What if my IRS refund is taking longer than 21 days?

Most federal tax refunds are issued within 21 days, but some may take longer if the return requires additional review.

How do you check the status of your IRS federal refund?

First, check the IRS Where's My Refund? site to get the most updated status of your 2024 refund. The IRS Where’s My Refund? site provides a personalized date after the return is processed and a refund is approved. If you paper-filed, wait at least 4 weeks before checking Where's My Refund?.

The IRS Where’s My Refund? site is typically updated once a day, overnight. So there’s no need to check more often. If you see an error message, try the website again later.

The IRS Where’s My Refund? site has three different status options:

• Return Received: The IRS received your return and is processing it. 
• Refund Approved: The IRS approved your refund.
• Refund Sent: Your refund is on its way.

You should only contact the IRS if:

• It's been 21 days or more since you e-filed.
• Where's My Refund? notifies you to contact them.

Call the IRS using these numbers:

• For individuals: 800-829-1040
• For businesses: 800-829-4933
• For those with hearing impairments: 800-829-4059

To have an efficient call, here's what you need to prepare.

Once the IRS has accepted your return, TurboTax can’t provide updates on where your refund is at.

If you chose to receive your refund Up to 5 Days Early 

Up to 5 Days Early delivers your refund up to 5 days before the IRS is able to deliver funds to your bank account. For example, if the IRS indicates that your refund will arrive in your account in 15 days from the date your tax return was accepted, our up to Up 5 Days Early service will get your refund to your account within 10–14 days.

You can get your refund deposited in your own bank account for a fee deducted from your tax refund. If the money isn’t delivered at least 1 day early, you won’t be charged a fee for this service. The receipt of your refund up to 5 Days Early is subject to IRS submitting refund information to us at least 5 days before the refund settlement date. IRS does not always provide refund settlement information early.

For most filers, the IRS delivers a refund within 21 days if you select direct deposit as your refund method.

Once the IRS approves your refund, TurboTax will be notified and we’ll attempt to transfer your refund to your bank account. TurboTax will then send you an email letting you know if we were able to successfully deliver your refund up to 5 days early or if we were unable to expedite your refund. If we were successfully able to deliver your refund up to 5 days early, you can expect to see your refund in your bank account the same day you received an email from us.

If we were unable to expedite your refund at least 1 day early before the refund settlement date provided by the IRS, you will not be charged for Up to 5 Days Early. You will also get an email and see a notice that “We could not expedite your refund. No early refund fee was charged” as part of your TurboTax refund tracker.