You will not receive a return. Your tax return is the form you send to the IRS that shows your income and calculates your tax. The money that the IRS sends back to you is your refund. The IRS receives your return after you mail it. Several months after you mailed your signed paper return to the IRS, you will receive your refund.
If you have not mailed your 2021 tax return yet, when you mail it send it by certified mail with a return receipt. That way you will get tracking and confirmation that it was delivered to the IRS.
