Taxpayers preparing for the 2025 tax season should know that their refund dates depend on when you file or the payment method you choose on your refund application.
Taxpayers who plan to claim tax credits such as the EITC and ACTC (refundable credit) with their federal tax returns should be aware that the PATH Act limitations apply to their tax refunds. PATH Act Limitations Delay Tax Refunds, Let’s See When You Can Expect PATH Act Refunds in 2025
PATH Act 2025 Return Dates
The Internal Revenue Agency processes the tax refund within 3 weeks if the tax return is submitted electronically. The date your return is sent depends on the time you filed and your return is accepted along with your payment method, so if you filed e-filed and chose direct deposit, you may receive your payment sooner.
However, if you claimed the EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit) and ACTC (Additional Child Tax Credit) with your tax return, the PATH Act limits the agency from processing your refund before February 15th.
So, taxpayers need to understand, even if they file their 2024 tax return early, the tax refund will be processed after February 15, 2025. Therefore, based on direct deposit and physical verification duration, taxpayers can mark the next refund calendar to receive PATH -a Law on restitution:
| Tax return accepted | Direct deposit (within 21 days) | Paper check (within a month or two) |
| January 21 – February 16, 2025 | February 25, 2025 | March 7, 2025 |
| February 16 – February 28, 2025 | March 5, 2025 | March 14, 2025 |
| March 1 – March 10, 2025 | March 14, 2025 | May 24, 2025 |
| March 11 – March 20, 2025 | March 28, 2025 | April 7, 2025 |
| March 21 – March 30, 2025 | April 7, 2025 | April 16, 2025 |
| March 31 – April 8, 2025 | April 16, 2025 | April 23, 2025 |
| April 8 – April 15, 2025 | April 23, 2025 | May 5, 2025 |
What does the PATH Act cover?
The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act was enacted during Obama’s 2015 presidency to prevent fraudulent claims for tax credits and ensure that only poor citizens receive tax relief through these credits.
Under the PATH Act, the EITC/ACTC and the other 50 temporary tax credits are limited. Under the law, the IRS is instructed not to process tax credit refunds before February 15 because tax refunds are processed in order.
So, to prevent fraudulent claims from being processed, the federal government added this limit to allow enough time for evaluation and reduce the rate of fraudulent claims.
Possible reasons that may delay a PATH Act refund
An IRS tax refund can be delayed for many reasons other than the PATH Act that every taxpayer should understand to avoid any tax refund delay:
- Your refund may be delayed due to missing or incorrect information you entered on your tax return, which may create problems in your refund approval or acceptance of your tax return.
- You may have entered incorrect bank details or your bank account may not be active due to some reasons which may return your direct deposit payment to the agency.
- Your mailing address is incorrect or you have moved to another location and forgot to register with the agency, which could result in missing physical verification, so remember to notify the agency if you change your mailing address.
- You have an overdue tax debt with the IRS that the IRS will recover from your tax refund, however, the agency will notify you before deducting an amount from your tax refund to recover the tax debt. So, if you are facing financial difficulties or really need a refund, you can ask the IRS with a valid reason not to reduce your tax refund.
- Sometimes the tax refund can be delayed due to the high volume of refunds during the peak season, mostly during the last days of filing the tax return.
How do I track my PATH Act refund status?
Taxpayers who wish to receive updated information on their tax refund status can track their refund status through the IRS Where’s My Refund tool, specifically designed to make it easy for taxpayers to get updated refund information.
Taxpayers can access this tool on the Tax Administration’s mobile application or on the official website and get the correct status recorded in the Tax Administration’s system. The tool displays the status of the return in three terms – Return accepted, Return approved and finally Return sent.
Taxpayers can check their PATH ACT refund based on when they filed their tax return or tax year, for example, e-filers can check their refund status within a day or 48 hours, mail filers can check their status in 3 to 4 week, while taxpayers who submitted a tax return for the previous year can monitor the situation within 3 to 4 days.
Actions to take when no PATH Act is returned
Taxpayers should know that if the status shows the same for more than 3 or 4 weeks or if they have not received their tax refund on the scheduled date, they must contact the Tax Administration. While this rarely happens with electronically filed tax returns, it can happen with physical audits.
In this case, you must call the agency at 800 829 1954 or speak with an agent at 800 929 1040 to inquire about your tax refund. The body will help you understand the cause of the delay and how you can get a tax refund.
The 2025 US tax season starts in a month. Taxpayers planning to claim tax credits with their tax returns should be prepared to receive a late refund after 15 February 2025.
