In the United
States, the federal government and the several States operate cooperating, but
parallel, tax systems. They exchange information, but each collects its own
taxes, processes its own tax returns, and issues its own refunds.
Federal and state tax returns are filed separately with the IRS and the
state taxing agency.
If you are owed a
refund from the IRS, that is processed and sent to you either by direct
deposit, if you submitted bank account information, or by check. (For a
separate fee, TurboTax can arrange for a debit card to be sent to you and
loaded with your refund.)
If you are owed a
refund from a state, that is processed separately by that state, and sent to
you using the method above. Both processes are independent of each other and
funds can reach you on different dates. The IRS cannot deny the issuance of a state tax refund. Only the relevant state can make that decision.
