS usually issues tax refunds within three weeks, but some taxpayers have been waiting over a month to receive their payments. If there are any errors, it might take the agency longer to process and issue your tax refund. The same goes for people who filed a claim for an earned income tax credit or the child tax credit. 

The date you get your tax refund also depends on how you filed your return. For example, with refunds going into your bank account via direct deposit, it could take an additional five days for your bank to post the money to your account. This means if it took the IRS the full 21 days to issue your check and your bank five days to post it, you may be waiting a total of 26 days to get your money. 

If you submitted your tax return by mail, the IRS says it could take six to eight weeks for your tax refund to arrive. That’s where tracking your refund comes in handy. 

Is calling the IRS by phone even a possibility? 

While you can call the IRS to check your status, the agency’s live phone assistance is extremely limited right now, so you may wait on hold for a while to speak to a representative. Also, the IRS says you should only call if it’s been 21 days or more since you filed your taxes online, or if the Where’s My Refund tool tells you to contact the IRS. Here’s the number to call: 800-829-1040.

Can you check the status of your unemployment tax refund? 

Those who collected unemployment benefits in 2020 and filed their tax returns early have started to receive additional tax refunds from the IRS. Under new rules from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, millions of people who paid tax on unemployment compensation could be eligible for a hefty sum of money back. 

However, it might not be possible to track the status of that refund using the online tools above. To find out when the IRS processed your refund and for how much, we recommend locating your tax transcript by logging in to your account and viewing the transactions listed there. We explain how to do that here. 

For more information about your 2020 taxes, here’s how to claim missing stimulus money on your taxes and everything to know about the third stimulus check.