Why Refunds may take longer than 21 days
The IRS issues most refunds in fewer than 21 days for taxpayers who file electronically and choose direct deposit. However, some returns have errors or need more review and may take longer to process. Taxpayers shouldn’t rely on getting a refund by a certain date.
Things that can delay a refund:
- The return has errors, is incomplete or is affected by identity theft or fraud.
- The return needs a correction to the child tax credit or recovery rebate credit amount.
- The return has a claim filed for an earned income tax credit, additional child tax credit, or includes a Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation.
- The return requires human review and the IRS has limited staffing.
The IRS will contact taxpayers by mail if it needs more information to process their return.
The fastest way to get a tax refund is by filing electronically and choosing direct deposit.
Taxpayers can check the status of their refund online.
To check the status of a refund, taxpayers should use the Where’s My Refund? tool on IRS.gov.
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