Tax Year 2012 was the first year that IRS did not deposit refunds according to a weekly Refund Cycle, instead advising taxpayers to check the “Where’s My Refund?” link at www.irs.gov for an individualized refund deposit date. Tax Year 2023 refunds for simpler returns were generally faster than in previous years, often arriving in 7 to 10 business days. More complex returns tended to adhere to the old standard of 10 to 15 days after acceptance.

IRS support staff will not discuss the status of a refund unless it has gone beyond their 21-day published objective.

“Where’s My Refund?” includes a tracker that displays your tax return’s progress through three stages:

1. Return Received 2. Refund Approved 3. Refund Sent

Return progress can be updated by IRS on a daily basis instead of weekly as in previous years, and the Refund Sent date will be actual instead of estimated.

Overall acceptance-to-deposit timeframe is expected to be similar to last year for tax returns that are not pulled for review.

If you do not want to have your refund direct-deposited you can receive your refund check by mail, but these take 5 – 7 days longer to receive.

Our experience has been that about 95% of all refunds are deposited within the expected timeframe. We’ve seen 5% or so held back by IRS for what they call a “compliance review” and deposited one week later. Other reasons for delay of refund are as follows:
– Taxpayer owes delinquent Federal or State taxes, either individual or business
– Taxpayer owes delinquent child support
– Taxpayer has certain other delinquent debt with Federal or State agencies, such as student loans, military, etc.
– Primary taxpayer’s name and/or SSN has changed since filing last year’s return or taxpayer did not file a return last year (possible one week delay)
– Taxpayer has claimed a blatantly unallowable deduction
– Social Security Name/Number for taxpayer, spouse, or dependent does not match information provided by the Social Security Administration
– Return has been selected by IRS for Earned Income Credit review

Also if you have been a victim of identity theft or had to close a bank account due to a security breach, this information gets reported to IRS which will most likely delay your refund well beyond their 21-day objective.

We’ll call you if the error is of the nature that can be resolved over the phone, such as a missing Social Security Number, or a missing form that you may need to fax. IRS regulations prohibit us from changing your refund by more than $14.00 without your consent. If the error(s) are too numerous or extensive to handle over the phone, we have the option of mailing the return back to you with an explanation of the error(s). You would then be required to submit a corrected tax return to us, or forfeit the $49.95 e-file fee.

Many of our customers soon learn that having their tax return professionally reviewed with prompt error resolution is a valuable part of the e-file service. Although the existence of errors may cause a delay in the processing of a return, such delays are deemed acceptable when compared to the potentially disastrous delays the same return would encounter if mailed to IRS.

The most common reason for IRS to reject a tax return is a Name/SSN mismatch, as IRS compares all the names and SSNs on your tax return with the Social Security Administration’s records. If a spouse is filing under her married name, but her Social Security Card is in her maiden name, the return will get rejected by IRS. Make sure you have accurate names and SSNs for dependents also.

IRS will not process your tax refund any faster, and you can no longer get a loan on your refund, a.k.a. Refund Anticipation Loan, as IRS and regulators have cracked down on banks and tax services offering these predatory products.

IRS now accepts nearly 100 individual tax return forms and schedules electronically, so chances are good that your complex return qualifies for e-file. We can count on one hand the number of returns in the past five years which included forms that IRS would not accept electronically. If there happens to be an uncommon form attached to your return that cannot be e-filed (or too many of a certain form), we will notify you that your return must be mailed in and you will not be charged the $49.95 fee.

You can still e-file your balance-due return. As a matter of fact, you can e-file your balance-due return any time during the season and pay your tax later, preferably by April 15th to avoid late-payment penalties. Your tax payment can be debited from your bank account on any date you choose, mailed in with a payment voucher, or paid online by visting www.irs.gov. See our Authorization Form for balance-due payment options.

Yes, we can e-file all States that have an income tax, and there’s no extra charge if you fax (or upload) one State return with your Federal return (State-only returns must pay the $49.95 fee). We charge an extra $20.00 for any additional State return you may want us to e-file.

Your State refund is deposited into the same bank account that your Federal refund is going into. State refund schedules vary, but deposits are generally received within a few days of the Federal refund.

No. We don’t monitor the IRS website to find out when your tax refund will actually be deposited. Remember, IRS can delay your refund for a compliance review, or offset your refund for a debt, and they are no longer permitted to notify us when those situations apply. You can expect your account to be debited the $49.95 fee about 2 or 3 days after we process your return.

IRS regulations prohibit all Electronic Return Originators and Transmitters from releasing information obtained from an individual during the course of their tax return preparation or electronic filing, unless subpoenaed by a legal authority. See our Privacy Policy for more details.

Yes, and yes. The system for tracking your tax return process through its various stages, as you’ll discover when you e-file through 800-TAX REFUND, involves some pretty impressive technology and workflow. But when it comes to reviewing your tax return, making sure all the t’s are crossed and the i’s are dotted, there’s really no substitute for a real, live tax professional.