More than 90 percent of tax refunds are issued by the IRS in less than 21 days, according to the IRS. However, the exact timing depends on a range of factors, and in some cases, the process may take longer. If you’re owed a refund, you’re probably eager for it to arrive.

What does it mean when IRS says your refund is pending?

If the status says ‘pending’ it just means that your return has not been accepted or rejected by the IRS. Try checking the status of your Federal refund through the IRS Where’s My Refund tool: IRS — Where’s My Refund?

What does it mean when your refund is pending?

A pending refund usually means the seller is sending the payment directly from their bank account – depending on the banks involved, it can take up to 7 business days for a refund to be deposited to your PayPal account. Your money will be available when the payment status changes from “pending’ to ‘completed.

What happens if my tax return is in pending status?

If you contact the IRS or try to look up your return or refund status on their site while your return is in “Pending” status, don’t be alarmed if they tell you they have no record of your return. This is normal; once the IRS acknowledges your return, they will update your status to via WMR to Return Received, Refund Approved and Refund Sent.

Why is there a backlog of tax returns?

But this year is complicated by several issues, including a backlog of 2019 paper tax returns that the IRS was unable to process after shuttering its offices during the coronavirus pandemic. A recent notice from the IRS said that some people may experience a longer than average wait for their payments.

Is the IRS holding 29 million tax returns?

May 6, 2021 / 6:49 AM / MoneyWatch The IRS is holding 29 million tax returns for manual processing, delaying tax refunds for many Americans, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate, an independent arm of the tax agency that looks out for consumers’ interest.

Why is it taking so long to get my tax refund?

Either something is wrong with your tax return filing, e.g. missing information, additional Identity fraud/verification (details below), incorrect social security numbers etc; or information from related sources (employer, ex-partner) do not add up. For example same dependent claimed in multiple tax returns.