IRS Refund Status and “Where’s My Refund” Updates: When the IRS Starts Accepting Returns, How to Track Your Refund, and the 2026 Tax Filing Deadline

Tax season is officially underway, and search interest in “IRS refund,” “Where’s my refund,” and “track my refund” is surging as filers look for two things: the date the IRS begins accepting returns and how fast refunds will land once a return is accepted.

For the 2025 tax year filing season, the IRS began accepting individual federal returns on Monday, January 26, 2026 ET. The standard federal tax filing deadline for most taxpayers is Wednesday, April 15, 2026 ET.

When does the IRS start accepting tax returns and what is the tax filing deadline

The two dates most filers care about are now set:

• IRS started accepting returns: Monday, January 26, 2026 ET

• Tax filing deadline: Wednesday, April 15, 2026 ET

If you file for an extension, that generally gives you more time to file paperwork, not more time to pay. Many taxpayers who owe still need to pay an estimate by the April deadline to reduce interest and penalties.

IRS refund timing: how long refunds usually take

Refund timing depends on how you file and how you choose to receive your money.

Typical patterns:

• E-file with direct deposit: often within 21 days after the IRS accepts your return

• Paper return: can take weeks longer due to handling and processing

• Returns that trigger review, identity verification, or corrections: can take longer even if you e-file

A key distinction people miss is that filing is not the same as acceptance. Your countdown to a refund generally starts after acceptance, not when you hit submit.

IRS “Where’s My Refund” and refund status: how tracking actually works

The IRS refund tracker commonly called “Where’s My Refund” is designed to show progress through three broad stages:

• Return received

• Refund approved

• Refund sent

To check status, you typically need:

• Your Social Security number or ITIN

• Your filing status

• The exact refund amount shown on your return

Timing for when your status appears:

• Around 24 hours after you e-file a current-year return

• Around 3 to 4 days after you e-file a prior-year return

• Around 4 weeks after you mail a paper return

One important operational detail: the tracker updates about once per day, typically overnight, which means repeatedly checking throughout the day often won’t show new information.

Why your IRS refund status might be stuck

A “still processing” message can happen for routine reasons that do not automatically mean something is wrong. Common causes include:

• Mismatched income documents, such as employer wage forms not matching what was filed

• Missing forms or schedules

• Identity verification steps

• Bank information issues for direct deposit

• Manual review triggered by potential fraud patterns

If the IRS needs more information, it often communicates by mail. That’s why it’s risky to assume an online status message is the entire story.

EITC and ACTC delays: why some refunds cannot be issued early

If your return includes the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit, your refund is often held longer due to anti-fraud rules. In practice, that means many affected refunds are not released until mid-February at the earliest, even for early filers. For many taxpayers in that bucket, refunds commonly become available in early March if they filed early, e-filed, and used direct deposit.

The practical takeaway: if you claim those credits, a longer wait can be normal, and the fastest way to reduce delay risk is to file accurately with complete documentation.

Jackson Hewitt and other tax preparers: what they can and cannot do

Tax preparers and software providers can help you file correctly and confirm whether your return was transmitted and accepted, but they do not control refund issuance. If a preparer offers a refund advance or similar product, that is separate from an IRS refund timeline and comes with its own fees, eligibility rules, and repayment mechanics. The IRS refund itself still follows IRS processing.

Behind the headline: why refund anxiety spikes every January

Refund tracking becomes a national obsession for a simple reason: for many households, a tax refund is not a bonus, it is a cash-flow event. Rent, debt payments, car repairs, and catch-up bills often get scheduled around that deposit.

That creates incentives on all sides:

• Taxpayers want speed and certainty

• The IRS wants accuracy, fraud prevention, and clean identity checks

• Tax preparers want early-season volume and customer retention

The tension is that the fastest refunds usually come from the cleanest, simplest returns filed electronically with direct deposit, while the biggest delays cluster where fraud is most common and where credits are most valuable to households.

Second-order effects show up outside taxes, too. Refund season can temporarily lift consumer spending, shift short-term credit usage, and even change how people trade around paydays and deposits. That’s part of why online communities that track calendars and “expected deposit days” become so active each year.

What to watch next

A few triggers tend to determine whether your status moves quickly or drags:

• Whether your return is accepted quickly after filing

• Whether your reported income matches IRS records from payers

• Whether you claimed credits that have statutory timing restrictions

• Whether the IRS requests identity verification or additional documentation

If you want, tell me whether you e-filed or mailed, whether you used direct deposit, and whether you claimed EITC or the Additional Child Tax Credit, and I’ll map the most likely refund window and the most common reasons for delays in your situation.