The IRS has multiple systems that are designed to give refund processing updates and a personalized refund date. These include the official Where is My Refund (WMR) site and IRS2Go mobile app. However, these sites and apps are only updated once a day at most – which is a bit frustrating when you’re trying to track your refund more than once a day. The WMR tool is usually updated overnight and provides an estimated date for your refund processing and approval. This is when you should start looking for payment in your bank account or through direct deposit, depending on your choice when filing.
The WMR tool is an excellent way to track your refund and is very easy to use. Whenever you want to see your refund:
- Go to the website
- Enter your Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer ID number.
- Enter filing status
- Enter the dollar amount you expect to return on the IRS’s website.
However, there are certain situations where your refund can be delayed, and you should use the Where’s My Refund tool to track this situation. For example, when the IRS decides to take money out of your refund to offset the debt, it owes to a third party. In these cases, the WMR tool will note the reason for this offset and how much of your refund the agency is taking out.
How Long Does it Take to Update Tax Transcripts?
Your transcript can take 1 to 4 weeks to update when you file your initial return. Once this is done, you’ll see a new digit on your transcript that represents your processing date. This can indicate a number of things, from your refund being processed to a possible direct deposit date.
If you have any questions about when your transcript is updating or where to look to get the best information about your tax refund, you can call the IRS tax help hotline at 1-800-908-9946. They can also send you a letter or email with more details about your status and a refund if needed.
In addition, the IRS can mail you a check or notify you that some additional documents are needed to process your return, which can add days, weeks, and months to the overall time frame. This is why it’s always a good idea to file as accurately as possible when you can – to ensure you receive the most accurate information on your tax refund.
In the meantime, if you’re wondering when your WMR or tax transcript will update for refund status or a direct deposit date, certain key days of the week are more likely to occur. These include Wednesdays for mass updates on daily accounts and Saturdays for weekly accounts.