How Quickly I’ll receive my refund?

We issue most refunds in less than 21 calendar days. However, the tax return may require additional review and may take longer. The “Where’s My Refund?” has the latest information about your refund.

It’s taking the IRS more than 21 days to issue refunds for some 2020 tax returns that require review, including incorrect refund recovery credit amounts, or returns where 2019 income was used to calculate the tax credit Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC).

There are many things that can affect when we issue your refund after receiving your return. Although we issue most refunds in less than 21 days, your refund may take longer. Also, remember to also take into account the time it takes for your financial institution to post the refund to your account, or for the refund to arrive in the mail.

Some returns take longer to process than others for many reasons,
including returns that:

• They have errors, such as incorrect amounts of refund recovery credit
they are incomplete.
• Need further review overall.
• Are affected by identity theft or fraud.
• Include a claim for the earned income tax credit or the additional child tax credit.