The 2025 tax season will begin in January 2025, taxpayers must have started preparing to file their tax returns. With the tax returns, taxpayers always wonder about their tax refund dates. The article covers the full schedule of the federal tax refund payout with dates for taxpayers.
Federal Tax Refund Payout Date
The 2025 tax season will commence in January 2025, and the taxpayers who overpaid the taxes will receive tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service. Most of the taxpayers who file taxes wonder when they will receive their tax refund.
According to the IRS, the agency processes the tax refund for taxpayers who filed the tax return electronically within 21 days of filing when everything is fine in the return. If the taxpayers have filed the tax return via paper check it choose paper check as the refund payment method, their refund can take time, like around 60 days after filing the federal tax return via e-file or paper check.
Taxpayers should understand their tax refund payout depends on their tax filing date, payment method, and if they have filed any credits. The taxpayers who have claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit may have to wait for their tax refund even when they have filed the tax return early because of the PATH Act, which restricts the agency to not processing the tax refund till 15 Feb 2024.
So, taxpayers can expect their e-filed and direct deposit tax refund in one or three weeks, paper filed but Direct deposit tax refund in three weeks, e-filed but paper check in 30 days, and paper check return with refund through paper check in 60 days.
Schedule of Federal Tax Refund Payout
The taxpayers can mark the following tax refund dates for the tax year 2024 due in 2025 based on their tax filing dates:
| Federal Tax Return Filed/ Accepted/ Approved | Direct Deposit Pay date | Paper Check Date |
| 15 Jan – 29 Jan 2025 | 05 Feb 2025 | 20 Feb 2025 |
| 29 Jan- 09 Feb 2025 | 20 Feb 2025 | 05 Mar 2025 |
| 10 Feb – 15 Feb 2025 | 05 Mar 2025 | 17 Mar 2025 |
| 16 Feb – 23 Feb 2025 | 17 Mar 2025 | 28 Mar 2025 |
| 24 Feb – 01 Mar 2025 | 28 Mar 2025 | 06 Apr 2025 |
| 02 Mar – 10 Mar 2025 | 06 Apr 2025 | 16 Apr 2025 |
| 11 Mar – 19 Mar 2025 | 16 Apr 2025 | 24 Apr 2025 |
| 20 Mar – 26 Mar 2025 | 24 Apr 2025 | 01 May 2025 |
| 27 Mar – 31 Mar 2025 | 01 May 2025 | 09 May 2025 |
| 01 Apr – 10 Apr 2025 | 09 May 2025 | 14 May 2025 |
| 011 Apr – 15 Apr 2025 | 14 May 2025 | 21 May 2025 |
Important Note: If you have claimed the EITC/ACTC credits with your 2024 tax returns, your refund will be processed after 15 Feb 2024, so if you have opted for Direct deposit you may receive them after 24 Feb 2025 or if you have opted for a paper check, you may receive the refund till after 10 March 2025.
How to check your Federal Tax Refund Status?
IRS has made it convenient for taxpayers to track their tax refund status through their tool Where’s My Refund to ensure that taxpayers are aware of their tax return and tax refund stage. The Where’s My Refund tool of the IRS tells your tax refund status in three stages, such as:
- Return Accepted, meaning the IRS has reviewed and accepted your federal tax return.
- Refund approved, meaning the agency has reviewed your return and approved the refund.
- Refund Sent, meaning the agency has processed and sent your refund through whichever you have selected in the tax return.
IRS Taxpayers can track their tax refund status on the Where’s My Refund tool either through IRS the official website or the IRS mobile app IRS2Go. You can track your tax refund status after the following time of your federal tax return:
- 24 hours of e-filing the tax return
- 4 weeks if you have filed the paper check federal tax return
- 3 to 4 days if you are checking the tax refund status of the prior year’s return
When you file the return, you can check the refund with the following information in-hand:
- Your Social Security Number
- Tax year
- Refund amount
- And your tax return filing status
What can delay your Federal Tax Refund Payout?
The tax refund for many taxpayers can get delayed or missed due to many reasons, so taxpayers should be aware of these reasons to understand the federal tax refund process and take the needed action:
- Your tax refund can get delayed due to wrong or missing information in your filed tax return. Though the agency will notify you about any information they may need to review your tax return, you must ensure you file a valid tax return with accurate information to get your return accepted.
- Your bank account that you have mentioned in the tax return is not valid or there is some error with your bank account.
- Your mailing address has been changed during the whole refund process and you have applied for a paper check mail tax refund.
- You have opted for EITC/ACTC credits which limits your tax refund process until 15 Feb 2024, so till then you cannot receive your tax refund.
When to contact the IRS about your tax refund?
When you check your IRS tax refund on the Where’s My Refund tool either on the IRS website or mobile app, you can contact the agency when the tool recommends you to contact the agency. Taxpayers should understand the IRS refund status tool shows what the IRS System shows, so calling them after waiting in line is unnecessary.
However, if you have some changes to make to your mailing address or bank account details, you may contact the agency or visit your nearby IRS office to know the whole procedure of correction.
The IRS processes the tax refund depending on your tax refund payment method and the way you have filed your tax return, so to ensure you receive your tax refund fastest, you must file your return electronically and choose the direct deposit method for your tax refund payment.
