When Do You Get Your Tax Return

How Long Will It Take To Get Your Refund

General refund processing times during filing season:

• Electronically filed returns: Up to 4 weeks
• Paper filed returns: Up to 8 weeks
• Returns sent by certified mail: Allow an additional 3 weeks

The Wheres my Refund application shows where in the process your refund is. When we’ve finished processing your return, the application will show you the date your refund was sent. All returns are different, and processing times will vary.

See how our return process works:

How Do I Get My Tax Refund

Luckily for you, the IRS is very good about getting your tax refund to you.

In fact, you can check out the IRSs Wheres my refund? tool to find the status of your tax refund right now. And according to the IRS, they issue nine out of ten refunds back to the taxpayer within 21 days after they file their taxes.

Ultimately, though, how soon you get your refund back depends on two things:

• How you file your taxes
• How you elect to receive your refund

If you decide to file your taxes through good old fashioned pen and paper, its going to take considerably longer to get your refund back. In fact, youre going to have to wait four to six weeks before youre even able to check your status on their Wheres my refund? tool.

There is another route though: Electronic tax filings.

You receive your tax refund even faster when you file it electronically via platforms like TurboTax or IRS e-file. There you can elect to receive your refund through direct deposit . Its secure, fast, and the same way the government deposits millions of Social Security and Veteran Affairs benefits each year.

When you get your money back, be sure to put it to good use:

So you know how much youre getting back and how to get your money. Now lets get into what you might be getting WRONG about your tax refund.

How Early Can You File Your Taxes To Get Your Tax Refund

We all know that 2020 has been a year of unprecedented loss and financial strain for millions of Americans, but right now we can only hope that some relief is on the way. Maybe Congress will finally decide on another coronavirus stimulus bill, or perhaps a COVID-19 vaccine will quickly help us turn the corner and get back to normal. And maybe just maybe 2021 will start off on a much brighter note.

In the meantime, I know a lot of Americans are eager to file their tax returns as quickly as possible to get their tax refunds. With record unemployment and many assistance programs ending, any extra income is a huge benefit.

After all, the average tax refund for the 2019 fiscal year worked out to $2,711. If youre like many Americans, this amount represents the single largest dollar figure youll receive at once within a calendar year.

Even in a normal economic environment, early tax filers usually try to file their taxes once they get their final pay stub of the year. However, Americans cannot legally file their tax returns for the prior year until January 1st, meaning you cannot file your taxes for 2020 until January 1, 2021.

Even tax software that offers the option to file early really just holds your returns, and transmits it to the IRS when they are able to .

Getty

You May Like: Where Can I Find My Real Estate Taxes

Use Online Tax Software

These days, you can DIY your own tax return and save a bundle on tax filing fees. Online tax software, like TurboTax, makes it easy: you can instantly import tax information from the Canada Revenue Agency with Auto-Fill My Return. The software includes a complete list of tax deductions to make it easy for customers to find the deductions that apply to them.

Once your information is entered, a review section offers suggestions on credits and deductions that may apply to your situation, as well as ones that definitely apply. The software then guides you back through your tax return and helps apply the recommendation.

The bottom line? TurboTax offers a cheap and easy way to file your taxes and get the most out of your tax return. Whether youve got a straightforward tax return or a complicated one involving business income and expenses, TurboTax has software suited to your needs at an affordable price. In particular, TurboTax Self-Employed is the only software in Canada that is designed specifically for people with self-employed income and provides expert guidance specific to these individuals. If youve got questions, TurboTax Free customers can upgrade to a paid option that includes full guidance, interview-based profiling, and other features.

Important Notice For Tax Time

Did you know that identity theft, especially around tax season, is running rampant? People’s credit information was stolen at Target, Home Depot, even The State of California. Now’s a great time to make sure that your credit is safe.

Credit Karma: Second, now is a great time to check your credit report and make sure that there are no issues. You should be checking your credit at least once per year, and tax time is a great time to do it. We recommend using because its free! Plus, has a lot of great tools to help you improve your credit if you need to, and they can help you monitor your credit over time.

Recommended Reading: Do You Pay Income Tax On Unemployment

Tax Refund Calculator: How Much Will Margaret Get Back In Taxes

How much does she stand to get back?

Subtract the red circle from the blue for the refund.

Uncle Sam might owe Margaret $14,465 when all is said and done. And if her situation doesnt change in 2021, her refund will actually grow to $20,584.

NOTE: Everyones tax situation is unique and any online tax refund calculator will, at best, provide you with a rough estimate of how much youll get back. The two examples above are incredibly simple and dont fully capture the nuances of someones actual financial situation.

Play around with them and be as specific as you can. The more details you can provide the better of an idea youll have of what youll receive for your refund.

So now you know roughly how much youll be getting back and youre ready to collect the money Uncle Sam owes you.

Before you hoist your Dont tread on me flag and march down to the IRS building to get your money, you should know about all the ways you can get your tax refund.

Why Would Your Refund Come By Snail Mail

There are a couple of reasons that your refund would be mailed to you. Your money can only be electronically deposited into a bank account with your name, your spouse’s name or a joint account. If that’s not the reason, you may be getting multiple refund checks, and the IRS can only direct-deposit up to three refunds to one account. Additional refunds must be mailed. Also, your bank may reject the deposit and this would be the IRS’ next best way to refund your money quickly.

It’s also important to note that for refunds, direct deposit isn’t always automatic. Some are noticing that like the stimulus checks, the first two payments for the child tax credit were mailed. Just in case, parents should sign in to the IRS portal to check that the agency has their correct banking information. If not, parents can add it for the next payment in September.

For more information about your money, here’s the latest on federal unemployment benefits and how the child tax credit could impact your taxes in 2022.

Don’t Miss: When Can I Expect My Unemployment Tax Refund

Why You Get A State And Federal Tax Refund

There are different reasons why taxpayers get refunds, and in other cases owe money to the government. If you work for an employer, you were required to fill out a W-4 form when you were hired. On that form, you indicated the amount of taxes that needed to be withheld from each paycheck.

Taxpayers receive a refund at the end of the year when they have too much money withheld. If youre self-employed, you get a tax refund when you overpay your estimated taxes. While you might consider this extra income to be free money, its actually more like a loan that you made to the IRS without charging interest. Conversely, you will owe the government money if you underestimate the amount to taxes.

Why Is Your Refund Different Than You Expected

Errors or missing information

If your tax return had one or more errors, we may need to adjust your return leading to a different refund amount than you claimed on your return. We will send you a letter explaining the adjustments we made and how they affected your refund. If you have questions about the change, please call Customer Services.

Tax refund offsets – applying all or part of your refund toward eligible debts

• If you owe Virginia state taxes for any previous tax years, we will withhold all or part of your refund and apply it to your outstanding tax bills. We will send you a letter explaining the specific bills and how much of your refund was applied. If you have questions or think the refund was reduced in error, please contact us.
• If you owe money to Virginia local governments, courts, other state agencies, the IRS, or certain federal government agencies we will withhold all or part of your refund to help pay these debts. We will send you a letter with the name and contact information of the agency making the claim, and the amount of your refund applied to the debt. We do not have any information about these debts. If you think a claim was made in error or have any questions about the debt your refund was applied to, you’ll need call the agency that made the claim.

If you have a remaining refund balance after your debts are paid, we will send a check to the address on your most recent tax return. We cannot issue reduced refunds by direct deposit.

Read Also: How Do You Report Bitcoin On Taxes

Get A Copy Of Your Notice Of Assessment

Online:

View your notices of assessment and reassessment online. Sign in to access and print your NOA immediately.

Alternative:MyCRA web app

Get a copy by phone

Before you call

To verify your identify, you’ll need:

• Social Insurance Number
• Full name and date of birth
• Your complete address
• An assessed return, notice of assessment or reassessment, other tax document, or be signed in to My Account

If you are calling the CRA on behalf of someone else, you must be an

Telephone number

Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut:1-866-426-1527

Outside Canada and U.S. :613-940-8495

8 am to 8 pm
Sat	9 am to 5 pm
Sun

Closed on public holidays

Refunds From Tax Credits

While taxpayers usually forfeit their tax credits when they owe nothing, you may qualify for a tax refund through these exceptions:

• The Child Tax Credit pays a maximum of $2,000 for every child that qualifies as a dependent. Taxpayers can get up to $1,400 of that maximum amount refunded, which means that you can use it to pay off your tax bill and get a refund on any money left over.
• Taxpayers who earn low-to-moderate income may qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit , which reduces the tax amount that you owe and could entitle you to a refund.
• The American Opportunity Tax Credit helps eligible students offset higher education costs with a maximum annual credit of $2,500. You can get 40% or the left over credit refunded, up to $1,000.

Recommended Reading: How To Register For Tax Id

How To Get A Copy Of Your T1 General From A Past Tax Year

You filled out a T1 General Form for every year you submitted taxes. You can find a copy of your submitted T1 General if you have registered for a CRA My Account. Your account should have the records of T1 General for the current year and the past 11 years that you filed under the tax returns view section. Anything older, you will need to contact the CRA directly at 1-800-959-8281 to request a copy.

If you used TurboTax to file your taxes for the year that you need, you simply log onto your TurboTax portal and access the return for the year you are interested in.

Tax Deductions And Tax Credits Explained

Remember that a tax deduction reduces your taxable income, cutting your tax bill indirectly by reducing the income that’s subject to a marginal tax rate. A tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar discount on your tax bill. So, if you owe $1,000, but qualify for a $500 tax credit, your tax bill goes down to $500.

What if youre eligible for tax credits that are greater than what you owe say, $1,000 in tax credits with a $500 liability? Whether you get that $500 difference refunded to you will depend on whether the tax credits you qualify are refundable or not. Refundable tax credits go into your tax refund if they exceed what you owe. By contrast, some tax credits are nonrefundable, which means they have the power to reduce your tax liability down to zero but cant be refunded to you if they exceed your liability. Our tax return calculator will take all of this into account when figuring out what you can expect at tax time.

You May Like: How To Pay Federal And State Taxes

How Do I File My Taxes Online

Filing your taxes with TurboTax Free is quick and easy. First youll be asked to set up a profile and follow a simple process to find all the credits and deductions youre entitled to. With the CRAs Auto-fill my return, you can also import your tax info directly from the CRA. This service pulls info from your income slips , government benefit slips, RRSP receipts, and unused tuition credits. All the relevant info will be populated from these forms into your tax return saving you time and effort.

If you decide not to use CRAs Auto-fill my return service, or if you have additional info to enter that isnt captured through the import, you can find all the forms you need quickly and easily through TurboTaxs search feature.

You can also easily look for all the credits and deductions that apply to you using the search bar in TurboTax Free. If youre not sure where to start, heres a list of common credits, deductions, and expenses you may be eligible for:

• Disability tax credit

Once youve entered all your info for the year and youre ready to file, our software will guide you through the steps to NETFILE your return online or print and mail your return. Well also give you step-by-step instructions on how to pay the CRA if you owe taxes.

How Should You Contact The Irs For Help

The IRS received 167 million calls this tax season, which is four times the number of calls in 2019. And based on the recent report, only 7 percent of calls reached a telephone agent for help. While you could try calling the IRS to check your status, the agency’s live phone assistance is extremely limited right now because the IRS says it’s working hard to get through the backlog. You shouldn’t file a second tax return or contact the IRS about the status of your return.

The IRS is directing people to the Let Us Help You page on its website for more information. It also advises taxpayers to get in-person help at Taxpayer Assistance Centers. You can contact your local IRS office or call to make an appointment: 844-545-5640. You can also contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service if you’re eligible for assistance by calling them: 877-777-4778.

Though the chances of getting live assistance are slim, the IRS says you should only call the agency directly if it’s been 21 days or more since you filed your taxes online, or if the Where’s My Refund tool tells you to contact the IRS. You can call: 800-829-1040 or 800-829-8374 during regular business hours.

Also Check: How To Get Out Of Paying School Taxes

For Taxpayers Who Have Yet To File

The extended May 17, 2021, deadline to submit your 2020 tax return is really just around the corner.

If you’ve procrastinated, we have a few tips for you:

• $0 to $290 federal, $0 to $55 per state

• Free version