Find out if your federal or state tax return was received | USAGov (2024)

FAQs

Find out if your federal or state tax return was received | USAGov? ›

If you are receiving a tax refund, check its status using the IRS Where's My Refund tool. You can view the status of your refund for the past 3 tax years. If you owe money or are receiving a refund, you can check your return status by signing in to view your IRS online account information.

Use the IRS Where's My Refund tool or the IRS2Go mobile app to check your refund online. This is the fastest and easiest way to track your refund. The systems are updated once every 24 hours. You can contact the IRS to check on the status of your refund.

If it's been at least two weeks since you sent the payment to the IRS and your financial institution verifies that the check hasn't cleared your account, call the IRS at 800-829-1040 to ask if the payment has been credited to your tax account. Get up-to-date status on current IRS operations and services.

Because the IRS is separate from your state's Department of Revenue, sometimes you will receive your federal refund before your state refund, or vice versa.

Offset letter

BFS will send you a letter explaining why your federal refund was reduced and that it may take several weeks before the federal refund reaches FTB. They will also send any remaining federal refund amount to you. To get a copy of your letter, contact us.

If you file a complete and accurate paper tax return, your refund should be issued in about six to eight weeks from the date IRS receives your return. If you file your return electronically, your refund should be issued in less than three weeks, even faster when you choose direct deposit.

To request a tax transcript, visit: irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript.

Are all notices available online? Not all notices are available online, please continue to check your postal mail for IRS notices. You can sign up to receive email notifications when new notices are available on your profile in your online account.

You'll receive instant confirmation after you submit your payment. You can opt in to receive email notifications about your payments. The IRS uses the latest encryption technology making electronic payments safe and secure.

We issue most refunds in less than 21 calendar days. However, if you mailed your return and expect a refund, it could take four weeks or more to process your return. Where's My Refund?

Do state or federal refunds take longer? ›

Any state tax refund you have coming can come at a variety of times, depending on what state you filed in. Most of the time, state returns are processed faster than federal returns. Each state uses a slightly different system to let taxpayers check their tax refund status.

Why is my refund taking so long? A refund will take longer if you file by mail or don't select direct deposit. In addition, if the return is more complex or corrections are needed, it may slow the process down.

The most common reason for you or your employee not seeing any paycheck tax withholdings is that they simply didn't earn enough income. A federal income tax withholding is a portion of an employee's paycheck withheld to cover their federal income tax obligations.

The most convenient way to check on a tax refund is by using the Where's My Refund? tool on IRS.gov.

If it's been at least two weeks since you sent the payment to the IRS and your financial institution verifies that the check hasn't cleared your account, call the IRS at 800-829-1040 to ask if the payment has been credited to your tax account. Get up-to-date status on current IRS operations and services.

If your refund exceeds your total balance due on all outstanding tax liabilities including accruals, you'll receive a refund of the excess unless you owe certain other past-due amounts, such as state income tax, child support, a student loan, or other federal nontax obligations which are offset against any refund.

Why is my refund taking so long? A refund will take longer if you file by mail or don't select direct deposit. In addition, if the return is more complex or corrections are needed, it may slow the process down.

If your refund details state that it's still processing, you can check your tax return to see if you catch any errors. If your refund status instructs you to contact the IRS, you can speak to an agent to get clarification by calling 1-800-829-1040.

See our Held or Stopped Refund page or our video for more information. If the IRS is reviewing your return, the review process could take anywhere from 45 to 180 days, depending on the number and types of issues the IRS is reviewing.