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.
If my tax refund status is accepted and says it should be sent to my bank by March 4th? And I woke up this morning with no refund will it be here tomorrow?
Hi Cadie,
Unfortunately, it is impossible to provide you with a specific date. However, since you chose direct deposit, you need to also allow time for your personal bank to clear the deposit. This could take 1-7 business days (depending on your bank). You can contact your bank and a representative can usually give you a clearing time frame.
Hi. My return was accepted and approved. And suppose to be sent for DD. AFTER I didn’t receive my refund I called, they said my return is on hold. And that I would get a letter. And thats it! What does this mean? I got accepted and approved already, why would it be on hold now and what do I do?
Hi Emwills,
Your refund could be delayed for multiple different reasons. The IRS will typically correspond with you via mail for security reasons. Some of the more common reasons for a delay are:
1. Incorrect direct deposit information: in this case, your refund will be mailed as a check to you.
2. Computation errors: this will typically be caught before approval of your return but it could be caught at the last second.
3. IRS error: even the IRS has been known to make a mistake occasionally which could play into a refund delay.
There are other reasons why your refund is delayed. Your best bet is to wait it out until you receive the letter in the mail. This letter should explain the reason for the delay and if you need to take any further action.
i filed 2/13 up until the 27th ive had one bar tax topic 152..now i have no bars no tax topic no codes no notice is this normal? just saying rfund is being proccessed and a date will be available when there is one..hopefully ill update soon its been 15 days
I filed 2/5 and got accepted an hour later. Refund approved 2/23 and got this message-“Your tax refund is scheduled to be mailed by March 1, 2016. If you do not receive the refund by March 29, 2016, please contact us again. We are unable to take any action until then. I opted direct deposit. What does this mean?
Hi Verna,
Although you chose to have your refund direct deposited, the IRS will default to mail a check instead if the bank information you provided is not accurate.
I have the same problem, but my bank account info is the same every year. Why does it need to be mailed this time?
Pertaining to the mail that the IRS sends you, this does not specifically pertain to how they will send your refund. But the way that the IRS will be communicating with you if they have any further questions or concerns with your tax return, will be by mail only. This is due to security measures that they have in place for your best interest.
Irs2go.gov give says refund is still bring processed a refund date will be provided when available bars are gone TT 152 is gone however refund amount still appears and they advise to continue to check irs2go or irs.government for a refund date is there anything to worry about?please help thank you
Hi John,
Based on what you have stated above, you have nothing to worry about as of now. It sounds like your return is proceeding with the normal cycle of steps. Tax Topic 152 is just a document of refund information. It is sometimes seen on the WMR tool as a status update but really doesn’t mean much. It is more of a disclaimer that the IRS provides to taxpayers using the tool to check the status of their refund. You can continue to check your status updates as the tool is updated daily by the IRS.