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 have a paper check being mailed to me what does it mean when the check my refund says “Your tax refund is scheduled to be mailed by February 12, 2016.” Does that mean it was mailed or does that mean I should expect it in the mail by that date?
Hi Thomas,
This is the date that the IRS plans to mail your refund check. I suggest allowing 3-5 business days to receive your check, depending on your postal service.
i filed on the 1/26 and was accepted the 1/27. had 1 bar on WMR for a couple days then the message “your refund has been accepted and a date will be given when available”. After a few weeks I called the irs to check what was going cause I had read some folks were having to verify ID. Yep, that was it, I was flagged for ID verification. So I called the number given by the IRS rep and successfully ID my account. I was told the hold was going to be released and my refund will start to process again. Well that was Monday and now its Thursday the 11th and my new message says “your return is being processed”. that’s it…nothing about a date will be posted when available or anything. What’s this mean?
Hi Lomo,
Unfortunately, these things can happen. The good news is that your refund is back on the right track. That status simply means that your return is being processed. You will still be updated with a date when they have one available to issue your refund. There’s nothing to worry about with this status update.
I filed my taxes on January 22 and they accepted it the same day. I looked yesterday and my orange bars were gone and it said “Your tax return is still being processed. A refund date will be provided when available.” What does that mean? Did something go wrong and will they let me know if I did something wrong?
Hello Yanez,
Your tax return being ‘accepted’ is the very first step for the Where’s My Refund tool. The stage you are looking out for is when your refund is ‘approved’. With this update, you are typically provided with a date when your return will be direct deposited into your bank account or when your refund check will be mailed out. As of now, you have nothing to worry about. Although the IRS has refunds issued within 21 days, there are always exceptions to the rule when the tax return volume exceeds the norm.
Where’s my refund said deposit date Feb 10 th OK today’s the tenth and its still not in the sent part of the three stages??
Hi Carol,
Where’s My Refund may not specifically update you past the direct deposit date stage. Since your refund is being direct deposited, you want to allow an additional few business days for your actual bank to clear the deposit. You can give your bank a call and they should be able to tell you approximately how long this takes.
Hey,
Today will make 21 days that my taxes still say ‘processing’. Do they only give dates on Saturday? Does that mean something is wrong or can a get a date for Saturday?
Hi Juanita,
Although 21 days is the usual amount that the IRS will issue refunds by, this is never a guarantee. That being said, it also doesn’t necessarily mean that something went wrong when processing your tax return. The Where’s My Refund tool updates daily (unless otherwise noted) so Saturday is not the only day that dates are provided in status updates.