IRS Refund Status

For federal tax refunds, the IRS provides the “Where’s My Refund?” tool on their website at IRS.gov, which is available to all taxpayers regardless of which state they live in. Taxpayers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York can use this same federal system to check their IRS refund status by entering their Social Security number, filing status, and exact refund amount. The IRS typically issues most refunds within 21 days of accepting your return when you file electronically and choose direct deposit. Paper returns take considerably longer, often requiring six to eight weeks for processing. The Where’s My Refund tool updates once daily, usually overnight, so checking multiple times per day won’t provide new information.