If you submit your tax return electronically, the Internal Revenue Service will notify you once it's received and accepted it. This doesn't mean the agency is done with it, only that IRS hasn't spotted any obvious problems that require rejecting it. However, the agency still has to finish processing your documents and going over your figures.
Tips
Once you receive notice that the IRS has accepted your return, you can be confident the IRS has begun processing it. It will still take time before the return is fully processed and any refunds are sent.
Learning About Acceptance or Rejection
If the IRS rejects a return, it provides an explanation for why there's a problem.Typical rejection issues with digital returns include writing the wrong Social Security number, misspelling a name or omitting one of the forms you need. In those cases, you'll be told to resubmit the return with the problem fixed.
Sometimes the problem runs deeper. If your dependent's Social Security number is flagged, it may be that someone else has claimed your dependent. This could be the result of an honest error or an attempt at fraud. If you can't spot any reason for the duplicate number that helps you fix your return, the IRS will require you to submit a hard-copy return instead of filing online.
Read More: What Happens If You Don't File Taxes?
Looking at What Comes Next
Once the IRS accepts your return, it will go over everything in greater detail. At this stage, the IRS has your tax return accepted but not processed. Common errors include:
- Making incorrect calculations
- Writing illegibly
- Entering information on the wrong line
- Not identifying negative amounts properly
- Claiming more than one filing status
- Claiming the wrong number of exemptions
- Forgetting to attach a W-2 or a check for taxes due
The IRS also watches and compares returns for possible identity theft or fraud.
If you're submitting electronically, the system may catch the errors quickly. It'll take longer with paper returns. The IRS can correct some errors on its own – figures added incorrectly, for instance – or it may notify you that the agency needs more information.
Reporting and Tracking Your Return
If you file electronically, you can start tracking your return within 24 hours of the IRS accepting it. If you mail it in, you have to wait four weeks. The IRS doesn't send an acceptance notification for paper returns.
You can track returns online using the IRS Where's My Refund tool. The tool tracks your return from Return Received – the IRS has accepted and is processing it – to Refund Approved to Refund Sent. It updates once every 24 hours, so there's no point in checking more frequently. To use Where's My Refund, you'll need to provide your Social Security number, filing status and the refund amount you think you're due.
You can track your refund using the IRS2Go app, available on Android and Apple mobile devices. This may help you answer the question, "My tax return was accepted, when will it be approved?" The IRS says you can track returns by visiting an IRS office or calling the agency. However you have to wait until 21 days after you filed electronically or six weeks after you submitted a paper return.
Requesting a transcript will not tell you the status of your return. The transcript may include information about how the IRS is processing your account, but it's not information that gives you a processing timeline.
Read More: When Can You Get That Tax Refund?
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Writer Bio
A Durham, NC resident, Fraser has written about law, starting a business, balancing your budget and fighting evictions, among other legal and financial topics.