The IRS issues most refunds in about 21 days, although some returns take more time to review.
The general timeline of e-filed returns is: Transmission > Acceptance > Processing > Approval > Refund.
During processing, the government reviews your refund. During the review process, they look for math errors on your return (extremely rare in TurboTax) and they also check if you owe back taxes, unpaid child support, or other debts.
If they need to make any corrections, they may offset (reduce) your refund. In some cases, the correction might even increase your refund.
Once that part's done, the government approves your refund, which means it's ready to be deposited or sent. At that point the IRS site will update with a direct deposit date.
Note: Once your refund status on the IRS shows "Refund Sent" it can take 1 to 5 business days for the financial institution to deposit funds into your account.
Continue to monitor the IRS Where’s My Federal Refund? site for updates. Updates are made daily, usually overnight. You may also download the IRS2Go app to check your Federal refund status.
