How to Check Your IRS Refund Status

Checking your tax refund status takes just a few minutes online.

Checking your IRS refund status is now much easier than in years past because you can bypass waiting on hold on the Internal Revenue Service's toll-free line and access the information yourself online. Plus, you can continue to access the site as much as necessary to track your refund's progress so you can adjust your plans accordingly as you await your funds.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. Access IRS.gov, the Internal Revenue Service's official website, and click "Check on Your Refund" near the lower left side. Immediately following that, click "Where's My Refund" in the center top portion of the next screen. You will then be prompted for basic information from your federal tax form.

2. Enter the information, including name, Social Security number, tax filing status and the exact amount of your refund shown on your federal tax form.

3. View the next page, which will reveal your IRS refund status. If your refund is far enough along, the site will also disclose when you can expect to receive your refund. If you chose direct deposit, you will also receive a deposit date.

4. Check back in about a week, if the IRS refund status page provides no information. Sometimes the system needs to have a little time to update with current information.

5. Call the IRS, if you lack Internet access. The toll-free number for the IRS Refund Hotline is 800-829-1954. Again, you will have to provide some personal identification to access this information.

Tips & Warnings

• If your IRS refund status isn't processed yet, you can always get a Tax Refund anticipation loan. These are done by many tax preparers like H&R block, and for a small fee you are able to get your tax refund money right away without having to wait for your IRS refund status to update.

References

• IRS: Checking the Status of Your Refund