Now that you have filed your federal tax return, you may be eager for details about your refund.
Don't let several common refund myths mislead you!
Getting a refund this year means there's no need for you to adjust your withholding for 2021. To help avoid a surprise next year, you should make changes now to prepare for next year. One way to do this is to adjust your tax withholding with your employer. This is easy to do using the Tax Withholding Estimator. This tool can help you determine if your employer is withholding the right amount. This is especially important if you got an unexpected result from filing your tax return this year. You should also check your withholding if you experience a life event like marriage, divorce, birth of a child, an adoption or are no longer able to claim a person as a dependent.
Calling the IRS or your tax preparer will provide you with a better refund date.Talking to the IRS or to your tax professional is not the best way to find out when you'll get your refund. The best way to check the status of a refund is online through the Where's My Refund? tool or the IRS2Go app. You can call the automated refund hotline at 800-829-1954. This hotline has the same information as Where's My Refund? and IRS telephone assistors. There is no need to call the IRS unless Where's My Refund? tells you to.
Ordering a tax transcript is a secret way to get a refund date. Doing this will not help you find out when you will get their refund. Where's My Refund? tells you that your tax return has been received and if the IRS has approved or sent the refund.
Where's My Refund? must be wrong because there's no deposit date yet. Updates to Where's My Refund? on both the IRS website and the IRS2Go app are made once a day. These updates usually occur overnight. Even though the IRS issues most refunds in less than 21 days, it's possible a refund may take longer. If the IRS needs more information to process a tax return, they will contact you by mail. You should also consider the time it takes for your bank to post the refund to the your account. If you're waiting for a refund by mail, you should plan for the time it takes a check to arrive.
Where's My Refund? must be wrong because the refund amount is less than expected. There are several factors that could cause a tax refund to be larger or smaller than expected. Situations that could decrease a refund include:
Math errors or mistakes
Owing federal taxes for a prior year
Owing state taxes, child support, student loans or other delinquent federal non-tax obligations
IRS holding part of the refund while they review an item claimed on the return
The IRS will mail you a letter of explanation if these adjustments are made. You may also get a letter from the Bureau of the Fiscal Service if your refund was reduced to offset certain financial obligations.