How to Track Your 2024 Tax Refund and How Much to Expect

Filing season has already begun: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is accepting returns from all taxpayers starting January 27. This is causing many to turn to Where's my refund? app from the relevant department to track when they will receive their 2024 tax refund.

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Americans are expected to file about 140 million returns before the April 15 deadline. Last year, nearly two-thirds of taxpayers received a refund, with the average check amounting to about $3. according to the data IRS.

For many families, a tax refund can be the largest payment of the entire year, and many plan to use the money to pay off debt, build an emergency fund, or make a major purchase. However, while a large refund may seem like a financial windfall, it actually represents income that taxpayers overpaid to the IRS during the previous year.

On the subject: What happens if you do not pay taxes in the United States

For this reason, some financial experts refer to tax refunds as interest-free loans to the U.S. government. At the same time, others point out that tax refunds can serve as a form of forced savings that a family might not otherwise accumulate.

In any case, you can track your return via Where's my refund app? from the IRS, which the tax agency has sought to improve in recent years. Here's what you need to know about it.

How Where's my refund works

The IRS provides a Where's my refund? service on its website. website, but taxpayers can also use the IRS2Go mobile app on their phones or other devices. Both services will provide information about your 2024 refund within about 24 hours of electronically filing your return, according to the IRS.

However, paper filers will have to wait about four weeks before their information appears in Where's my refund? or the IRS2Go app.

To track your refund, taxpayers must enter the following information:

• Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)
• filing status, such as "single taxpayer" or "joint filing for spouses"
• the exact amount of your expected refund in whole dollars from your original 2024 tax return

The IRS service will then show you whether the IRS has received your return, whether your refund has been approved, and when the money should arrive in your account.

When can I get a tax refund?

It depends on whether you filed your return electronically or sent a paper return, and whether the IRS finds any problems with your return.

People who file electronically typically receive their refund in less than 21 days. That means a taxpayer who files Form 1040 on Jan. 27 could receive their payment by Feb. 17 if all goes well.

But you can do it even faster. On January 10, the IRS launched its Free File program. It’s available to taxpayers with adjusted gross income of $84 or less in 000. Those who used Free File could get their refund as early as January 2024.

What Can Delay a Tax Refund

Filing a paper return can delay your refund because it takes longer for IRS employees to process it compared to an electronic version, which is mostly processed automatically.

Your refund may be delayed if you claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). By law, the IRS cannot issue refunds on these returns until mid-February.

"The IRS expects most EITC/ACTC-related refunds to be available in taxpayers' bank accounts or debit cards by March 3 if they chose direct deposit and there are no other issues on their return," заявило department on January 27.

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Some errors can also delay your tax refund, such as arithmetic calculations on your return, missing or incorrect Social Security numbers, or misspelled names. Although these errors occur occasionally, they do IRS Submit a declaration for verification, which will delay the return.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Tax season has officially begun: what you need to consider when preparing your 2024 tax return

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