Where Is My NY State Tax Refund?

Find out when you should receive your 2012 New York state tax refund

Are you still waiting on a tax refund from New York state? You can check the status of your state refund online by using the Income Tax Refund Status tool on the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance website. If you prefer to use the phone you can also check the status of your refund by calling 518-457-5149.

These days you can expect your federal refund from the IRS in under twenty-one days. In some cases they are even fast enough to get your money out in a week. State operations are not quite so sophisticated.

New York says to expect your refund six to eight weeks after they receive your return. As with federal taxes, the fastest way to get your refund is by e-filing your return and then requesting your refund by direct deposit. Mailing your return in to the tax office and requesting a paper check will both slow down the refund process.

If you really want to know when you’ll get your refund the moment that information become available, you can sign up to receive an email from New York State as soon as they process your return. The message will include the amount of your refund, the expected payment date, and the payment method. In order to receive this email, you have to sign up through the online services.

The best advice I can give when it comes to tax refunds is just to be patient – this advice holds true for your federal taxes but it’s even more true at the state level. Government isn’t known as a model of efficiency. Checking your refund status twelve times a day isn’t going to get your money any faster, but it might make the state’s refund status tool crash.

Just as a reminder for all of you who haven’t filed yet, the deadline for filing your 2012 New York state tax return in April 15, 2013, the same as it is for your federal return. File your taxes with RapidTax now and you can take care of your state and federal return at the same time.

Photo via JefferyTurner on Flickr.

248 Replies to “Where Is My NY State Tax Refund?”

  1. just wanted to update you guys with the latest twist in my story…i really really have to come up with a plan to escape new york like Kurt…ok so i got my refund…no interest…it was adjusted actually huh wuzzat…my 205$ refund became $58 as you can imagine someone in my dire straits this is about a month of groceries…so i calmly said ok maybe i filled it out wrong it explained on their website an explanation would be on the way explaining the adjustment….so i got my explanation appears my it209 form for non custodial parents was missing from my return (this is an utter lie as i have done my taxes myself for years and specifically had to fill out the form by hand as it was unavailable for efile i remember placing it in the envelope myself) since this form was missing that portion of my refund was adjusted…i called and requested an explanation (i had not yet known the reason why) the rep explained the form was missing. She advised me to file an amended return (i wait 4 months and you want me to wait and pay after losing my documents i tried to keep calm but i was very upset.). I requested a supervisor. She passed me to another division for complaints/disputes apparently phone# 5184859791 i then proceeded to explain to this rep ,who will remain nameless, my entire story. She said “hold one moment while i get the copy of your return. Sir I am sorry but form IT 209 is not in this paperwork.” I exclaimed that is not possible that the state must have lost the paperwork. I asked if I could possibly fax or email the completed paperwork. She said that she would allow that but that it takes 3 days for her to receive a fax. I promptly sent the fax that morning. Now here is the part that kills me. She explained once I receive the fax I will contact you. I decided to heck with waiting 3 days thing. I gave her 2. It’s a fax for crissake. When I called I was told that the rep “was not at her desk”. I hung up. I called again today. I again asked for the rep. I was told “This rep went on vacation yesterday for 2 weeks.” must be nice…i explained I guess I must now start over with you to the rep who answered. She seemed helpful and claimed to correct the adjustment. But here is the thing. She said allow another 2-4 weeks. This is just out of control. I thought computers were supposed to speed things up not add another level of bureaucracy. I love this state. I will always fondly remember walking the streets of Manhattan as a youth. But gosh I gotta get out of here. This state will eat you alive and spit out your bones. I can only imagine if my story is any indication how bad things must really be up there…

  2. Just called using the method Dwan above recommended. I mailed my return first week in April. Woman (nice lady) said they have no record of it yet!!! I asked if I should send a new set of returns and she said they advise against it because it would slow the process even more. She assured me they probably have it there but they are very slow in entering them into the system. I should call back in 2 to 3 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  3. I was hoping I could expect my refund to be available after 5 weeks. My tax return was filed on paper 04/15/13, It’s been 2 Months and I still have’nt received any indication from the NYS of ever receiving it.. You checked on the status of the refund and this is the mesage you get: : we have no record of receiving your return. I called every week and the same message popped up. You tried for a live person to find out what happened to your return , you wound up nowhere. Very frustrating. I mean if you owed them money , they are up in arms in threatening to collect by force. Why did they even bother to change and upgrade systems when none of them works. The old system maybe outdated and slow but at least you get an answer. Upgrading it to a new system seems to be SLOWER and a waste of taxpayers’ money.

  4. Here we are the damn 5% of the NYS people waiting on their state refund check and still haven’t gotten it..! We filed back in Feb also and got our federal on time, but still waiting on NYS… BS…!!! I can express how important it is to make sure the state get’s their payment from our business.. But when it come’s to OUR money they blow us off..!! But then yet we get penalized for not paying them.. So where is it fair that they don’t have to pay us..!! The people need to fight back..!! So sick of this state..!!

  5. That doesn’t make it right and we shouldn’t just take it. Anyone who has the will to fight this should email the Times. The more people they hear from the more they may choose to investigate. At least NYS shouldn’t put a web site out there that purports to help when it clearly is only as good as the entries it gets. If they are not going to at least update it then they shouldn’t offer it.
    I filed paper in Feb and have only been told by a human, called at 8:30AM, that they have it at least but nothing further.

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