The IRS has officially started releasing refunds for the additional child tax credit and earned income tax credit from March 2, 2026. Many people who filed their returns electronically in the initial stage have started receiving their refund.
If you are one of the taxpayers who claimed EITC or ACTC in their 2026 tax returns, you should know that if you have not received your refund yet, you will receive it very soon as the processing of these tax returns has picked up speed.
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Here, we’ve shared the full schedule for the EITC and ACTC refund releases, so you can estimate when you’ll receive your refund in 2026. Stay tuned to check all details for the refund so you don’t miss any important updates about it.
2026 ACTC & EITC Payout
For tax year 2025, a family can receive a maximum of $1,700 for each child by claiming the ACTC and up to $8,046 by claiming EITC. If you claimed both of these tax credits and e-filed your return, you will definitely receive your refund very soon, as the IRS has started the payout.
When you will receive your additional child tax credit and/or earned income tax credit refund depends on when you filed your return. For your information, you have to wait at least two weeks after filing for it to be approved by the IRS, and it is received within 10 days of approval.
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When will you get the 2026 EITC/ACTC refund?
The IRS has not released an official schedule for receiving your EITC/ACTC refund, but we have compiled a schedule based on the refund timeline that can help you determine when you will receive your refund. The table below shows you when you can expect to receive your refund based on your filing date.
| If You Filed On | Likely Approval Date | Estimated Direct Deposit Date |
| Jan 27 – Feb 2 | Feb 24 – March 1 | March 2 – March 6 |
| Feb 3 – Feb 9 | March 3 – March 8 | March 9 – March 13 |
| Feb 10 – Feb 16 | March 10 – March 15 | March 16 – March 20 |
| Feb 17 – Feb 23 | March 17 – March 22 | March 23 – March 27 |
| Feb 24 – March 1 | March 24 – March 29 | March 30 – April 3 |
| March 2 – March 8 | March 31 – April 5 | April 6 – April 10 |
| March 9 – March 15 | April 7 – April 12 | April 13 – April 17 |
| March 16 – March 22 | April 14 – April 19 | April 20 – April 24 |
| March 23 – March 29 | April 21 – April 26 | April 27 – May 1 |
| March 30 – April 5 | April 28 – May 3 | May 4 – May 8 |
| April 6 – April 12 | May 5 – May 10 | May 11 – May 15 |
| April 13 – April 19 | May 12 – May 17 | May 18 – May 22 |
| April 20 – April 26 | May 19 – May 24 | May 25 – May 29 |
| April 27 – May 3 | May 26 – May 31 | June 1 – June 5 |
| After May 3 | 2–3 weeks after filing | 3–4 weeks after filing |
The schedule we’ve shared above is an estimate; you may receive your refund two to four days earlier or later. And one thing you should note is that once your return is approved, you can see the exact date on which the IRS will release your refund by checking your refund status.
How to check the 2026 EITC & ACTC refund status?
Follow the instructions to check the refund status of the additional child tax credit and earned income tax credit.
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- Go to the Internal Revenue Service’s official website, which is accessible at irs.gov/.
- On the home page, you’ll see an option to “Track Refund.” Click on it to proceed to the next page.
- You’ll see a “Tax Refund Status” button. Click on it to access the “Where’s My Refund” tool.
- Finally, enter your social security number, select the tax year, filing status, and refund amount, and click the “Submit” button.
If your tax refund status is shown as Received, it means that they have not processed your tax return yet. If it is shown as Approved, it means that your return has been reviewed and you will receive your refund soon. If it is shown as Sent, it means that they have released your refund and you have received it.