What to do if the income tax refund is delayed?

The sooner you file your income tax returns, the sooner you will get the refund, if any. As time goes on, the tax department has more returns to handle, which might slow down your refund. Nevertheless, there could be various other factors causing delays in getting your expected refund. Read on to know the reasons why your income tax refund might be delayed and what you to do if your refund is delayed. 

What is an income tax refund?

When you have paid more taxes than you were required to pay by way of TDS, TCS or advance tax, you get the additional amount paid as a tax refund. It's like receiving a refund for overpaying.

• TDS, TCS or advance tax > Final Tax Amount = Tax Refund
• Final Tax Amount > TDS, TCS or advance tax = Balance Tax Payable

For instance, if a taxpayer has paid Rs. 10,000 in taxes for the financial year 2023-2024, yet their actual tax liability is only Rs. 8,000, they are eligible for a refund of Rs. 2,000 from the Income Tax Department. Once the income tax return is filed and it has been verified, the income tax department will initiate the processing of the tax return. After the tax return is processed, it will take around four to five weeks for the refund to get credited to the bank account of the taxpayer.

Reasons why the refund is delayed and how to handle it?

There can be many reasons for your refund not reaching you. Here is a table of reasons and the action plans you need to follow in each of those cases.

What to do if you have not received the refund yet?

Please reach out to the IT department to have your refund-reissue. When getting in touch with the IT department, ensure you provide them with your PAN, the assessment year for which the refund was issued, and the exact refund amount. You have the option to contact the IT department through phone, mail, or their e-filing portal.

Here's how you can raise a refund re-issue request:

• Visit the e-filing portal and log in to your account
• Navigate to "My Account" section
• Click on the "Service".
• Select “Refund Re-issue” then click on and "create Refund Reissue Request”
• Fill in the necessary details, including your PAN, assessment year, and refund amount
• e-Verify
• Submit the refund re-issue request

How to check your refund status on Income Tax Portal? 

If you have not received the refund yet, check the refund status by logging in to income tax e-filing portal. Follow the below steps to view the refund status:-

Step 1: Visit the income tax e-filing portal and log in to your account using the log in credentials.
Step 2: Click on ‘e-File’>‘Income Tax Returns’>’View Filed Returns’.

Step 3: Go to the relevant assessment year for which you want to check the refund and check the ITR status. In the given screenshot below, you can check the refund status of the assessment year 2024-25. To view the details, you can click on ‘View details’.

Step 4: The status of your refund will be displayed in a new window along with the information.

If your ITR is processed but refund is not issued, it will show status ‘Processed with refund due’. It normally takes 20 to 45 days after the ITR processing to receive the refund amount.

You can also visit the tin-nsdl website (https://tin.tin.nsdl.com/oltas/refundstatuslogin.html) to check the income tax refund status. The refund status will be displayed after you enter the PAN, relevant assessment year and the captcha code in the above link.

What is the status if income tax refund is received?

The status will be ‘refund issued’ when the refund is received. And you can find all the refund details, such as mode of payment, refund amount, and the clearance date, as shown below.

Related articles:

Process to claim income tax refund
How to claim TDS refund