The IRS says that most people who efile and choose direct deposit will receive their refund within 21 days. However, for some it can take longer. A significant number of returns require more processing for various reasons, some chosen at random. Here are some things you can check before phoning the IRS:
First, if you efiled, be sure your efiled return was accepted. If using Online TurboTax, you can check at the Tax Home page. Does it show as accepted, rejected, printed, started, ready to mail, or something else?
If that showed your return was accepted for processing, you can track your Federal refund at the IRS "Where's My Refund" tool. Is there any message there?
https://www.irs.gov/refunds
NOTE: If you filed by mail, it can take 4 weeks just to show up in that tool.
The IRS tracker tool normally uses 3 stages:
- Return received and is being processed.
- Refund approved.
- Refund sent and an expected deposit date.
If that tool shows your refund is still being processed, and if it's been longer than the usual 21 days, you can phone the IRS, if you wish, to see if they can tell you anything about the delay.
IRS: 800-829-1040 (7AM-7 PM local time) Monday-Friday
