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2025 IRS Refund Schedule: Direct Deposit and Paper Check Release Date! With the 2025 tax season just a month away, the IRS has suspended tax processing to prepare for the next tax season. Taxpayers should also start preparing for filing tax returns and timely tax refunds.
The IRS processes a tax refund when you have overpaid taxes and are entitled to a non-refundable credit. With tax refunds coming, taxpayers must be wondering when they will get their refund next year. Taxpayers can check the likely 2025 IRS tax refund schedule here.
Schedule of returns from the Tax Administration for 2025
The Tax Office processes your tax refund within 3 weeks after you submit your return electronically. The refund payment date depends on the way you filed your tax return and the payment method you chose for the refund.
According to the rules of the Tax Administration, the taxpayer receives the tax refund via direct deposit or physical check, and recipients who choose to receive the refund directly into their account receive the payment at the earliest compared to a physical check.
For the 2025 tax season, taxpayers can check next year’s IRS refund payment dates based on the payment method they chose and when they filed their tax return below:
| Tax declaration of the Tax Administration accepted | Direct deposit | Paper check mailed |
| January 29 – February 7, 2025 | February 12, 2025 | March 1, 2025 |
| February 8 – February 14, 2025 | February 24, 2025 | March 5, 2025 |
| February 15 – February 21, 2025 | March 3, 2025 | March 10, 2025 |
| February 22 – February 27, 2025 | March 8, 2025 | March 17, 2025 |
| February 28 – March 5, 2025 | March 16, 2025 | March 23, 2025 |
| March 6 – March 12, 2025 | March 20, 2025 | March 30, 2025 |
| March 13 – March 19, 2025 | March 28, 2025 | April 5, 2025 |
| March 20 – March 26, 2025 | April 4, 2025 | April 11, 2025 |
| March 27 – April 2, 2025 | April 14, 2025 | April 21, 2025 |
| April 3 – April 9, 2025 | April 21, 2025 | April 28, 2025 |
| April 10 – April 15, 2025 | May 2, 2025 | May 12, 2025 |
Important Note: Taxpayers who claimed EITC/ACTC credits with their tax return can expect a tax refund after February 15, 2025 due to the PATH Act obligation, so direct deposit refunds will be paid by the end of February and physical checks in the first week of March 2025
What can cause a delay in tax refunds from the Tax Administration?
Taxpayers should know that their tax refund may be delayed due to some reasons, and to avoid any delay, taxpayers should be aware of the following reasons:
- You have entered incorrect information in your income tax return, which will cause the Tax Administration to review your return for a longer time or ask for additional information.
- You have entered incorrect bank details or your bank account is no longer active to receive refunds, which may result in the refund being processed back to the IRS.
- You entered the wrong mailing address or changed your address and did not notify the IRS, which may cause you to miss your physical check.
- You have applied for EITC/ACTC credits that you will receive with your tax refund and under the PATH Act, the IRS cannot proceed with refund processing until February 15th, taxpayers must wait for the refund.
- You chose a physical check payment method that may take longer than you expected, such as 60 to 90 days, depending on your local postal services.
How can you track your IRS refund?
Taxpayers can easily track their IRS tax refund online or through the IRS mobile app and know if their refund has been approved and at what stage their refund has been processed. The agency has a Where’s My Refund tool that allows taxpayers to track refund status and secure tax refunds.
Using the tool, the Tax Administration intends to inform taxpayers and make the system more transparent for citizens. Individuals can check the status of their tax refunds for the current and previous year through this tool. The tool will inform them of the status through three stages: Return accepted, Return approved and the last return sent.
The information displayed through the Where’s My Refund tool is the same as that recorded in the tax administration system, so taxpayers are advised to check the status of their refund after the following period when submitting their return:
- If you filed your tax return electronically, through IRS Direct File/Free File or other methods, you can check the status of your refund within 24 to 48 hours on the tool.
- If you have e-filed your tax returns for previous years, you can expect to track the status of your refund within three to four days of filing your returns.
- If you filed your return by mailed check, it may take some time as it will take time to get to the authorities and review the return later, so taxpayers can expect to track the status of their refund in 4 weeks via the Where’s My Refund tool.
What should you do if the IRS refuses your refund?
Taxpayers who submitted a tax return and later received a notification from the Tax Administration that their return was rejected or returned should submit their tax return within 10 calendar days with correct information and other records.
Generally, a refund is denied due to an error in information, such as a social security number, a misspelled name, etc. Therefore, taxpayers should immediately submit a tax return within the given deadline.
What should you do if your IRS tax return is missing?
If by any chance your tax refund is not processed on the estimated date based on your refund status, you should contact the authorities immediately and inform them of the missing refund. The IRS will review your request and give you the correct answer about the refund deficiency, and if it finds an error, it will process your refund.
This year, the IRS has taken steps to stop refund delays and ensure that taxpayers expecting refunds can receive their refunds in a timely manner. The agency launched Accepting Duplicate Dependent Return, which will allow taxpayers to claim dependents based on their previous returns, protect their information, file tax returns and avoid refund delays.
So, taxpayers can expect a timely refund. However, you should e-file your tax return on time and opt for the direct deposit payment method to receive your tax refund earlier.
