The 2026 tax season is about a month away, and with tax season coming, many taxpayers wonder whether their tax refund will process faster or if it will face a delay, as last year, many have faced delays. Taxpayers can find what they can expect this tax season here.
The IRS generally processes the tax refund within 21 days if the taxpayers have e-filed the return and selected direct deposit. However, many other reasons can cause the tax refund or credit to be delayed.
Taxpayers preparing for the 2026 tax season should be prepared for the valid tax return filing and new changes to the tax provision. The federal government has ended the paper return, which can help taxpayers get a faster payout this tax season.
What filers should expect faster payouts or refund delays?
In 2025, the federal government released an executive order to stop the paper refund or paper check processing for governmental benefits and tax benefits. The federal government passed this order to reduce the cost of processing the refunds and benefits and to eliminate fraudulent activities.
Following the order, the IRS and the Treasury Department have announced that they will end the paper check refund from 30 September 2025. The agency has not released further guidelines for the taxpayers, but with the paper check phase-out, taxpayers are advised to choose the electronic payment method for the tax refund in this tax season.
With electronic payment methods or direct deposit, taxpayers can expect faster payout in the 2026 tax season, unless other reasons delay their tax refund. The previous tax season had tax refund delays for millions of taxpayers due to staff and other reasons.
What can delay your tax refunds in the 2026 tax season?
The agency tries to offer faster payouts to the taxpayers and help them financially. But some reasons can delay the tax refund that you should know, such as:
- PATH Act restriction: If you have claimed the EITC/ACTC credit with your tax return, you can expect your refund to be delayed until mid-February 2026 due to the PATH Act restriction. Under the act, the agency has to wait till mid-February to process the refund with refundable credit to have enough time for review and processing and fight the fraud.
- Misinformation: If your tax return has some incorrect information or you have missed some information, the IRS can ask you for additional documents or take more time to process your return, which will affect your refund processing time.
- Bank Account inactive: The bank account you mentioned in the tax return should be active; otherwise, the payment will return to the IRS, and they will send you the refund through another process.
- Peak season filing: If you filed the tax returns during the peak season, that is, near the tax deadline, you can experience a delay in tax refund due to a high number of tax returns near the deadline.
- Paper filing: If you have filed the tax return through the mail, it may take time to reach the IRS office, and later in review, that will delay the refund.
What can you do to track your tax refund?
If you are expecting a tax refund and wondering about the tax refund payment date, you can track the refund through the IRS’s Where’s My Refund tool. The tool shows the status to taxpayers within 24 to 48 hours when they e-file their tax return. Here’s how you can track your tax refund status for the 2025 tax year:
- Go to the IRS website at https://www.irs.gov/ or the IRS2Go app.
- Now, click the refund status option in the services, where you can choose your way to check, either through your IRS account or the refund tracker.
- Next, you have to enter your Social Security Number, filing status, tax year, and refund amount in the boxes.
- Now, click the submit button, and your tax refund status will be shown on your screen: return accepted/refund approved/refund processed.
When you see the refund processed in your status, you can anticipate your tax refund to show in your account in 5 days.
How can you get a larger refund for the 2025 tax year?
The 2025 tax year can bring a larger refund for the taxpayers due to the change provisions; hence, to claim it, you should know these provisions:
- The OBBBA bill has increased the standard deduction, and offers a new deduction for seniors, and introduced deductions for tips/overtime/ and paid car loan interest that can affect your taxes. The changes have not affected withheld taxes; hence, employees may be eligible for a tax refund due to overpayment.
- The EITC credit amount, American Opportunity Tax Credit, and child tax credit are increased, offering a larger tax refund for the taxpayers.
Taxpayers preparing for the 2026 tax season should know that paper check refunds are phased out; hence, they should consider opening a bank account if they don’t have one or go for another electronic method to receive their tax refund faster.
Disclaimer: Information about potential refund delays or faster payouts in 2026 is for general awareness only. Actual refund timing and processes are determined by the IRS.
