Reasons why some tax refunds filed electronically take longer than 21 days

Even though the Internal Revenue Service issues most refunds in less than 21 days for taxpayers who filed electronically and chose direct deposit, some refunds may take longer.

Many different factors can affect the timing of a refund after the IRS receives a return. A manual review may be necessary when a return has errors, is incomplete or is affected by identity theft or fraud.

Other returns can also take longer to process, including when a return needs a correction to the Child Tax Credit or Recovery Rebate Credit amount, includes a claim filed for an Earned Income Tax Credit or an Additional Child Tax Credit, or includes a Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation , which could take up to 14 weeks to process.

The fastest way to get a tax refund is by filing electronically and choosing direct deposit.

The IRS cautions taxpayers not to rely on receiving a refund by a certain date, especially when making major purchases or paying bills. Some returns may require additional review and may take longer. Also, remember to take into consideration the time it takes for a financial institution to post the refund to an account or to receive it by mail.

To check the status of a refund, taxpayers should use the Where’s My Refund? tool on IRS.gov. Information for the most current tax year filed is generally available within 24 hours after the IRS acknowledges receipt of a taxpayer’s e-filed return. If they filed a paper return, taxpayers should allow four weeks before checking the status.

The IRS will contact taxpayers by mail when more information is needed to process a return. IRS phone and walk-in representatives can only research the status of a refund if it has been:

• 21 days or more since it was filed electronically (or since the IRS filing season start date – whichever is later),
• Six weeks or more since a return was mailed , or when
• Where’s My Refund? tells the taxpayer to contact the IRS.