Tax day, April 15, is still two months away, but nothing stops tax filers from filing their taxes early, and starting the clock for their refund.
The IRS said last month that “tax refund season” officially began on January 27, and the agency announced that day that “millions” of tax returns had already been received that day. The IRS also said that more than 140 million individual tax returns were expected this year, with about half of them filed with the help of a tax professional.
2025 Tax Refund: How Long Should It Take?
The IRS states that the majority of tax refunds are issued within 21 days. The agency also cautions tax filers “not to rely on receiving a refund by a certain date, especially when making major purchases or paying bills.”
According to H&R Block, those who file early usually receive their tax refund within four to six weeks, while those who file later usually have to wait closer to eight weeks.
Those who have already filed their taxes are asked to visit the IRS’s “Where’s My Refund?” Page or the IRS2Go mobile app to check the status.
A Recent History of Tax Refund Wait Times
In 2020, with the pandemic in full swing, IRS offices closed, and many IRS employees working remotely, tax refunds were delayed significantly, with many taxpayers still waiting on their refunds as late as the fall of 2021.
In March of 2021, the Government Accountability Office issued a series of recommendations to address that backlog, although the IRS disagreed with several of them. However, legislation passed in 2022 helped reduce wait times.
Inflation Reduction and Wait Time Reduction
The Inflation Reduction Act was passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in 2022, and it included $80 billion in new funding for the IRS over ten years, although that funding was later reduced to $60 billion. Various Republican politicians attempted to weaponize anti-IRS sentiments against this funding, including misleading references to an “army” of “87,000 new IRS agents.”
Much of the attention on that funding was related to enforcement, and according to one study, the agency successfully collected billions in unpaid taxes, with the IRS spending just 34 cents for every $100 that it collected through audits.
But some of that funding also went towards making things easier for taxpayers, including when it comes to refund wait times.
According to the National Taxpayer Advocate, the IRA allocated $3.2 billion for taxpayer services, $4.8 billion to modernize the agency’s IT systems, and $25.3 billion to “support its taxpayer service and enforcement operations.” Those allowed the IRS to hire more people to help deal with that backlog of unprocessed tax returns.
That Taxpayer Advocate, Erin M. Collins, issued her annual report to Congress in January, in which she stated that “the taxpayer experience has noticeably improved” and added that taxpayers “generally received timely refunds,” although the IRS continues to lag in other areas.
Collins, who was appointed in March 2020 by Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, also urged Congress that, should they cut IRS enforcement funding, to avoid making cuts at the same time to taxpayers services and IT.
What Now?
Between the federal hiring freeze and the offers of buyouts for federal employees, the IRS is facing another potential staffing crunch, according to a Moneywise column published earlier this week. It added that IRS employees cannot accept buyouts until May 15, after the end of tax season.
Elon Musk’s DOGE even visited the IRS this week, seeking access to sensitive data, CNN reported. Gavin Kliger, a DOGE software engineer, will “serve as a senior adviser to the acting IRS commissioner.”
Former President of the United States Donald Trump speaking with attendees at the 2023 Turning Point Action Conference at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.
One senator even tied all of these Trump actions to customers’ tax refunds.
“My office is hearing that DOGE is now at the IRS,’ Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said on X this week. “That means Musk’s henchmen are in a position to dig through a trove of data about every taxpayer in America. And if your refund is delayed, they could very well be the reason.”
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
