IRS Tax Tip 2020-36, March 16, 2020
Taxpayers who filed their 2019 tax return and are waiting for their refund can check their refund status by going to IRS.gov and clicking on Get Your Refund Status to access the Where’s My Refund? tool.
People can check the status of their tax return about 24 hours after the IRS acknowledges receipt of an electronically filed tax return and up to four weeks after a taxpayer mails a paper return. The Where’s My Refund? tool updates once every 24 hours, usually overnight, so taxpayers only need to check once a day.
Taxpayers can also check their refund status, make a payment, and find free tax prep help through the IRS2Go app for their mobile device.
Taxpayers will need three things to use the tool:
- Their Social Security number
- Their tax filing status
- The exact amount of the refund claimed on their tax return
Once the taxpayer enters that information the tool will display the progress of their tax return through the following stages:
- Return received
- Return approved
- Refund sent
Taxpayers should use the IRS2Go app or the official Where’s My Refund? tool at IRS.gov to avoid scammers who may create look-alike sites in an attempt to steal sensitive personal information. They should go directly to IRS.gov and not rely on search engine results or click on links to refund sites they receive by email or text.
In certain instances, a taxpayer will need to call the IRS, such as:
- It has been 21 days or more since they electronically filed their tax return
- It has been more than six weeks since they mailed their return
- When the Where’s My Refund? results tell the taxpayer to contact the IRS