The IRS announced today that it has provided a much requested update to their “Where’s My Refund?” tool. The update now allows taxpayers to check the status of the current tax year’s refund and the two previous years. Before the update taxpayers could only check the status of their current year refund and once the current year tool came online the status of refunds for the prior year’s returns became unavailable.
For example, a taxpayer who has filed their TY2021 tax return can check the status of their refund within 24 hours of e-filing or within four weeks of mailing their return. These taxpayers can also use the updated tool to check the status of their returns for TY2019 and/or TY2020. Taxpayers who have not yet filed their TY2021 tax return can also use the updated tool to check the status of their TY2019 and/or TY2020 refunds and will still be able to use the tool to check the status of their TY2021 refund once they file their return.
To use the tool taxpayers will need their Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer ID Number (ITIN), their filing status (e.g., single, married filing jointly, etc.), and the expected refund amount for the tax year they are checking. Taxpayers who choose to call the refund hotline instead of using the “Where’s My Refund?” tool will be limited to inquiries for current year returns (TY2021).