News

So, just how long will you need to wait to see that tax refund? Days, weeks — or months?

Tax season jitters escalate the closer we get to spring, and this year some people are even more on edge.

The uncertain timing of a tax refund seems more ominous in 2025, after the Internal Revenue Service cut jobs and rumbling in Washington heated up Friday surrounding a potential federal government shutdown next week, roughly a month before the April 15 tax filing deadline for most people.

The good news? Well, there is some. The IRS was to remain fully staffed for at least five days in the event of a government shutdown, and IRS operations were to continue as normal, according to a March 13 email to employees from Melanie Krause, the acting IRS commissioner, as reported by the Journal of Accountancy.

A government shutdown was averted when the Senate approved a bill Friday evening that provides funding through September.

No big tax refund delays at IRS yet

Through mid-March, tax professionals say they have not seen unusual or significant delays relating to tax refunds. The IRS began accepting and processing tax returns for early filers on Jan. 27 and has remained on track even after the first round of layoffs at the IRS hit in late February.

Things have been running pretty smoothly, experts say, overall for taxpayers who expect a tax refund.

"I expect that might not be the case as volume increases here in the last 30 days of the filing season," said Tom O’Saben, enrolled agent and director of tax content and government relations for the National Association of Tax Professionals, which has 23,000 members.

O'Saben said that his experience as a tax professional and comments from other tax professionals in the trade group indicate that the IRS isn't experiencing any noticeable hitches in issuing refunds. That's true, he said, as long as returns are reviewed before submission and submitted electronically.

Some remain concerned that if the IRS makes some deep cuts to its staff in May that there's a greater risk that tax refunds could start to be delayed.

If you're on edge, though, should you hurry up and file a tax return as soon as you can now to avoid any potential delays and hiccups?

Short answer: No.

Before you file, make sure all your numbers are in order. Review your information. Take a second or third look to make sure you entered the Social Security numbers listed on the return correctly. Make sure you're accurately reporting information from all necessary statements, 1099s, W-2s and more.

Double check the numbers listed on the return for your bank account to receive your direct deposit without any problems.

"People should not rush to file, nor should they delay their filing, but rather proceed in a business as usual fashion," O'Saben said.

If you filed a paper return last year, you might seriously consider e-filing to avoid any potential problems with processing paper. But, frankly, that's been standard advice for years.

Use tools, such as the IRS “Where’s My Refund” app to check the status of your refund.

"When possible, avoid the necessity for live contact with IRS personnel," O'Saben said.

It's best to focus on your own tax return, and not dwell on all the news that's rolling out of Washington, D.C.

Yes, we're hearing talk of another massive layoff at the IRS. The National Treasury Employees Union raised concerns Friday about more IRS layoffs ahead, though no specific numbers were disclosed. But some reports say thousands of IRS employees could lose their jobs in the weeks ahead.

Doreen Greenwald, the national president of the NTEU, sent a letter Friday to IRS leadership, saying that the union strongly opposes any reduction in force.

More job cuts at the IRS, she said, would be incredibly destructive for civil servants and the American public. A rushed reduction in force, according to the union, would have a "devastating impact on the IRS’s ability to collect revenue that funds the government services our country depends on.

One thing in the tax filer's favor is that the IRS system is mostly automated so there should not be significant delays in getting refunds due to changes at the IRS, said Melanie Lauridsen, vice president for tax policy and advocacy with the American Institute of CPAs.

“What we’ve heard from our members is that IRS services this tax season has been on par with that of recent previous years, including refunds," Lauridsen said.

If a refund is delayed, she said, it can be for several reasons, including incomplete or inaccurate information.

How big is the average federal income tax refund?

The IRS issues data each week on its filing season. Unfortunately, no information is released as part of those stats relating to the average length of time the IRS is taking to issue a refund.

What we can track are refunds issued, average sizes of refunds and how many returns are getting filed and processed.

The average federal income tax refund was $3,382 for the first five weeks of the tax season through Feb. 28. That's up 6.3% from the refunds issued during a similar time period last year.

The IRS issued $124.8 billion in refunds through Feb. 28, up 8.1% from a year earlier. Some 36.9 million people received refunds, up 1.7% from a year earlier.

The filing season has been one in which the IRS hasn't been receiving or processing as many early returns as a year ago. Returns received were down 3% through Feb. 28; and returns processed are down 2.7%.

For the week ending March 7, the average refund size had fallen only a tiny bit to $3,324 for the first six weeks of the tax season. That was up 5.7% from the same period a year ago.

The total returns received by the IRS were down 2.1% and the total returns processed were down 1.8% for the first six weeks.

The IRS issued $145.06 billion through March 7, up 7.2% from a similar period a year ago through March 8, 2024.

The average federal income tax refund was $3,382 for the first five weeks of the tax season through Feb. 28. File photo: Christanine Brodis of Detroit talks on the phone with an Accounting Aid Society volunteer to help her file her 2020 taxes on Feb. 13, 2021.

Many early filers have yet to file

If you didn't file your tax return by early March, you're far from alone.

O'Saben said he believes that many people were forced to delay filing their 2024 returns in February and early March because of delays receiving paperwork related to certain investments involving some brokerage accounts, partnerships, estates, and trusts.

Many 1099s and K-1 documents are being sent out later and later each year, he said.

In the past week, he said, he has seen some notices being received by taxpayers that certain 1099 forms “won’t be available until after March 15.”

"Most tax professionals advise clients to wait and file a complete return rather than file with information missing and cause the filing of amended returns, which bog down the system and require live, versus electronic processing," O'Saben said.

Other factors could be coming into play, too — including a new, perhaps confusing, flood of 1099-K forms for gig workers and those who sell items online.

This year, taxpayers will receive a 1099-K from payment card companies, payment apps, and online marketplaces when the amount of their business transactions during 2024 was more than $5,000. The threshold was much higher for 2023 income and far fewer 1099-K forms were issued.

More: 1099-K tax form new to you this year? What it means when filing for 2024

A few tax professionals pointed to louder antitax rhetoric on social media and elsewhere, which has been applauding President Donald Trump's comments earlier this year about wanting to abolish the IRS, as another possible reason some taxpayers who owe money might be delaying filing returns.

How long does it take to get a tax refund?

The IRS gives some broad guidelines for the typical turnaround for a tax refund. "If you file your return electronically, your refund should be issued in less than three weeks, even faster when you choose direct deposit," according to the IRS.

Send that return through the mail? Get ready to wait. The IRS states that it can take four weeks or more for the agency to process tax returns sent by mail and issue a refund. The same timeline can apply to amended returns.

The wait drags out even more, if your return needs corrections or extra review, according to the IRS.

It could get worse if you're a victim of ID theft.

I reported in early January that roughly 1.2 million taxpayers faced incredibly long waits last year for their tax refund cash after getting hit by tax-related ID theft or by claiming frivolous credits after falling for tax schemes and scams, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate.

In some cases, the taxpayer files a tax return, but the return is rejected because a tax refund has already been paid out to a thief who filed a return using the taxpayers ID. It’s taking the IRS close to two years to work with victims to resolve these situations.

Many times, of course, tax filers will receive their refunds in much less time than 21 days or three weeks, if they file the return electronically.

One retiree told me that he had his 2024 federal income tax return prepared on Feb. 25 and received his refund via direct deposit on March 12, roughly two weeks later.

As a general guideline, someone who files a federal income tax return electronically and sees the IRS accept that return as of March 17 might expect a tax refund via direct deposit by March 28, according to data from CPA Advisors.

In general, you might receive a federal income tax return via direct deposit in about 10 days after the IRS accepts your e-filed tax return, according to CPA Advisors.

Taxpayers need to realize that it might take two or three days for the IRS to accept your return after you submit it electronically. The IRS will notify you of the actual date on which the agency “accepted” your return often by text or email.

If the IRS accepts an e-filed return on March 24, you might see that refund by April 7 via direct deposit, according to CPA Advisors.

We're moving closer to peak income tax season when the IRS starts to see the bulk of individual income tax returns getting filed.

Tax experts warn that it can take longer to receive a refund as crunch time builds from March 24 through April 15, the filing deadline for most taxpayers.

"Do not take these dates as exact predictions, as all taxpayers have different tax returns, documents, incomes, and other situations," according to the information provided online by CPA Advisors.

This year, taxpayers who wait until the last minute to file also might need to keep an eye out for just how many jobs might be cut at the IRS, too. A lot of unknowns are out there. But again, don't rush to file a return before you're sure that all your information is accurate.