Each year, tax-filing season comes around. This can be a very stressful time of the year for many people, especially for first-time filers. However, tax-filing season also means many individuals can expect to receive tax refunds for their income tax payments. While the exact date of your refund will depend on a number of factors, you can expect to receive your refund fairly soon after you have filed.
When can you expect your refund:
The following chart by CPA Practice Advisor gives an indication of when filers can start expecting to receive their tax refunds:
| If the IRS Accepts an E-Filed Return By: | Then Direct Deposit refund may be received as early as 10 days after e-file accepted. (E-filed, but paper check mailed apx. 1 week after that): |
|---|---|
| The IRS started accepting returns on Jan. 27, 2025. | |
| Jan. 27, 2025 | Feb. 7 (Feb. 14)** |
| Feb. 3 | Feb. 14 (Feb. 21)** |
| Feb. 10 | Feb. 21 (Feb. 28)** |
| Feb. 17 | Feb. 28 (Mar. 7)** |
| Feb. 24 | Mar. 7 (Mar. 14) |
| Mar. 3 | Mar. 14 (Mar. 21) |
| Mar. 10 | Mar. 21 (Mar. 28) |
| Mar. 17 | Mar. 28 (Apr. 4) |
| Mar. 24*** | Apr. 4 (Apr. 11)*** |
| Mar. 31*** | Apr. 11 (Apr. 18)*** |
| Apr. 7 *** | Apr. 18 (Apr. 25)*** |
| Apr. 14*** | Apr. 25 (May 2)*** |
** = Returns with EITC or CTC may have refunds delayed until March to verify credits.
*** = Filing during peak season (late March through April 15) can result in slightly longer waits.
| IRS Accepts Return By: | Direct Deposit Sent (Or Paper Check Mailed one week later) |
|---|---|
| Apr. 21 | May 2 (May 9) |
| Apr. 28 | May 9 (May 16) |
| May 5 | May 16 (May 23) |
| May 12 | May 23 (May 30) |
| May 19 | May 30 (June 6) |
What will effect when you receive your refund?
While most employees filing their income tax have a fairly straightforward process, others may require more documentation which will impact when you can expect to receive a tax refund. It is also important to remember that you are not guaranteed a tax refund, however it is a common occurrence. In 2024, the IRS processed about 136 million returns and refunded roughly $245 billion to U.S. taxpayers.
If your finances require more complex attention than just filing a W-2 form, this will delay your refund. Individuals who are married or divorced, had a child, retired, bought or sold a house, own crypto or foreign assets, will most likely have to wait longer. If you know that you have a complex tax circumstance, it is important that you consukt with a tax professional to ensure that you are complying with tax laws, but also benefiting from tax deductions and credits.
How taxes contribute towards the health of the economy
Taxes are an important part of any functioning society. They help to fund government programs such as education, and are part of your civic duty. With the Trump administration taking up office for the second time, there have been questions on a possibly federal tax reform policy. The following tax reform policies have been suggested by President Trump according to an article by the Tax Foundation:
- Making the individual TCJA expirations permanent except for the cap on SALT (effective January 1, 2026)
- Rates and brackets
- Standard deduction
- Personal exemption
- Child tax credit and other dependent tax credit
- Limitations on itemized deductions (excluding SALT) and elimination of Pease limitation
- AMT changes
- Section 199A pass-through deduction and noncorporate loss limitation
- Making the TCJA estate tax changes permanent (effective January 1, 2026)
- Restoring the TCJA business tax provisions (effective January 1, 2026)
- 100 percent bonus depreciation
- R&D expensing
- EBITDA-based interest limitation
- Reinstituting the domestic production activities deduction (DPAD) at 28.5 percent to lower the effective corporate tax rate for domestic production to 15 percent
- Exempting tips from income taxes
- Exempting Social Security benefits from income taxes
- Exempting overtime pay from income taxes
- Creating an itemized deduction for auto loan interest
- Eliminating the green energy subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)
- Raising current Section 301 tariffs on China to 60 percent
- Imposing a universal tariff on all US imports of 20 percent
- Foreign retaliation of 10 percent on all US exports plus additional in-kind tariffs on US exports to China
It remains unconfirmed how many of these would actually be implemented. However, the only certain thing is that your 2024/2025 income tax returns are due April 15. Just be sure to not get scammed in the process of filing.
