Where’s my 2020 tax refund? When you can get it and how to track it

Unless the IRS approves a extension of taxes across the country, tax returns are due by April 15. This gives you a little more than a month to have your taxes filed. This year, tax time not only is your opportunity to recover any money you overpaid throughout the year (such as withholding tax or a quarterly estimate), but it is also the time to claim any lack of stimulus check money you never received when filling out a Recovery discount credit. As long as at least 24 hours have passed since you filled out your tax return, you can start tracking your refund status online. Our chart below can help you determine when your refund can arrive.

If you still need to file your taxes, we suggest doing so online. Electronic filing is more convenient for you and the IRS (the agency is asking people to avoid sending a paper return this year). We also recommend Setting up direct deposit to speed up the arrival of the refund.

We’ll explain how to track your 2020 tax refund and what the status of your refund means. Furthermore, now that the new stimulus project he was signed into law by President Joe Biden, it is tax season can mean more than just a refund and missing stimulus money. You can also determine your eligibility for third stimulus check from to $ 1,400 (or one lower payment) The IRS and the Treasury will start sending new checks to many people this weekend through direct deposit. see how track your new payment and how could your check be even more targeted, disqualifying more people. This story has been updated recently.

How to track your tax refund: use these two methods

You need several things at hand to track the status of your tax refund: your social security number or individual taxpayer identification number, your registration status – for example, single, married or head of household – and the exact amount of the full dollar refund, which can be found on your tax return.

Using the IRS tool, Where’s My Refund, enter your Social Security or ITIN number, the order status and the exact amount of the refund and press To send. If you entered your information correctly, you will be taken to a page showing the status of your refund. Otherwise, you may need to check your personal tax details and try again. If all of the information looks correct, you will need to enter the date you filed your taxes, along with how you did them – electronically or on paper.

There is also a mobile app, called IRS2Go, that you can use to check your tax refund status. The IRS updates the data on this tool overnight every day, so if you don’t see a change in status after 24 hours or more, check back the next day.

Received, approved or sent: this is what your tax return status means

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

• Received: The IRS now has its income tax return and is working to process it.
• Okay: The IRS processed your return and confirmed the refund amount, if you are in debt.
• Sent: Your refund is now on its way to your bank via direct deposit or as a paper check sent to your mailbox. (See how change your address now if you moved.)

When will my tax refund arrive? We have some ideas below

The IRS says it issues most tax refunds within 21 days, but many people will receive the refund much earlier. If there is an error, the agency may take longer to process and issue your tax refund. The same applies to people who have filed an income tax credit claim or Child tax credit.

The date you get your tax refund also depends on how you filed it.

For example, if the refund is into your bank account via direct deposit, it may take the bank another five days to deposit it into your account. This means that if the IRS took 21 full days to issue your check and your bank five days to post it, you may be expecting a total of 26 days to receive your money. That’s where tracking your refund is useful.

If it is being mailed, the IRS says it can take six to eight weeks for the tax refund to arrive. Here are some possible dates when you can receive your refund, depending on when you placed your order.

When your tax refund can arrive

If you file on this date	This is the fastest	This is the most recent
February 14th	February 21st	March 7
March 1st	March 8th	March 22
April 1	April 8	April 22nd
April 15 (last day for the archive)	April 22nd	May 6
October 15 (last day with extension)	October, 22	November 5

It is past the ‘most recent’ date for my tax refund to arrive. Should I call the IRS to check the status?

Although you can call the IRS to check your status, the agency’s live phone assistance is extremely limited at the moment, so you can wait a little while to speak to a representative. In addition, the IRS says that you should only call if it has been 21 days or more since you filed your taxes online or if the Where’s My Refund tool asks you to contact the IRS.

For more information about your taxes, this is where the The 2021 deadline is for filing your income tax return, how to claim stimulus money lost in your taxes and the real reason why you should apply for direct deposit on your 2020 taxes.

The editorial content of this page is based exclusively on objective and independent evaluations by our editors and is not influenced by advertising or partnerships. It was not supplied or ordered by a third party. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to products or services offered by our partners.