Income Tax Refund Status – Check it in Three Easy Ways

It’s been 30-45 days after you have filed your income tax return (ITR), which was well before the deadline, yet you haven’t received the expected refund and may be wondering what the hold-up is.

Generally, you are entitled to a refund in cases where you have paid taxes higher when compared to the actual tax liability in a financial year.

The income tax is calculated after considering all the deductions and exemptions at the time of filing of income tax return (ITR). An income tax refund is any excess amount paid by tax deducted at source (TDS), tax collected at source (TCS), advance tax, or self-assessment tax. 

Pre-validation of bank account (in which the income tax refund is to be credited) and subsequent linking of the permanent account number (PAN) remains mandatory to receive an income tax refund. You can visit the income tax portal to check if your account is pre-validated and PAN linked suitably.

The status of your income tax returns can be any of the following: ‘ITR Filed’, ‘Successfully e-verified’, ‘Under Processing’, and ‘Processed with refund due’.

The Central Processing Centre (CPC) in Bengaluru sends an intimation over an email under Section 143(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (ITA), which will confirm the refund amount that you are eligible to receive. From the day of e-verification to receiving the intimation under Section 143(1), the whole process could take anywhere from 15 to 90 days.

Also, in case of a delay in a tax refund, the income tax department is liable to pay 6% interest.

Generally, it is advised to check your income tax refund status after 30 days of filing the ITR., You should also ensure that you enter an active mobile number and email details while filing the ITR, so that you receive regular intimations from the tax department.

There are three methods to check your income tax refund status:

Method 1

• Visit the income tax official portal: www.incometax.gov.in
• Log in with your user-ID (PAN) and password

• Click on ‘e-File’ tab and go to ‘Income Tax Returns’
• Select ‘View Filed Returns’ from the drop-down menu

• You are directed to a page which will display the overall timeline. If the page displays the date of ‘Processed with refund due’, then you are likely to receive the income tax refund soon.

Method 2

• Visit the income tax official portal

• Scroll down to the bottom of the page
• Select ‘NSDL’ under ‘Related Sites’

• You will be directed to TIN (tin-nsdl.com)

• Click on the ‘Services’ tab

• Select ‘Status of Tax Refunds’ from the drop-down menu

• Click the ‘Refund Tracking’ option (on the extreme left)

• Click ‘Proceed’ under ‘Taxpayer Refund (PAN)’ option

• Enter your PAN details
• Select the Assessment Year from the drop-down option for which tax refund is awaited and enter the Captcha Code

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

Method 3

• Login to the income tax portal
• Click on ‘e-File’, select ‘Income Tax Returns’ and hit ‘View Form 26AS’

• You will be directed to the TDS Reconciliation Analysis and Correction Enabling System (TRACES) page

• Click on ‘View Tax Credit (Form 26AS) at the bottom of the page

• Select the Assessment Year from the drop-down menu

• You are directed to a page that displays the details of paid refund

However, through this method, you cannot see the status but can only see the details of the tax refund amount and  if it is credited into your account.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

• What to do if your refund is determined, but the same is not credited to your bank account?

Refund failure mainly happens due to non-validation of your bank account details in the income tax portal. Hence, if your refund is determined and it is not issued, check if you have validated your bank details in the income tax portal. To pre-validate your bank account, you are required to log in to the income tax portal and click on ‘My Profile’ and select ‘My Bank Account’. Now, click on ‘Add Bank Account’, add correct bank details, and complete the verification process. Then you click on ‘Services’, select ‘Refund Reissue’ option for the relevant assessment year and select the validated bank account in which you want to receive the refund. You will receive an acknowledgement number for the same on successful completion of the reissue request.

• You have filed the income tax return (ITR) and received the refund. However, you file a revised return after making corrections. You are now directed to pay additional tax. What happens to the refund received earlier?

There is no need to worry as the income tax department will make suitable adjustments in this regard. Also, a return of income can be revised at any time three months before the end of the assessment year or before the assessment, whichever is earlier.

• What needs to be done in a case where the income tax refund gets rejected and the portal displays no information related to refund failures?

You need to log in to the income tax portal and click on the ‘Grievances’ tab and select ‘Submit Grievance’. You can select the appropriate issue that you would like to be addressed on the page that comes up.