With the tax season in full swing, many tax filers may expect to receive a tax refund soon. The tax season officially opened at the end of January, and the deadline to submit your returns is April 15, 2025. If you have already filed your taxes, you may be contacted by the IRS for a refund verification before it distributes your refund. This occurs when the IRS needs additional information to verify whether or not you can receive your refund.
When to expect your 2025 tax refunds this month
The timeline for receiving a tax refund is generally straightforward. If you e-filed your tax returns and indicated that you would like to be refunded through a direct deposit into your bank account, you can generally expect your refund to be sent to you within 10-12 days.
If you filed your refunds by mail, this will take longer. Returns submitted by mail means that your refund can take up to four weeks to be distributed. However, this timeline depends on if there are no errors or problems with your tax return.
Other possible complications to your refunds could be if you are applying for tax credits and rebates such as the Additional Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit. According to reports, you can see these credits being processed by March 3, provided you do not have any problems with your tax return, opted for e-filing, and also chose to receive your refund through a direct deposit.
Why are you receiving a refund verification letter?
If you have filed a tax return, you might be one of the few tax filers who will receive a verification letter from the IRS. This will most likely be because of concerns around identity verification.
In 2024, the IRS stopped the processing of nearly two million tax returns over problems with identity verification. When this happens, it can be frustrating to taxpayers as the IRS needs additional information from you after you have already submitted your return on the assumption that there is nothing else that you need to do. This requiring of additional information also delays the distribution of your tax refunds.
According to the official IRS website, to ensure that your identity can be authenticated as soon as possible, you can use their online identity and tax return service on their website to help streamline the identification process. Another step you can take is requesting an IP PIN. This is a number only known to you and the IRS, and can help the IRS with identifying whether it is you or not.
You must also respond to any letters the IRS sends you when it comes to authenticating your identity. The IRS will never contact you through any other channel, so you must respond to any communication they send to you in writing as this verification process will ensure that your tax returns go through. Your tax return will not be processed until any identity concerns are resolved, so it is important that you follow the instructions.
How to proceed if the IRS contacts you
The IRS may also contact you for reasons outside of verification concerns. Tax season is the most likely time when you may receive contact from the Internal Revenue Service. Always ensure that you follow what is said in letters and notices sent to you, and do not respond to the mails unless you are asked to do so. Usually, matters the IRS is contacting you about can be resolved relatively quickly, provided that you ensure you open your notices and take action immediately. Make sure that you always keep any communication from the IRS for up to three years.
