Those who e-file refunds for tax year 2024 are expected to receive their direct deposit within 21 days, and those who file on-paper return have to wait more than four weeks to receive it. Taxpayers who claim ACTC/EITC along with their refund will receive their direct deposit on or after February 27, 2025.
There is no official calendar released by the IRS for receiving tax refund, if you want to know the expected date of receiving your refund then for your convenience we have prepared an estimated refund schedule as per the previous year trends, in which you can know when you will receive your refund as per your refund acceptance date.
The Internal Revenue Service is all set to start accepting the tax return for the tax year 2024 from January 21, 2025, that is, from this date taxpayers will be able to check their refund filing status using Internal Revenue Service’s Where’s My Refund tool or IRS2Go mobile application.
IRS Tax Refund Calendar 2025
Those whose electronically filed refund will be accepted by 21 January 2025 will be able to receive their direct deposit in the first week of February 2025 and those who have opted for a paper check to receive the payment may take a week longer.
The estimated tax payout schedule i.e. refund calendar for tax year 2024 is available below for General returns, you are required to go through the tabulated data.
| Accepted by IRS | Refund Sent by IRS (Direct Deposit) | Refund Sent by IRS (Paper Check) |
| Jan 21 | Feb 04 | Feb 11 |
| Jan 28 | Feb 11 | Feb 18 |
| Feb 04 | Feb 18 | Feb 25 |
| Feb 11 | Feb 25 | Mar 03 |
| Feb 18 | Mar 03 | Mar 10 |
| Feb 25 | Mar 10 | Mar 17 |
| Mar 03 | Mar 17 | Mar 24 |
| Mar 10 | Mar 24 | Mar 31 |
| Mar 17 | Mar 31 | Apr 07 |
| Mar 24 | Apr 07 | Apr 14 |
| Mar 31 | Apr 14 | Apr 21 |
| Apr 07 | Apr 21 | Apr 28 |
| Apr 14 | Apr 28 | May 05 |
| Apr 21 | May 05 | May 12 |
| Apr 28 | May 12 | May 19 |
What if the refund is not received on the estimated date?
It has been clearly stated by the IRS that 90% of the returns which are filed electronically takes a maximum of 21 days to be received. If this much time has passed and in spite of that you have still not received your refund, in such a situation first of all you have to check the status of your refund and confirm whether your refund has been accepted by the IRS.
If your refund status is showing as Accepted on the ‘Where’s My Refund?’ tool then in this situation you should wait for 3 to 5 more days. You must also keep in mind that if your payment method is direct deposit then you will receive it quickly. In the case of a paper check payment method then it may take more than 21 days to be received.
However, for refunds which are filed during the peak timing i.e. last week of March and 15th April, it is possible that the refund may take more than 10 days than the estimated time as during this time the IRS has to handle many refunds simultaneously. If you have filed your refund during this period, then there is no need to worry about getting tax returns.
Can I find out the exact date of receiving the refund?
To check the exact date of receiving your refund for the tax year 2024, you will have to go to the official website of the Internal Revenue Service and check your refund filing status. If your refund has been accepted by the IRS, then you will also be shown an estimated date on which your direct deposit or paper check will be released.
You also need to know that after the release of the direct deposit, it takes approximately 24 hours to reflect in your account and if your payment method is a paper check, then it takes approximately 3 days to be delivered.