Don’t stress! You won’t miss this flight.
Have you ever walked into an airport and realized you and everyone around you seem to be in a rush? Well, tax filers tend to mimic the same anxious energy, especially those trying to figure out their tax refund status.
We understand that like the airport checking luggage-security-shoes-off whirlwind, tax filing is also something you don’t do every day and can be pretty stressful. Actually, filing your taxes is the hardest part though so give yourself a pat on the back, sit back and await your refund.
What status updates should I look out for?
Whether you are a RapidTax customer or not, you’ll probably use the IRS “Where’s My Refund?” tool. Before checking your refund status, you’ll want to recognize and know the meaning of the following status updates:
- Return Received or Accepted
- Refund Approved
- Refund Sent
- Your tax return is still being processed. A refund date will be provided when available.
What does Return ‘Received’ or ‘Accepted’ mean?
The IRS updates you with “We have accepted your tax return and it is being processed”. This is solely to update you that your return was successfully received by the IRS. This status update does not mean your return was approved. It simply means the IRS has it and it is in line to be reviewed and processed.
- The Return Received status may remain longer than you were expecting. You may have friends who had this status displayed on their page for only a few days and yours has remained much longer. Don’t panic, it happens.
What does ‘Refund Approved’ mean?
The IRS updates you with ” Your refund has been approved”. This means that your return was processed successfully and the estimated refund amount was approved by the IRS. You’re one step closer to getting that refund!
- This refund status is the second stage of the IRS refund updates and means you have nothing to worry about.
What does ‘Refund Sent’ mean?
Once the IRS updates you that your refund has been sent, the deal is sealed. You should be receiving your refund via check or direct deposit. In most cases, you’ll even be issued an approximate date to expect your money to arrive.
- If you had your tax refund direct deposited, it may take your bank or financial institution 1-5 business days to deposit the tax refund money into your account. If instead, you opted to have your tax refund sent to you in the mail, by check, you should expect to wait much longer.
What does ‘Your tax return is still being processed. A refund date will be provided when available ‘ mean?
Although it may drive you crazy waiting for your refund, this status could just mean that the IRS hasn’t approved your refund as yet and it reviewing your return.
- Most refunds are issued in less than 21 days. Additional review may be the case if you claim credits such as the Additional Child Tax Credit, or Earned Income Credit. This ensures that you’re receiving the correct refund. This process may take longer, but it will change eventually.
What does Tax Topic 152 mean?
If you are using the Where’s My Refund tool and see a generic message accompanied by “Tax Topic 152“, consider this IRS tax jargon. In short, your return is still in the processing stage. Tax Topic 152 is simply a lengthy internet document listing the ways you are able to receive your refund. Although applicable, chances are that by this stage of the game, you’ve already chosen whether or not you’d like a check or direct deposit.
If you notice your tax refund status is not appearing on the IRS tool, be sure you are entering the correct information. If it still doesn’t work, contact your tax preparer.
I filed my taxes feb14 1 week later my bars disappeared I got a letter to send in a copy of my id I did but my status still has not changed how long does this take
My status said “Refund Sent” Is that a good thing?
Hi Carlos,
This is a positive step in the refund process. It means that your refund has been either mailed or direct deposited into your account, depending on how you chose to receive it.
Hey! How soon after it said “refund sent” did you get it? Mine switched to that today but nothing in my account.
I filed my taxes on 2/14 I checked my where’s my refund yesterday it showed as processing and i checked it again tonight recieved the surprised that i have to take action… I’m victim of identity theft for 4 years… Last year was my first year filing my taxes for first time had problems last year too… but recieved a pin… Need help… I’m confused what does it mean??
Hi Rosy,
I’m sorry to hear about the refund and identity theft issues you’ve faced. I am unclear on your question, could you please clarify. If the question is regarding how to find your PIN, you’ll be able to do so by visiting the IRS website page “Get my Electronic Filing PIN”. Here’s the link; https://sa.www4.irs.gov/irfof-efp/start.do. Also, you may wish to contact the IRS directly by phone. The IRS number is 800-829-1040. I hope you find this information helpful. If you filed your return with RapidTax, feel free to reach out to our support team via phone or chat support. The team will help you with any refund questions you may have. Best of luck!
I used turbo tax… mine was accepted on feb 11th at 8 a.m. according to the refund cycle chart that would be a ddd of today 2/18 if I check status on turbo tax it says estimated return date of march 4th??? if o go to irs.2go it just says processing still.
did anyone else get accepted in the 2/11 time frame and get there dd or change status to refund sent??? HELPPPP
Hi Brooke,
The IRS has announced that it is experiencing high traffic on Where’s My Refund as more tax returns come in. The heavy volume of refund inquiries means that the IRS anticipates both the “Where’s My Refund?” tool and the refund feature on the IRS2go phone app will have limited availability during busier periods.
Due to the large number of inquiries and to avoid service disruptions, the IRS strongly urges taxpayers to only check on their refunds once a day. IRS systems are only updated once a day, usually overnight, and the same information is available whether on the internet, IRS2go smartphone app or on IRS toll-free lines. While “Where’s My Refund” is updated nightly, your account will not change that frequently.
Please keep in mind that the dates provided in the chart above are estimated based on prior year trends. They are by no means exact and are provided to help you to get an idea of past refund cycles.
my wmr says approved. I paid for dd ,but wmr says that my taxes were approved on 2-23-15 and a check will be mailed by 2-23-15. whats this mean and y r they mailing it.
Hi Wes,
The IRS will mail your refund check for a few reasons. A common reason that they would do this is because you entered incorrect bank account information for the direct deposit option. Also, many people do not realize but the IRS limits the amount of refunds deposited into one account to three times. The fourth refund that is requested to be directly deposited into that account is automatically converted to a paper check. This is to prevent fraud and identity theft.
I would also contact your tax preparer directly to make sure that they prepared your return with the direct deposit option selected.