What’s your 2020 tax return status? How to track it and your refund money with

With the tax deadline extended to May 17, you have some extra time to get your taxes filed, if you haven’t done so already. This gives you and the IRS some wiggle room now that the third stimulus checks are in the mail. On the other hand, if you’ve filed already, your refund is likely due any day now. However, the third stimulus check is complicating matters and causing delays with the IRS, which could affect your refund arrival — and even how much stimulus money you could get (more on that stimulus tax situation here).

You can begin checking the status of your 2020 tax return online 24 hours after filing to find out when your check could arrive. There are actually two ways to track your refund, and we’ll explain both.

Our chart below also lists some dates your refund could appear, depending on when you filed. But if you still need to file, we suggest doing so online, since e-filing is more convenient for both you and the IRS — the agency is asking people to avoid sending in a paper return this year. We also recommend setting up direct deposit to get your refund sooner. (And this is everything we know so far about a fourth stimulus check, and here are seven tax breaks for 2020.) This story was updated recently. 

Here are 2 easy ways to check your 2020 tax refund status online

You need several things on hand to track the status of your tax refund: your Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, your filing status — for example, single, married or head of household — and your exact refund amount in whole dollars, which can be found on your tax return.

Using the IRS tool Where’s My Refund, enter your Social Security number or ITIN, your filing status and your exact refund amount, then press Send. If you entered your information correctly, you’ll be taken to a page that shows the status of your refund. If not, you may be asked to verify your personal tax data and try again. If all the information looks correct, you’ll need to enter the date you filed your taxes, along with whether you filed electronically or on paper.

There’s also a mobile app, called IRS2Go, that you can use to check your tax refund status. The IRS updates the data in this tool overnight each day, so if you don’t see a status change after 24 hours or more, check back the next day.

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Your IRS tax return status definition: Received, Approved, Sent

Both the IRS tools (online and mobile) will show you one of three messages to explain your tax return status.

• Received: The IRS now has your tax return and is working to process it.
• Approved: The IRS has processed your return and confirmed the amount of your refund, if you’re owed one. 
• Sent: Your refund is now on its way to your bank via direct deposit, or as a paper check to your mailbox. (Here’s how to change your address now if you moved.)