Income Tax Refund - How To Check Income Tax Refund Status For FY 2024-25 (AY 2025-26)?

An income tax refund arises when the tax you have paid to the government is more than your actual tax liability. This excess tax can occur due to higher TDS deductions or advance tax payments during the year.  You can claim the refund while filing your income tax return, and once processed, the refund is usually credited to your bank account within 4 to 5 weeks of e-verification. In rare cases of delay, you can either raise a grievance on the income tax portal or contact income tax helpline.

Tax refund in India is usually processed through electronic bank transaction. However, refund can be received via cheque as well. Refund status can be checked online on income tax portal or NSDL portal.

Income tax department does not send any mail to manually confirm the refund in order to process it. A recent twitter post made by the Press Information Bureau cautions the taxpayers to beware of such fake e-mails, do not click on any links provided on such fake mails. It is advised to report such instances to the department immediately.

Taxpayers can check the status of their Income Tax Refund through the tin nsdl refund status portal.

What is Income Tax Refund?

• An income tax refund is issued by the Income Tax Department when a taxpayer has paid more tax than their actual liability for the financial year.
• Generally, taxpayers pay their taxes while filing returns after calculating their tax dues under the concept of self-assessment. However, the tax paid and the actual tax liability may differ due to factors such as excess TDS deductions, advance tax payments, or errors in tax calculation, resulting in a refund of the excess amount paid.
• Refund situations also occur when deductions, exemptions, set-off of losses, or tax credits reduce tax liability while filing returns.

Income Tax Refund = Total Taxes paid – Total Tax Liability 

• The refund amount includes interest at 0.5% per month (6% per annum) from the date of payment to the date of refund issuance.
• In order to claim refund
  1. Pre-validate your bank account
  2. File the returns and
  3. E-verify

How to Check your ITR Refund Status for AY 2025-26?

If you are concerned about your tax refund status, you can check the status of the income tax refund in three different ways, here are the methods listed below.

1. Through the Income Tax Portal

Step 1: Visit the income tax portal and log in to your account

Step 2: Click on 'e-File', choose 'Income Tax Returns' and then select ‘View Filed Returns’

Step 3: You can see the status of your current and past income tax returns.

Step 4: Click on 'View details,' and you'll see the status of your income tax refund, as shown in the picture below.

2. Through NSDL Portal 

Step 1:  Visit the NSDL Portal

Step 2: Enter your PAN details, select the Assessment Year from the drop-down option for which tax refund is awaited and enter the Captcha Code

Step 3: Click ‘Proceed’ under the ‘Taxpayer Refund (PAN)’ option

You will be directed to a page that displays the ‘Refund Status’.

Refund Processing Timeline

• Usually, the income tax refund is processed within 4-5 weeks of e-verification of return.
• More often than not, the refund is credited well before this time frame.
• It is necessary to e-verify the return after filing. Without e-verification, the return filing process is not compete and refund amount will not be processed.

Common Reasons for Delay in Refund

If the refund credit is getting delayed, in other words, the refund is awaited beyond this time, the following could be the reasons for the same

Bank Account Details

• Check if the bank account details furnished are correct and it is duly pre-validated.
• Confirm that the bank account provided is in your name and the spelling is correct
• Check if the bank account is still active. If you have changed the bank account anytime post filing the return, update it on the portal.

Mismatch between returns and Form 26AS/ AIS

• Ensure the particulars as mentioned in the returns match with data as per Form 26As or AIS.
• It might be that sometimes details on AIS or Form 26AS is incorrect. Please provide feedback in such situations.
• If the return filed has errors, you can revise the return to speed up the refund process.

Return Filed close to Due Date

• It is always recommended to file your Income Tax returns well in advance, before due date.
• If the returns are filed close to due date, due to high volume of return filing, the refund might be delayed.
• Also, chances of receiving notices is high for returns filed close to due date.

Pending Notices

• The department has the power to with hold the refund amount if there is any pending demand notices, yet to be resolved.
• You can login to your income tax portal, login to e-filing portal > e-File > Income Tax Returns > View filed returns. If you have any intimation or notices, you can find it there.
• Duly respond to notices in order to speed up the process of refund.

Pending e-Verification

• If the return is filed and pending e-verification, the filing process is incomplete.
• Unless the filing is complete, the refund will not be processed. Therefore, it is advised to e-verify the returns as soon as the returns are filed in order to speed up the process of refund. 

You can raise a grievance at the income tax portal if there is undue delay in refund processing.

Is the Income Tax Refund Taxable?

No, the refund amount is not taxable. But, the interest received on the tax refund is taxable.

When the refund amount is more than 10% of the total tax payable for that particular year, you will receive a simple interest on the tax refund. Interest is computed at 6% per annum (0.5% per month or part of the month) on the refund amount. 

Interest on refund received is a taxable income and considered for income tax calculation in the year it is received.

What Does my Refund Status Mean?

Here’s a list of different types of status of refund with meanings:

How to Request for Refund Re-issue?

In the case of refund failure, you can raise the refund re-issue request in the e-filing portal by following the steps below:

Step 1: Login to ‘e-Filing’ Portal

Step 2: Click on Services menu and click on ‘Refund reissue’

Step 3: Create Refund Reissue request

Step 4: You will get the details of Assessment Year for which refund got failed

Step 5: Select the Assessment Year and click on continue

Step 6: You will get the bank details in the next page. Validate the bank account if it is not validated

Step 7: Click on the ‘Submit’ button and submit the request 

Other Key Concepts

Time Duration for a Tax Refund

The time taken to receive the income tax refund entirely depends on the Income Tax Department’s internal process. Generally, Income Tax Refunds are credited to the validated bank account within 4-5 weeks of e-verification. The Income Tax Department implemented a new refund processing system to enable faster refund processing with an expected turnaround of a few days instead of a few months.        

Mode of Receiving Refund

The Income Tax Department will send the refund amount through electronic mode (direct credit to the account) or through a ‘Refund Cheque’. You must enter the correct bank account number and IFSC code with complete address details, including the PIN code, at the time of filing your return to receive refunds. Refunds sent through cheques are dispatched to the address mentioned in the ITR through speed post.

How to Claim Refund for Missed ITR Filing on Due Date?

The deadline to file your ITR for non-audit cases is 15th September 2025, for FY 2024-25. However, if you cannot manage to file your taxes before the deadline, you can still file a late return, known as Belated Return. The last date to file a belated return is 31st December 2025. You can claim your tax refund through a belated return.

Income Tax Refund Helpline

You can contact the ‘Aaykar Sampark Kendra’ for any queries regarding income tax refunds. The toll-free helpline of the Aaykar Sampark Kendra Kendra is - 1800-180-1961. You can even send a mail with your refund query to refunds@incometax.gov.in. 

For refund-related queries or modifications in the refund record processed at CPC Bangalore, you can contact - 1800-425-2229 or 080-43456700. For any payment-related query, contact the SBI Contact Centre toll-free number at -1800-425-9760.