Income tax refund: how to check status and why it is delayed

After you file, your refund moves through four stages: filed, verified, processed and refund issued. You can see the current stage on the Income Tax portal, or in TaxCare's Refund Status. Most delays come from a return that is not yet e-verified, a return that is still being processed, or a problem with the bank account.

How long it takes depends on the Income Tax Department's own processing. No one outside the department can promise a date.

How to check your refund status

1. Make sure your return is filed and e-verified. A refund is processed only after e-verification.
2. Look up your return on the Income Tax portal using your PAN and the tax year.
3. Read the stage shown. Each stage means something different.

For a tax year, a filed return only exists once filing has opened. Filing opens on 1 April after the tax year ends. For the tax year 2026-27, there is nothing to check before 01-Apr-2027.

Interest on a refund

If a refund is paid late, the department pays interest on it. In TaxCare's rules for the tax year 2025-26, the rate is 0.5% per month. No interest is paid if the refund is less than 10% of the tax determined.

The figures for the tax year 2026-27 are provisional. They carry forward the 2025-26 values and have not been signed off against the Income-tax Act, 2025.

Under the Income-tax Act, 2025, refund interest is in section 437: 0.5% for every month or part of a month, with nothing paid if the refund is below 10% of the tax determined. On a refund of TDS, TCS or advance tax, interest runs from 1 April after the tax year to the date the refund is granted, if you filed by the due date. If you filed later, it runs from the date you filed.

Why a refund gets delayed

1. The return is not e-verified

This is the most common reason and the easiest to fix. An unverified return is not processed. If 30 days have passed, it may be treated as never filed. See our guide on how to e-verify your ITR.

2. The return is still in the queue

After verification, the department processes your return. Until it does, there is no refund to issue. Check the stage on the portal.

3. The numbers do not match

If your return shows TDS, income or deductions that differ from the department's records, the department may adjust them or ask you to respond. Compare your return with your AIS and with Form 26AS or Form 168 before you file.

During processing, the Centralized Processing Centre can send a notice of proposed adjustment when your return differs from the department's data. You respond on the portal under Pending Actions > e-Proceedings, agreeing or disagreeing, within 30 days from the date the notice is issued.

4. A problem with the bank account

The refund goes to the bank account named in the return. If the account number or IFSC is wrong, closed, or not validated, the refund can fail. Add and validate the account on the portal under My Bank Account, then raise a request under Services > Refund Reissue. See refund failed: bank account not validated.

5. An outstanding demand

The department may set off a refund against a tax demand that is still payable, but it must first tell you in writing what it proposes to do. On the portal the intimation appears under Pending Actions > Response to Outstanding Demand, where you can agree or disagree with the demand.

6. The return is defective

A defective return can receive a notice asking you to fix it. You get 15 days from the date of the intimation to fix the defect, or a longer period if you apply for it. If the defect is not fixed, the return is treated as invalid, as if it had not been filed.

Special cases

• Updated return (ITR-U). It cannot give a refund or increase a refund claimed earlier.
• Belated return. You can usually still claim a refund, but you pay a late fee if you were required to file, and the old regime is not available in TaxCare's rules. Under the Income-tax Act, 2025 a refund is claimed by filing a return, and a belated return is one of them. Interest on a refund in a belated return runs only from the date you file it.

What to do if the refund does not arrive

1. Confirm the stage on the portal.
2. Check that your return is verified.
3. Check your bank details and validation.
4. Read any intimation or notice carefully, and respond on time.
5. If a refund shows as issued but you do not see it, ask your bank. If the refund has failed, validate a bank account and raise a Refund Reissue request on the portal. See how to request a refund reissue.
6. If nothing helps, ask a Tax Expert to follow up for you.

How TaxCare helps

TaxCare follows your return through the department's stages and keeps the acknowledgement and your filed ITR ready to download. It reminds you to e-verify, since a refund is processed only after that. Refund Status in TaxCare is for your own PAN and family members you have added. If a refund needs a follow-up, you can book a Tax Expert for it.

This guide gives general information and is not professional tax advice.