Taxpayers who have filed their tax return for the 2024 tax year must have received their tax refund even if they have claimed the EITC/ACTC as the 15 February limit is passed. But if your tax refund is delayed, it can be a nightmare turn for the taxpayers.
The IRS processes tax refunds generally on time, but recently it’s been reported that the tax refund can be delayed for some taxpayers due to many reasons. One of them is staff cutting, so taxpayers expecting their tax refund can get updates on delays and other relevant details here.
IRS Refund Delay Update 2025
The 2025 tax season has started on 27 January 2025, most of the taxpayers who have filed early returns must have already received the tax refund. IRS generally takes 3 weeks to process the e-filed return that is to be sent by direct deposit, or a month for a physical check.
Recently, there’s been news that tax refunds can be delayed due to a federal layoff. The Trump administration has laid off around 6000 IRS employees so far, which can slow down the IRS review process, ultimately affecting the tax refund processing.
This has raised the concern among the taxpayers as some taxpayers can expect a delay in their tax refund. Tax refund is one of the important factors for the taxpayers as it lets them save some of their money and offer financial relief. If the federal layoff affected the tax season, this will be the biggest IRS refund delay.
What other factors can cause your tax refund delay?
Though, as per the latest update, taxpayers can experience delays in their tax refund due to staff cuts, there are other reasons as well that can cause the delay that every taxpayer should know and understand.
The US citizens who have completed their tax responsibility of this year or are planning to file before the deadline, 15 April 2025, should check the following reasons of delay to avoid any mistake:
- Your tax return information is incomplete or incorrect, or missing information that can slow down the review process, or the IRS can ask for missing information to complete your tax return review and approve the tax refund.
- The bank account information you have mentioned in the tax return to receive the tax refund is not active or invalid, and you can expect the delay as if the bank is inactive, the payment will be sent back to the IRS, and they will send the tax refund through physical check.
- Your mailing address has changed or the information you have mentioned is wrong, which can make your tax refund delayed.
- You owe tax debt or have a tax balance to the IRS or federal government that the agency will cover from your tax refund, which may delay your tax refund or remove the tax refund. But taxpayers should be assured that the IRS will notify them about the use of tax refund to cover the tax debt, so you can ask the IRS not to use the refund as you need it due to financial hardships.
As these reasons can also delay your tax refund, taxpayers should look into their tax refund or inquire about it to the agency to get their tax refund.
When can you expect your Tax Refund if it is delayed?
As we mentioned earlier, the IRS generally directly deposits the tax refund within 21 days of e-filing the tax return, or in a month when the taxpayer has selected a physical check as their payment method. According to the IRS reports, the agency has processed 29,615,000 tax refunds so far, which is more than the tax refund process in 2023 during the same period.
The agency has processed more than $103 billion in tax refunds to the taxpayers so far, with an average payout of a tax refund of $3,453. Now experts believe that tax refunds can be delayed due to the staff cuts, as the process of reviewing the tax return can increase.
So, if you file the 2025 tax return now, you can expect your tax refund delay, and expect your tax refund after a week from the expected date. The taxpayers can easily track their tax refund and see at what stage their tax return is processed and estimate the tax refund date.
Track your IRS Tax Refund through Where’s My Refund
IRS has the Where’s My Refund Tool that allows taxpayers to track their tax refund and real-time information about their tax refund. The Where’s My Refund tool provides the tax return and refund stage that is recorded in the IRS system.
Taxpayers can access the Where’s My Refund tool on IRS online services at the official website or through the IRS mobile app. The tool will tell you the IRS status in three phrases – (a) Return Received, (b) Refund Approved, and (c ) Refund sent.
Taxpayers can get the tax refund status with their Social Security Number, filing status, Refund amount, and filing year easily. If you are speculating about your tax refund delay, you must first check the tax refund status to see at what stage your tax return is processed.
What actions should you take when your tax refund is missing?
If your tax refund is missing or hasn’t arrived yet, you must take the following actions to enquire about your tax refund:
- You must first wait for five business days before you contact the agency about your tax refund.
- You should contact the IRS for Refund inquiries at 800-829-1954 and get an idea of what happened to your tax refund.
- If your check is lost or damaged, you can request the IRS to reissue the check if it is not cashed and get your tax refund.
The IRS tries to process your tax refund on time, however, due to staff cuts, some taxpayers can experience delays in their tax refund, so taxpayers should be ready and keep tracking their tax refund.