After you file

The IRS processes federal tax returns, while your state government processes the state tax returns. These are two different administrations that work independently of each other. So, it is common for you to receive your state tax refund before you receive your federal refund. You can get an estimated timeframe by tracking your federal tax return on the IRS website. 

After TurboTax prepares your federal tax return and you chose to e-file it, the tax return is submitted electronically to the federal government. The IRS can either accept the tax return or reject it. If it is accepted, this means that the IRS has received it, and will now review it for errors or other issues. At this point, the government has all control over the tax return. There is no way of knowing exactly when IRS will finish processing your return, but you can track your refund on the IRS website. You will not see your refund expected date on the IRS website until after IRS approves the refund. For most taxpayers,(9 out of 10), the refund process takes approximately 21 days. 

For mailed tax returns, the refund processing time is 6 to 8 weeks from the date the IRS receives your tax return. You should begin checking the status of your tax refund 4 weeks after you mail a paper tax return.

To track your e-filed tax refund:

1. First, check your e-file status to see if your refund was accepted by the IRS. You can start checking the status 24-48 hours after submission. To check your e-file status, visit this link:https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/efile-status-lookup/
2. If it has been accepted, then you would wait for the approval from the IRS. The refund process can take approximately 21 days. You can track your refund at:https://sa.www4.irs.gov/irfof/lang/en/irfofgetstatus.jsp

To track your mailed tax refund:

1. Wait 4 weeks 
2. Track your federal refund at:https://sa.www4.irs.gov/irfof/lang/en/irfofgetstatus.jsp

Please see these TurboTax FAQs: 

• My return got accepted. What happens next? 

• When will I get my IRS refund?