The IRS says 9 out of 10 filers who efile and choose direct deposit will get their refunds within 21 days. While that's true for most people, that still leaves a considerable number of people who do not. Some returns take longer for additional processing due to specific items in the return. Some are pulled at random for more thorough investigation.
Once your efiled return has been accepted, then you can follow your refund status with this IRS tool:
https://www.irs.gov/Refunds
NOTE: When using that tool, use only the Federal refund amount, and not any total refund amount that includes a state refund. The amount to use is on your Federal Form 1040, Line 21a.
NOTE: By law the IRS will not issue a refund on tax returns claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit until February 15 at the earliest. So filers who have one of those credits likely will not receive the refund before late February or possibly early March.
