Whether you’ve already filed or are waiting until the last minute to do so, you may be wondering how quickly you can expect your tax refund. While the IRS has stated that most Americans should get their refund within 21 days of filing, there are certain factors that may affect the expected timeframe.
Treasury Department officials warned that they had a significant backlog of unprocessed 2021 returns going into this tax season—6 million, as opposed to the more typical 1 million at that time of year. It is possible this alone could delay the processing of returns, especially as we near April 15th and the number of incoming returns increases. On top of that, if you claimed the Earned Income or Child Tax Credits, it may take longer to process your return due to regulations designed to deter fraud.
So what can you do to expedite the processing of your return?
File electronically. Electronically filed returns are processed by computers, whereas paper returns are processed by employees, which slows down the processing significantly.
Get your refund via direct deposit. Not having to mail and deposit a physical check saves a significant amount of time.
Use a tax professional. Having your return prepared by a professional prevents errors, which would slow the processing of your return significantly.
If you’d like to check the status of your refund, click here to do on the IRS’s “Where’s My Refund?” webpage. Keep in mind that you will need to know your SSN or TIN, filing status, and exact refund amount.