IRS tax refund: When you expect it and how you can pursue it

TThe submission of the tax return 2025 began on January 27th, so it is only natural that people think about possible reimbursements. An update from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that the agency had already achieved more than 13 million returns by January 31 and spent over 3 million reimbursements.

Tax refund is reimbursement for taxpayers who have overpaid their income taxes, and so the government sends the money back.

If taxpayers receive a large refund, you may have held too much of your salary checks from employers. The employment form W-4, the employee’s source certificate, provides its employer the necessary information so that you can hold back the correct income tax of the federal government from your salary, which affects your federal tax return control. If the tax refund is too large or too small, taxpayers can adapt the taxes that they pay for next year with the IRS “Tax defense points” of the IRS. According to IRS, they have three years to apply for tax refund.

According to the statistics of the registration season reported by the IRS, the average tax refund in the 2024 tax reimbursement – for the tax year 2023 – 3,138 was. By the end of December, almost 105 million tax reimbursements were processed by the end of December, which is a total value of more than 329 billion US dollars.

Read more: What is the average tax refund?

Here you will find everything you need to know when you can expect your IRS tax refund and how you can pursue you.

When should I expect to receive my tax refund?

According to IRS, a refund usually takes up to 21 days if the tax returns have been submitted online. However, it can take longer if the return corrections or the review are required. If the tax return has been sent by post, the refund can take 4 weeks or more.

Taxpayers can also set up a direct down payment to receive their tax reimbursement payments directly to their bank accounts.

The Bureau of Fiscal Service also has a frequently asked questions about the tax refund on its website, on which taxpayers can learn more about the process of receiving your tax reimbursements and best practice.

Read more: Is your driver’s license a real ID? How to do the switch before the deadline expires

How can I pursue my tax return?

The IRS enables the taxpayers to return their returns with their “Where is my reimbursement?” Tool online.

For those without internet or people who prefer to use the phone, the IRS also has a help hotline in which users can call to pursue their reimbursements: 800-829-1954. If you have submitted a changed return, which means that you have found a mistake and had to use your taxes again, the hotline is 866-464-2050.

By providing a social security number, tax registration status and the exact reimbursement amount for the refund should be able to display the status of your refund.

There are three status updates that the taxpayer may see: “Conservation return”, “reimbursement approved” or “reimbursement”. When the refund has been sent, it can take up to 5 days for the money to be displayed in your bank account or a few weeks before receipt of your check.