IRS Refund Delay Update 2025: Delay Reasons and When to expect the payout?

The IRS tax season began on 27 January 2025, and now it’s almost near its end, 15 April 2025. Many taxpayers who had filed the tax return for the 2024 tax year may have already received the tax refund. However, some taxpayers may experience a delay in their tax refund due to many reasons. 

Recently, the Trump administration has been cutting the staff under the DOGE measures to reduce spending and others. According to the reports, DOGE proposes to cut down 20% of the IRS workforce. Federal employee layoffs can affect the IRS working schedule, which may delay the tax refund for the taxpayers. 

By now, 7000 probationary employees have been laid off, and 5000 IRS employees have accepted the Trump administration’s deferred resignation. Many raised concerns regarding the delay of the tax refund due to the staff cut in the IRS and the slower customer service.

IRS Refund Processing Time	Within 21 days (e-filed and direct deposit)/ a  month (e-filed or physical check)/ two months (paper filed and physical check)
Main Delay reason Now	Federal Employee Layoffs
Other Reason	Missing or incorrect tax information/ tax debt/ invalid bank account or mailing address details/ and others
When to expect?	An extra week than the regular schedule without any error
Tax Deadline	15 April 2025
Tax Refund Status	https://www.irs.gov/wheres-my-refund
Official Website	https://www.irs.gov/

Reason for Delay 

The IRS generally processes the tax refund within 21 days of e-filing the tax return or a month if the taxpayers have filed the tax return but chose to receive the refund through a paper check. Though the IRS tax refund can be delayed for many reasons that taxpayers need to understand to avoid delays, such as:

• Your tax information, such as birth dates, income details, Social Security Number, and others, is incorrect on the tax return, which may create a problem for the agency to process your tax return and accept it. 
• The bank account details you have entered on the tax return form for the direct deposit are invalid, or the bank account is inactive.
• If you have a tax balance, the agency may use your refund to cover the debt, however, they will inform you about using the tax refund, and you can request the IRS not to use it on the grounds of financial hardships. 
• Your mailing address has changed, or you have entered an incomplete or incorrect address that can cause a delay. 
• If taxpayers claim EITC/ ACTC credits, their tax refund can be delayed as the IRS carefully reviews eligibility and other factors related to the credit. 

Taxpayers who will file the tax return now or have filed recently, for the 2025 tax season, can expect a delay in the tax refund for another reason due to federal employee layoffs. The decreasing number of employees is affecting the IRS tax work and the efficiency of the system to process the return & refund faster. 

When to expect? 

As mentioned earlier, the agency issued the tax refunds for e-filed and direct depositors within 3 weeks and 6 weeks for the physical checks. However, if the delay happens due to the above-mentioned reasons, the taxpayers can expect their tax refund after the issue is resolved. 

Taxpayers whose tax refund is delayed due to an information error or identity verification can expect the refund after all the information is provided and is correct. If it is delayed due to a bank error, the tax refund will be processed via physical check, so it may take a few extra weeks. 

Track your Tax Refund 

IRS allows taxpayers to track their tax refund through the Where’s My Refund tool available on the official website as well as on the IRS mobile app IRS2GO. With the Where’s My Refund tool, taxpayers can check the stage at which their tax return is processed. 

As per the IRS guidelines, the status on Where’s My Refund is the same as the information recorded in the IRS system, so you get the real-time status. The tax refund status is shown in three stages: Return Received, Refund Approved, and Refund Sent. 

When you see the Refund sent status, it means you can expect your tax refund in your bank account in five days or a few weeks for physical checks. Taxpayers will need only their Social Security Number, or Individual taxpayer ID number, filing status, exact refund amount entered on the return, and the tax year to track the tax refund status via the Where’s My Refund tool. 

What to do if it is delayed?

If taxpayers did not receive their tax refund on the scheduled interval, they should contact the agency to raise an inquiry about their missing refund. You can use the IRS online account to inquire about your tax refund or contact the agency at 800-829-1954 to talk with the IRS operator. 

If the taxpayers find their issued tax refund check damaged or lost, they can also submit a re-issue request, so that the agency can re-issue their refund check. The refund check will only be issued when it is uncashed. 

The IRS tax refund process can be slower than before due to the federal employee layoffs, hence, the taxpayers should make sure that they avoid other reasons for delays if they have not filed their tax returns yet.