The Following is an excerpt from the IRS Tax Tip 2010-39
Seven Things You Should Know About Checking the Status
of Your Refund
Are you expecting a tax refund from the Internal
Revenue Service this year? If so, here are seven things you should know
about checking the status of your refund once you have filed your
federal tax return.
1. Online Access to Refund Information Where's My
Refund? or Donde esta mi reembolso? are interactive tools on IRS.gov
and the fastest, easiest way to get information about your federal
income tax refund. Whether you split your refund among several accounts,
opted for direct deposit into one account, used part of your refund to
buy U.S. savings bonds or asked the IRS to mail you a check, Where's My
Refund? and Donde esta mi reembolso? give you online access to your
refund information nearly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It's quick,
easy and secure.
2. When to Check Refund Status If you e-file, you can
get refund information 72 hours after the IRS acknowledges receipt of
your return. If you file a paper return, refund information will
generally be available three to four weeks after mailing your return.
3. What You Need to Check Refund Status When checking
the status of your refund, have your federal tax return handy. To get
your personalized refund information you must enter:
*
Your Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification
Number
*
Your filing status which will be Single, Married Filing Joint
Return, Married Filing Separate Return, Head of Household, or Qualifying
Widow(er)
*
Exact whole dollar refund amount shown on your tax return
4. What the Online Tool Will Tell You Once you enter
your personal information, you could get several responses, including:
* Acknowledgement that your return was received and is in
processing.
* The mailing date or direct deposit date of your refund.
* Notice that the IRS could not deliver your refund due to an
incorrect address. In this instance, you may be able to change or
correct your address online using Where's My Refund?.
5. Customized Information Where's My Refund? also
includes links to customized information based on your specific
situation. The links guide you through the steps to resolve any issues
affecting your refund. For
example, if you do not get the refund within 28 days from the original
IRS mailing date shown on Where's My Refund?, you may be able to start a
refund trace.
6. Visually Impaired Taxpayers Where's My Refund? is
also accessible to visually impaired taxpayers who use the Job Access
with Speech screen reader used with a Braille display and is compatible
with different JAWS modes.
7. Toll-free Number If you do not have internet
access, you can check the status of your refund in English or Spanish by
calling the IRS Refund Hotline at 800-829-1954 or the IRS TeleTax System
at 800-829-4477. When calling, you must provide your or your spouse's
Social Security number, filing status and the exact whole dollar refund
amount shown on your return.
Refund checks are normally sent out weekly on Fridays.
If you check the status of your refund and are not given the date it
will be issued, please wait until the next week before checking back.
Links:
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