IRS tax refund deadlines: All the dates you need to know

Refunds are typically issued up to 21 days after the IRS approves a return

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Though tax season is stressful, tens of millions of Americans will walk away this year with a refund payment in their bank account.

How fast that refund arrives depends on several important factors, including when and how you file, and whether there are mistakes on the return, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

The most important deadline

Taxpayers can file their taxes through April 15 this year. But don’t forget that April 15 is also the deadline to pay any taxes owed.

While individuals can ask for a six-month filing extension (Form 4868) to push the filing deadline back to October 15, the same doesn’t apply to the payment deadline.

The IRS will assess a 0.5 percent penalty on any owed balance after April 15, according to the IRS. If an individual files an on-time return and has a payment plan set up for their tax debt, the penalty is 0.25 percent.

Taxpayers have until April 15 to file their tax returns but can request a six-month extension (Getty Images)

Possible slowdown

Generally speaking, refunds for an electronically-filed tax return arrive up to 21 days from when the IRS approves the return. If a taxpayer files by mail, refunds can take up to twice as long: 42 days, according to the IRS refund information page.

However, refund timelines can be longer for two reasons this tax season. First, the IRS is facing a staffing shortage and case backlog that could prolong processing and refund times, according to a recent Treasury Department report.

Secondly, it could take longer to get a refund if a taxpayer makes a mistake on their initial return and has to correct it via an amended version. The IRS has a backlog of around 590,000 amended returns, the report said.

So while it takes around 21 days to issue your refund like normal, it could take anywhere from eight to 16 weeks or longer to process and approve an amended return, according to the IRS.

Where’s my money?

Taxpayers can check on the status of their refund through the IRS’ online tool, Where’s My Refund? The platform is updated daily, usually around 4 a.m. to 5 a.m. Eastern Time.

You log into the tool by providing a Social Security Number or individual taxpayer ID, filing status, and the exact amount of the refund.

Taxpayers can use an IRS tool to track the status of their refund (Getty Images)

Once logged in, individuals will see one of three statuses:

• Return received: The IRS has your return but hasn’t approved it.
• Return approved: The return is approved but a refund hasn’t been sent.
• Refund sent: The refund is on its way, and may take up to five days for it to show up in a taxpayer’s bank account, or up to a few weeks if a paper check was requested.

Where’s My Refund? typically takes up to 24 hours to show an electronically filed return for the current tax year, three or four days for those filing past-year returns and as long as four weeks for paper returns, according to the IRS.

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