With April firmly in our ear view mirror, and most Americans having filed either their taxes or their extensions, now comes the fun part, which is getting them reviewed and their refunds issued. Of course, in order to get them reviewed the documents must have reached the department in charge of doing so, and with so many cuts to the Agency’s budget and personnel, this year there might be some now expected delays in ensuring that all taxpayers get their due funds.
As per usual, those who still chose to file their taxes on paper and send them in via post will have to wait a lot longer to get their refunds. We are just clearing the timeline where they would have been received in the IRS office, and then an employee will need to manually sort and revise them to ensure that they are correct, so there might still be a while to go for these taxpayers to know whether they filed correctly or not.
But with the rise of the internet most taxpayers have chosen in the past two or so decades to file their taxes online, which makes it a lot faster, not just because once they are sent in it is an immediate process, but because there is only human involvement if there is something off in the documents that you presented that needs further scrutiny or if your taxes are complicated for whatever reasons.
Most Americans that work for a company and only have a couple of refunds that they are entitled to should have no issues having their documents scanned and approved. This is especially true now that the IRS has created their own program, called Direct File that eliminates third party interference and makes simple filing easier for taxpayers.
When will American taxpayers get their refunds from the IRS
Refund timelines typically follow a set schedule that is entirely dependent on how a return was filed and how the refund is issued. Taxpayers who file electronically and select direct deposit often receive their refunds within about three weeks, while those who submit paper returns but opt for direct deposit may wait anywhere from four to eight weeks, although any errors or processing issues can push the timeline out even further. Having said that, the IRS already has a preliminary schedule on when players that have filed correctly will receive their refunds:
- Filing date: 1 to 15 May 2025
- Paper filing – 26 June to 10 July 2025
- E-filing with a direct deposit – 22 May to 4 June 2025
- E-filing with a check in the mail – 29 May to 11 June 2025
- Filing date: 16 to 31 May 2025
- Paper filing – 11 to 25 July 2025
- E-filing with a direct deposit – 6 to 19 June 2025
- E-filing with a check in the mail – 13 to 26 June 2025
Most taxpayers can expect a refund of around $3,000, the exact amount being $2,939 statistically, but there is no use getting excited about the money if you do not know when it will be coming into your possession. Despite the preliminary calendar, there are many things that can go wrong and that can delay the process, which is why the IRS has another handy too to help you track the status of your refund.
It is aptly called Where’s My Refund, available on the official IRS website and helps taxpayers verify if their refund has been issued or not. The good thing about this tool is that both electronic and paper filers can access it, although paper filed return data can take up to four weeks to become available.