he IRS extension refund status can be checked through the ‘Where’s My Refund?,’ accessible on the portal of the Internal Revenue Service. If you have filed an electronic refund by October 15, 2025, you should know that it will be processed within 21 days.
The refund for the on-paper return filer is going to be received within eight weeks. Note that the IRS has officially disclosed that after e-filing, one can check the refund status within 24 hours, but in the case of on-paper filing, one has to wait at least 4 weeks to check the status.
By checking the tax refund status, you can find out if your tax return is received, accepted, or sent. Once the refund is sent by the IRS, it takes hardly a few hours to be received via direct deposit, but in the case of a paper check, it takes up to a week and even more.
How to check the IRS Extension Refund Status 2025?
To check the IRS extension refund status for tax year 2024, we have shared the step-by-step instructions available below.
1). Go to the official website of the Internal Revenue Service at irs.gov/.
2). Jump to the section Tools & applications, and click on the ‘Where’s My Refund?’ option.
3). Tap on the Check your refund button, and get redirected to the next page.
4). Fill in your Social Security Number.
5). Choose the tax year as 2024.
6). Opt for filing status as Single, Married-Filing Joint Return, Married-Filing Separate Return, Head of Household, or Qualifying Widow(er)/Surviving Spouse.
7). Enter the refund amount in the figure and click the Submit button.
By going through the instructions given above, you will successfully have checked that your refund is received, accepted, or sent.
What are the meanings of the different refund statuses?
After filing for the return, it goes through three stages: received, accepted, and sent. Get the details about each from the below.
- Received: The Internal Revenue Service has received your refund, but they are yet to review and process it.
- Accepted: Your tax return is accepted by the IRS; it will be sent out through the opted payment method.
- Sent: The payout is sent via the opted payment gateway by the IRS; you will receive it shortly.
Note that if the payment is sent out via the direct deposit, it is received within a few hours. In the case of a paper check, you will receive it in 7 days or even earlier.
When to expect the tax refund?
The tax refund for the tax year 2024 is received within 21 days in the case of e-filing. If you have electronically filed your return for the tax year 2024 on October 15, 2025, you can expect the payout in early November 2025. If you have filed an on-paper return, you can expect the payout by late November 2025.
If you have claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit, you may have to wait longer to get the refund. Because the processing of these tax credits takes a little more time. Once the refund is accepted by the IRS, the ‘Where’s My Refund?’ tool will also show you a date for the direct deposit.
What if the tax refund is delayed?
If you don’t get your tax refund by the due date for the tax year 2024, you need to get in touch with the Internal Revenue Service. Note that you will get your direct deposit within 21 days (3 weeks) after the filing only if all the details on your tax return are found to be true.
If you have opted to get the tax refund via paper check, you may face a delay in getting the refund. Usually paper checks take a week to 10 days to be received in the mailbox, but in some cases, such as work load, certain weather conditions, etc., they may be delayed by weeks.
Disclaimer: IRS extension refund status 2025 information is for reference only. Actual refund processing and eligibility are determined by the IRS.