How long does it take to get your tax refund?

(Advertising policy | Report an inappropriate ad)

Have you done your taxes yet? I am planning on doing mine this weekend and like many people as soon as I finish, I like knowing when my refund check is going to be deposited.

The quickest way to get your refund

It is probably common knowledge that you will get your tax refund quicker when you choose the direct deposit option. You also should eFile your tax return if possible and as I mentioned in a post I did about getting free state tax filing you should submit it before Friday, since they only process the eFiled returns once a week. Of course, if you don’t really care when you get your refund, take your good old time.

So when will you get your refund check?

1. If you eFiled, check the status to be sure that it was accepted by the IRS.

2. You can also check the status of your tax refund on the IRS website. This should tell you when you will be receiving your check. Although, it is good to keep in mind that the IRS doesn’t guarantee any dates, they are all approximations.

Approximate tax refund schedule

Assuming you filed your taxes properly, the below schedule should give you a good estimate of when you can expect to receive your paper check from the IRS or the money in your account if you chose the direct deposit option.

Transmitted and IRS accepted between	Bank Direct Deposit	Paper Check Sent
01/09/2009 – 01/16/2009 (11am)	01/26/2009	02/02/2009
01/16/2009 – 01/23/2009 (11am)	02/02/2009	02/09/2009
01/23/2009 – 01/30/2009 (11am)	02/09/2009	02/16/2009
01/30/2009 – 02/06/2009 (11am)	02/16/2009	02/23/2009
02/06/2009 – 02/13/2009 (11am)	02/23/2009	03/02/2009
02/13/2009 – 02/20/2009 (11am)	03/02/2009	03/09/2009
02/20/2009 – 02/27/2009 (11am)	03/09/2009	03/16/2009
02/27/2009 – 03/06/2009 (11am)	03/16/2009	03/23/2009
03/06/2009 – 03/13/2009 (11am)	03/23/2009	03/30/2009
03/13/2009 – 03/20/2009 (11am)	03/30/2009	04/06/2009
03/20/2009 – 03/27/2009 (11am)	04/06/2009	04/13/2009
03/27/2009 – 04/03/2009 (11am)	04/13/2009	04/20/2009
04/03/2009 – 04/10/2009 (11am)	04/20/2009	04/27/2009
04/10/2009 – 04/17/2009 (11am)	04/27/2009	05/04/2009
04/17/2009 – 04/24/2009 (11am)	05/04/2009	05/11/2009
04/24/2009 – 05/01/2009 (11am)	05/11/2009	05/18/2009
05/01/2009 – 05/08/2009 (11am)	05/18/2009	05/25/2009
05/08/2009 – 05/15/2009 (11am)	05/25/2009	06/01/2009
05/15/2009 – 05/22/2009 (11am)	06/01/2009	06/08/2009
05/22/2009 – 05/29/2009 (11am)	06/08/2009	06/15/2009
05/29/2009 – 06/05/2009 (11am)	06/15/2009	06/22/2009
06/05/2009 – 06/12/2009 (11am)	06/22/2009	06/29/2009
06/12/2009 – 06/19/2009 (11am)	06/29/2009	07/06/2009
06/19/2009 – 06/26/2009 (11am)	07/06/2009	07/13/2009
06/26/2009 – 07/03/2009 (11am)	07/13/2009	07/20/2009
07/03/2009 – 07/10/2009 (11am)	07/20/2009	07/27/2009
07/10/2009 – 07/17/2009 (11am)	07/27/2009	08/03/2009
07/17/2009 – 07/24/2009 (11am)	08/03/2009	08/10/2009
07/24/2009 – 07/31/2009 (11am)	08/10/2009	08/17/2009
07/31/2009 – 08/07/2009 (11am)	08/17/2009	08/24/2009
08/07/2009 – 08/14/2009 (11am)	08/24/2009	08/31/2009
08/14/2009 – 08/21/2009 (11am)	08/31/2009	09/07/2009
08/21/2009 – 08/28/2009 (11am)	09/07/2009	09/14/2009
08/28/2009 – 09/04/2009 (11am)	09/14/2009	09/21/2009
09/04/2009 – 09/11/2009 (11am)	09/21/2009	09/28/2009
09/11/2009 – 09/18/2009 (11am)	09/28/2009	10/05/2009
09/18/2009 – 09/25/2009 (11am)	10/05/2009	10/12/2009
09/25/2009 – 10/02/2009 (11am)	10/12/2009	10/19/2009
10/02/2009 – 10/09/2009 (11am)	10/19/2009	10/26/2009
10/09/2009 – 10/16/2009 (11am)	10/26/2009	11/02/2009
10/16/2009 – 10/23/2009 (11am)	11/02/2009	11/09/2009