IRS Starts Sending Tax Refunds; Here's How To Track Yours!

The IRS expects to collect more than 168 million individual tax refunds during this tax season, the first to benefit from the Inflation Reduction Act, a bill approved in August to provide extra staff and resources.

Here are the important dates for the 2023 tax season, including the deadlines for federal and state taxes and the timing of refunds so that you can catch everything.

IRS Tax Refunds 2023 Schedule

On January 23, 2023, the IRS began the 2023 tax filing season, emphasizing service enhancement and caution to taxpayers to file online with direct deposit to expedite refunds and reduce delays. The IRS has successfully activated its systems and is currently accepting and processing 2022 tax refunds. The bulk of individual tax returns for the 2022 tax year is projected to be filed by the April 18 deadline.

If direct deposit is selected and there are no issues with the return, the IRS says electronically filed refunds can be expected within 21 days if direct deposit is set and there are no issues with the return. To prevent the issuance of false tax refunds, the agency is prohibited by law from issuing Earned Income Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit returns before mid-February.

Most Americans must submit their taxes by Tuesday, April 18, 2023. This is because April 15 is a Saturday, and Emancipation Day is celebrated in Washington, DC, on April 17.

According to Marca, May 15 is the tax filing date for those in Alabama, California, and Georgia who were affected by severe disasters. Suppose you are serving in the military overseas, including in a combat zone or as part of a contingency operation supporting the United States Armed Forces. In that case, you may be granted additional time to complete your tax return.

You can submit an extension request electronically or by mail. To avoid paying a late filing penalty to the IRS, you must submit your request for an extension by April 18 at the latest. Those who require an extension have until October 16, 2023, to file their tax return for 2022.

However, requesting an extension does not extend the payment due date. To prevent late fines, you must continue to submit all payments on time. An extension grants you additional time to complete your tax return.

Tax Refund Tracker

The IRS has given roughly 8 million tax refunds totaling around $15.7 billion as of February 3, the agency announced. Per CNBC, the average refund was $1,963, a decrease from $2,201 at the same time in the previous year's filing season. The average might shift as the IRS processes millions more tax forms before the April 18 deadline.

While the IRS has cautioned that refunds may be "slightly smaller" this year, experts believe it's too early to tell. According to a study issued last Friday, the IRS has processed more than 16.7 million tax returns as of February 3, which is 29% higher than the previous year. The over 8 million reimbursements are compared to around 4.3 million the year prior.

Bill Smith, national director of technical tax services at CBIZ MHM's national tax office, stated that the increased number of payments might be decreasing the average return size compared to last year's payout since there have been nearly 85 percent more refunds granted.

The agency began the tax season with a larger customer support team and improved technology as it implemented the almost $80 billion in money granted by Congress in August. The simplest method to track your tax refund is through the IRS' Where's My Refund? page informs you if the IRS has rejected your return due to inaccuracies.

To use the IRS' tracking tools, you must supply your Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, your filing status (single, married, or head of household), and the amount of your return in whole dollars. Visit the Get Refund Status page on the IRS website, enter your personal information, and click the Submit button.

If you are not transported to a page displaying the status of your refund, you may be prompted to validate your personal tax information and try again. If all the information appears accurate, you will need to input the date you filed your taxes and whether you did it electronically or on paper.

Before monitoring an online return, you must wait at least 24 hours, or up to four weeks, if you mailed your return. Where's My Refund offers federal refund information from the last two years that the IRS has on file. If you seek tax return information from prior years, you must access your IRS account online, according to CNET, via MSN.

You may view the overall amount you owe, your payment history, crucial information about your most recent tax return, letters you've received from the IRS, and your address on file.