Taxpayers may be feeling financially strained, but that’s not stopping them from requesting extra withholding from their paychecks to ensure they aren’t surprised by higher obligations when they file—and in many cases to guarantee a bigger tax refund. 

Too many Americans see extra withholding and guaranteed refunds as a form of savings to finance big purchases or pay off debt, rather than what they really are: An interest-free loan to the federal government.

According to a recent CreditKarma survey, 37% of Americans see tax refunds as an essential lifeline to make sure bills don’t go unpaid. One-third of taxpayers said they would happily pay a fee if it meant they could access their refund sooner.

And eager taxpayers are already hungry for those returns. According to Google Trends, search queries for “where is my tax refund” are off the charts, seeing the highest volumes originating in the states of Mississippi and Oklahoma. 

When should you expect to receive your tax refund

According to the IRS, the 90% of Americans who file taxes online can expect to receive their refund in less than three weeks—faster, if they elect to receive it via direct deposit rather than via physical check. 

The remaining 10% who still submit paper tax returns must wait significantly longer. They can expect to wait as long as six to eight weeks after the IRS receives their return.

Electing to have your refund directly deposited into your bank account is the most secure and fastest method to receive your payout, which can be a big help if you’re one of the 47% of taxpayers wanting to use it to pay down debt quickly. 

But here’s the catch: If you’re counting on certain types of credits, such as the earned income tax credit or additional child tax credit, you’ll have to wait until mid-February for the IRS to start processing those refunds. The agency estimates that most EITC/ACTC-related refunds should be issued to taxpayers by March 3 as long as they elect to receive their refund by direct deposit and have no errors on their returns.

And yes, there are situations that may delay the receipt of your refund. You should always take care to ensure the information submitted is correct, all signatures are properly filled out, and the details of where to send your refund are accurate. Failure to do any of this can result in lengthy—and stressful—audits.

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Three ways to check the status of your tax refund

If you’ve already filed and want to confirm the status of your refund, there are several methods to choose from:

• Use the “Where’s my refund?” tool on the IRS website (updated daily)
• Install the IRS2Go app (updated daily)
• If it has been at least four weeks since filing your return, you can call the IRS TeleTax System at 1-800-829-4477

In each of these cases, you will need to provide information that proves your identity. This includes:

• Your social security number (or the first SSN on the return, if filing jointly)
• Your filing status (single, head of household, etc)
• The exact amount of the expected refund

Haven’t filed yet? These are the easiest methods

Several new options for taxpayers to file with the IRS dropped in 2025, and more of them are free than ever before.

• IRS Free File provides guided tax preparation for taxpayers with an adjusted gross income (AGI) or $84,000 or less in the 2024 tax year. 
• Direct File is a new free system offered by the IRS and offers an alternative to many of the tax prep platforms you might be familiar with. It’s not available to everyone yet—just residents of 25 states—and doesn’t cover every type of deduction or credit, so it’s probably best to only use this one if your returns are fairly simple.
• Fillable Forms are available on the IRS website if you’re comfortable inputting your own information without making errors.

Online tax software such as H&R Block or TurboTax are always an option, and some institutions such as Chime are now offering free tax filing as well.