Track Federal, Amended & State Tax Refunds
One central hub for every type of refund. Use this page to track your original federal refund, your amended refund, and your state refund — then connect what you see online with real deposit dates.
Step 1 — Check Federal Refund
Use IRS “Where’s My Refund?” or the IRS2Go app to see the latest federal status on your original return.
Step 2 — Compare With Transcript
Already see codes or dates on your IRS transcript? Match them to your online status and deposit timeline.
- TC 150, 570, 846, 971 and more
- Cycle codes vs “As of” dates
- Offsets, holds, and review indicators
Refund Timeline Essentials
Before you start refreshing status pages, keep these core timing rules in mind for federal, amended, and state refunds.
Federal Tax Refund Trackers
Start here for your original federal refund. Once you know what the IRS is showing, you can dig deeper with RefundTalk and your transcripts.
Where’s My Refund? (Desktop & Mobile Web)
The primary IRS status tool for original individual income tax refunds. Check for three recent tax years using your SSN/ITIN, filing status, and exact refund amount.
- Shows “Return Received”, “Refund Approved”, “Refund Sent”
- Updates once every 24 hours
- Supports direct deposit and paper check refunds
IRS2Go Refund Tracker
Prefer using your phone? The IRS2Go app lets you check your refund status, make payments, and access other IRS tools from iOS and Android devices.
- Mobile-friendly refund status check
- Same data as “Where’s My Refund?”
- Links to free tax prep and IRS resources
Your IRS Online Account
For a deeper view, your IRS Online Account shows balances, payment history, notices, and access to transcripts that can explain what’s happening behind the scenes.
- See notices and letters the IRS issued
- View payment plans and balances
- Download account transcripts by year
Amended Tax Refund Trackers
Filed Form 1040-X? Use these tools and guides to follow your amended refund from “received” to “completed”.
Where’s My Amended Return?
The IRS “Where’s My Amended Return?” tool tracks Form 1040-X for three years. It shows whether your amended return is received, adjusted, or completed.
- Updates once per day, usually at night
- Tracks processing of Form 1040-X
- May not show detailed dollar amounts
Amended Refund & Transcript Codes
Your IRS account transcript can show when an amended return posts, what adjustments were made, and whether a new refund or balance due was created.
- Look for TC 976 (duplicate) and TC 977 (amended)
- Match posting dates with amended status messages
- Watch for new 846 (refund issued) or 290/291 (changes)
Amended Refund Help & FAQs
Visit our amended refund hub for step-by-step explanations of common timelines, status messages, and what it means when your amended refund seems “stuck”.
- Typical 1040-X processing windows
- Why amended refunds can take months
- When to call or follow up with the IRS
State Tax Refund Tracker
Your federal refund, amended refund, and state refund all move on different systems. Use this section as your launchpad to state-specific refund tools, timelines, and FAQs.
State Refund Tracker List
Jump to our state refund tracker hub, where you can find links to each state’s official “Where’s My Refund?” or “Check My Refund Status” tool.
- Direct links to state tax agency sites
- Basic timelines for common states
- Notes on extra ID verification and fraud checks
How State Refunds Work
States run their own refund systems. Some release refunds in a few days for clean, e-filed returns, while others use multi-week review queues and aggressive anti-fraud filters.
- Direct deposit is usually faster than paper checks
- Early-season returns often face extra review
- Refund timing can change from year to year
Why State Refunds Get Delayed
A pending or reduced state refund doesn’t always mean something is wrong. Many states offset refunds for debts or hold them for verification.
- Past-due child support or student loans
- Unpaid state income tax or unemployment overpayments
- Identity or wage verification reviews
State Refund Q & A
Click a question to reveal the answer. Use this as a quick guide when your state refund is slower than expected.
- Your SSN or state ID number
- Filing status (single, married filing jointly, etc.)
- The exact refund amount shown on your state return
- Extra fraud-prevention filters, especially for early-season or first-time filers
- Income or withholding mismatches between employer reports and your return
- Manual review of credits, residency, or part-year moves
- Seasonal backlogs or system upgrades at the state level
- Social Security Number or state-issued ID number
- Exact refund amount from your filed return
- Tax year you’re tracking
- Past-due child support or spousal support
- Defaulted federal or state student loans
- Unpaid state income tax or local tax debts
- Unemployment overpayments or certain court-ordered obligations
- Run their own EITC or child-related credits with separate rules
- Delay refunds for similar fraud-prevention reasons
- Use different release dates and review schedules than the IRS
- Confirm you’re using the exact refund amount from the state return, not your federal refund
- Make sure you selected the correct tax year
- Allow a few business days after e-filing for the state to accept and log your return
- Check that your return was actually accepted, not rejected, by the state
Need Help Tracking Any Refund?
Use the IRS tools above for your federal and amended refunds, our State Refund Tracker Hub for state updates, and the RefundTalk community for real-time experiences from other taxpayers.
