Once a return is filed the timing is largely out of anyone's hands. Here is what determines it and how to see where yours is.
How to check
The IRS provides a refund tracking tool and a mobile app. You need your Social Security number or ITIN, your filing status, and the exact refund amount from the return.
It updates once a day. Checking repeatedly does not make it move faster and calling does not either until enough time has passed.
What speeds it up
- Filing electronically rather than on paper.
- Choosing direct deposit rather than a mailed check.
- A return with no errors and no missing information.
- Filing earlier in the season rather than at the deadline.
What slows it down
- Certain credits carry a legally required hold on the refund early in the season. This affects a lot of families and it is not a problem with your return.
- A mismatch between what you reported and what the IRS received from an employer or payer.
- A name or number that does not match Social Security records.
- An expired ITIN.
- Identity verification, which the IRS sometimes requests by letter.
- An amended return, which takes considerably longer than an original.
If the IRS needs something, they write to you. They do not call demanding immediate payment, and they do not ask for gift cards. Anyone who does is not the IRS.
If it has been a long time
Bring us your return and any correspondence. Call (432) 257-7547 or come by 700 C Andrews Hwy in Midland. We work in English and Spanish.
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