Where’s My Refund and How to Check Federal Tax Refund Status?

Does the “where is my federal tax refund” question haunt you often? Then don’t worry. We have got you covered with this useful guide. To track the status of your federal income tax refund, you got to keep a few important things handy such as your social security number. For more details, let’s go through this guide once.

How to Check the Status of Your Tax Refund?

To know the tax refund status online, you can either use the IRS2Go phone app or the Where’s My Refund tool. This will help you track the refund in an easy and fast way. Also, the system is updated once every 24 hours.

In addition, you can call the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to check the refund status. However, phone assistance services can be lengthy as well as limited.

To avoid such delays, you can use mobile apps or web services to quickly check the tax refund status.

How Does IRS Tool Show Status Message?

To show the current status of the tax return, the IRS tool displays the following messages:

• Received: If you see Received status, it indicates that IRS has got your tax return and is now processing it.
• Approved: The IRS has already processed your tax return as well as confirmed your refund amount if you owed any.
• Sent: the Sent message means your tax refund is on the way to your bank account. It can be received by paper check to the mailbox or through direct deposit.

When You Can Expect The Tax Refund?

When you file the tax return electronically, refunds are likely to be issued within 21 days. In case you file a paper return then it may take 42 days. However, if it takes more days than expected you need to figure out why your tax return is getting delayed.

Verify If the Tax Return was Submitted

A tax return can be filed through the e-filing web app or software, by email, and or using the tax preparer services. Whether you expect a tax refund or owe taxes, the details can be checked by using the following ideas:

• View the IRS account information.
• Check your emails or updates from the e-filing software program or website.
• Use Where’s My Refund tool.
• Call the IRS on 1-800-829-1040.

In case you have filed your taxes via mail, using the USPS Certified Mail or other services provided by the local post office will be quite beneficial. By doing so, you can track the tax return and find the confirmation message when the IRS received it.

What All Information is Required to Check Tax Return Status?

Before learning where is my federal tax refund 2020 IRS, one should know what all information is required. Make sure you get ready with the following things handy:

• Filing Status: Married, Single, or Head of Household.
• Social Security Number or Date of Birth.
• Prior communication from IRS.

How to See the Status of My State Tax Return?

To find out if the state tax return was received, users can visit the taxation website to check with the state’s revenue. By doing so, you can check if your refund is in the process. You can also get the contact information to confirm that the return is received.

Is the Refund Lower than the Expected?

When you owe money to the state or federal agency, the federal government uses a federal tax refund so that they can repay the debt. It is known as tax refund offset. If you are wondering how the tax Treasury Offset Program (TOP) works, we will enlighten you.

How Does the Treasury Offset Program Work?

• The Bureau of Fiscal Services (BFS) verifies if your name and other information are in the lawbreaker debtor database.
• In case, any match is found, BFS notifies you that this is subtracting the amount that you owe from your tax refund.
• In addition, BFS shares the outstanding amount to the government agency from which you took the money.

In case you owe more than the payment you are about to receive, then BFS sends the whole amount to another government agency. On another hand, if you owe the less amount then BFS first sends you the money and then sends the remaining amount.

What If Your Amount Deducted Due to An Error?

There can be instances when your amount deduction happens due to an unexpected error. If that is the case, you can immediately contact your agency to which you owed money. You can contact the Treasury Offset program on 1-800-304-3107. This will help you to find the particular agency you want to contact.

What are Unclaimed and Undelivered Federal Tax Refund Checks?

The Internal Revenue Service has a huge amount of dollars in tax refunds that go unclaimed or undelivered. Hence, one should be aware of both types of checks.

Undelivered Federal Tax Refunds Checks

Generally, checks are sent to you by email to the known address. In case you move that without informing the U.S. Postal Service or the IRS then the refund check can be returned to the IRS. The submission date for federal income tax extended by the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service

In case you were expected to receive the federal tax but did not receive, then you should check the Where’s My Refund page on the IRS’s website. Here, you will have to enter the Social Security number, the exact dollar amount of the refund, and filing status. You may also be prompted to modify the address online.

Also, you can call the IRS to check the status of your tax refund. However, this can take a long time to connect with the representative. To avoid such delays, you can use an automated phone system.

If you want to change the address then you need to submit a form (Change of Address- Form 8822) to the IRS. It is also suggested to submit the Change of Address form to USPS.

Unclaimed Federal Tax Refunds

If you are suitable for the federal tax refund and do not file the tax return, such refunds remain unclaimed. If you are not required to file a tax return then it may benefit you to file only if federal taxes were kept from the pay and/or you are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

You might not have applied for a tax return because the wages were not sufficient enough to fill the requirement. However, you can file the return within 3 years of the filing tax deadline to receive your tax refund.

In a Nutshell

We hope you have got your answer to “where is my federal tax refund 2018/2019/2020”. Although you can call the IRS to check the status of your tax return, using the phone or software service can make your task fast and convenient.

In this guide, we talked about when you can receive the tax refund, check if the tax return is submitted, what all things you should get ready before checking the tax return, and more.