Tax season 2026 is well underway, and if you’ve already filed your return, you’re probably wondering when your money is coming. Good news: the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is sending out refunds at a noticeably higher rate than this time in 2025, and there are easy ways to keep tabs on exactly where your payment stands.
The IRS runs a tool called “Where’s My Refund?” — your go-to option for tracking payments. You can pull it up directly at IRS.gov or download the IRS2Go app if you’d rather check from your phone or tablet. One thing worth knowing: the system refreshes once a day, typically overnight, so logging in multiple times throughout the day won’t get you any new information.
When you log in, you’ll need three things handy: your Social Security number or ITIN, your filing status, and the exact refund amount shown on your return. Get any of those wrong and the system won’t be able to locate your information.
Easy Steps to Find Your IRS Tax Refund
Once you’re in, your refund moves through three stages. First, the IRS confirms it received your return and is working through it. Second, your refund gets approved, and a payment date gets scheduled. Third — and most satisfying — you get confirmation that the money is on its way, whether that’s a direct deposit hitting your bank account or a paper check heading to your mailbox.
Now, how long should you actually expect to wait? If you filed electronically and set up direct deposit, the IRS typically processes returns within 21 days. That’s the fastest route, and for most people it holds true. Paper returns are a different story — budget six to eight weeks, and don’t be surprised if it takes longer.
A few things can slow things down regardless of how you filed. Mistakes on your return, missing information, or anything that raises a flag for potential identity theft can all trigger a manual review. Claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit also tends to add time, since the IRS applies extra scrutiny to those.
Why Tax Refunds Are Bigger This Year
The jump in average refund amounts is real and well-documented. Numbers from the IRS through February 13 show the average individual refund sitting at $2,476, compared to $2,169 at the same point last year — a 14.2% increase. Data from a slightly earlier snapshot, covering the period ending February 6, put the average at $2,290, still up nearly 11% from $2,065 the year before.
The explanation comes down to legislation passed by the previous administration — referred to as either the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” or the “Working Families Tax Cuts Act,” depending on the source. The law included new tax benefits, among them deductions tied to tips and overtime pay, applied retroactively to January 1, 2025.
Here’s the catch: the IRS never updated its payroll withholding tables after the law passed mid-year. That means workers kept having taxes withheld from their paychecks at the old rates, as if the new deductions didn’t exist. The result was systematic overpayment throughout 2025 — money that’s now coming back in the form of larger-than-usual refunds.
Juicier Tax Refunds: What Analysts and Institutions Are Projecting
The estimates floating around are striking. Wells Fargo projected the average refund would climb 18%, landing around $3,750, and raised the possibility of increases as high as 30% under more optimistic scenarios. The Tax Foundation put its forecast at $3,800 for the 2025 tax year, up from a $3,052 average in 2024.
The White House suggested refunds could run $1,000 or more above previous averages. And IRS and Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano stated that roughly $200 billion more in refunds will be distributed this year compared to prior years.
