How long does it take to get your tax refund direct deposit

If you e-filed your return, you can expect to receive a faster refund through direct deposit rather than if you mailed in your tax documents. The IRS states that paper tax returns are mailed out within 6 to 8 weeks, while those filed electronically will be issued in less than 3 weeks, and again, even faster if using direct deposit. 

Choosing to receive your refund as a paper check will definitely slow down the process; therefore, if you are looking to get your money faster, e-filing and choosing direct deposit is the way to go. Although direct deposit is much faster, you should still expect to wait a few extra days for the funds to be available in your account. Depending on your financial institution, your waiting time may vary. To e-file, you may want to consider filing online through reliable websites like TurboTax, TaxAct, or E-file.

After e-filing your taxes, you will need to set up how you will receive your payment. Other than direct deposit, there are a few other options to choose from when you file electronically as to how to receive your refund, such as:

• Receipt of a debit card holding the value of the refund
• Purchase of up to $5,000 in U.S. Savings Bonds
• Split of your refund amount into up to 3 financial accounts in your name
• Contribution to a traditional IRA, Roth IRA, or SEP-IRA

If you’re a Chime member,  you can choose “direct deposit” on your tax return software. You then input your Chime Checking Account number and corresponding routing number, and that’s it!

From there, you just have to wait for your refund to show up in your account. Once your refund is available Chime will send you a text alert and email. This way you will know that the money is there the second you receive it.

When choosing your delivery option, remember that it will affect how quickly you receive your money. Again, direct deposit is known as the fastest and safest way to get your tax refund, and the IRS recommends this method to taxpayers across the board.

If you’re expecting a big tax refund, you’re probably asking yourself, “How long does it take to get a tax refund?” If you mail your return early in the tax season, you’ll receive your tax refund in about four to six weeks. However, if you wait and file your return close to the filing deadline, it will take about eight weeks.

How long it takes to get a tax refund depends on the way you file taxes. To get your refund sooner, e-file your return. The status for e-filing your federal return moves along much more quickly than if you mail in your return. Once you’ve completed the federal e-filing process, the response time from the IRS varies from two to four days.

You can check the e-file status of your federal tax return with our online Where’s My Refund tool.

Other ways to check your federal refund status

You can also check the status of your tax refund by:

• Calling the IRS TeleTax System at 800-829-4477 or the IRS Refund Hotline at 800-829-1954.
• Going to www.irs.gov:
  1. Choose Where’s My Refund?
  2. Enter identifying info to get your federal e-file status.

Have your return on hand, since you’ll need it to answer some questions. To check on your refund, you’ll need to provide your:

• Social Security number (SSN) or another taxpayer identification number
• Filing status
• Exact amount of the refund shown on the return

When will my refund arrive?

If you e-filed your return and chose direct deposit to receive your refund, you’ll usually receive your refund in 8-15 days. However, you should allow an extra 1-5 business days for your bank to process the funds.

If you chose the Refund Transfer option, the refund will come from the Axos Bank®, not the IRS.

Why is my refund less than I expected?

It could be for these reasons your refund is less than expected:

• You might have made a mathematical error or some other mistake on your return.
• The IRS might have deducted these amounts from your refund:
  • Delinquent federal or state taxes
  • Back child support
  • Past-due non-tax federal debts, like student loans

You should receive a notice explaining the mistake or any adjustments made to your refund. The notice should include explanations of deductions for prior debts. Since your refund check and the notice come from different IRS locations, you might receive the explanation after you receive the refund check.

Get more tax guidance

If you have questions other than, “How long does it take to get a tax refund?” or “How can I find out my refund status?”, let us help. Head to our resource center for more informative tax tips!