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.
On Wheres my refund, i finally got to the second bar. It states that my refund should be direct deposited into my account by the 10th. Is there a possibility that I will receive it sooner? The 10th is on a Wed.
Hi Garry,
There is always the possibility that the IRS will deposit your refund prior to the 10th. Since you chose to have your refund direct deposited into your bank account, remember that you should also account for the time your bank takes to clear the refund amount.
i did my taxes on the 20 and still never received nothing .I thought i might be audit but some one told me i would’ve known in the first week
Hi Sharhonda,
Not to worry! The IRS states that you should allow 21 days to receive your tax refund, although most are direct deposited or mailed before that. After 21 days, the IRS recommends contacting them so that they can further research exactly where in the filing process your tax return is.
Hello, I filed on 1/20/2016. Still nothing and when I check “where’s my refund” it’s showing nothing! I don’t know if the irs received it or not. On “where’s my refund”, it said that I enter something incorrect. I know I entered everything correctly. Please help!! Thanks
Hello Sang,
If you are receiving the refund status stating, “You may not have entered your information correctly. Please verify your personal tax data and try again.”, you have either entered a piece of information incorrectly or not fully submitted your tax return to the IRS. If you have re-entered the information into this tool already and are still receiving the same error message, you’ll want to contact your tax preparer for more information on when your return was submitted to the IRS. They’ll also be able to check the status of your return.
So you say my tax preparer can check the status of my refund? Do you think my tax preparer know the date I’m getting my refund back?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN WHEN IT STATES TAKE ACTION WHAT INFO WILL THEY BE LOOKING FOR
Hi Lette,
This could mean that your tax return was flagged for review or modification by the IRS. Don’t worry too much. The IRS will reach out to you via mail explaining how to proceed, if they modified your return in any way or if you need to make a change.
Hello I filled my taxes on jan19 2016 a week later I had check on the irs track refund it said it was accepted couple days later I check again and know it doesn’t give me information it just says We cannot provide information you must wait 24 hrs after you get the acknowledgement email that your tax return was receive by the irs. I’m concern know what does that mean
Hi Lsar,
This simply means that your tax return was received by the IRS and that it is in the processing stage. You can check the Where’s My Refund tool daily and you will see an update once your return is processed. If you are due a refund, you will receive a date on which the IRS will mail or deposit your refund.