Where is my tax payment in 2025? How to track the status of your money

It’s only a few days since the start of the tax season, but if you have submitted your tax return early, you might be wondering when your refund arrives. There is a simple way to find out when your money is coming – you can use the IRS tool that allows you to see the status of your tax refund. We explain how to track the status of your refund and any money the IRS owes you.

For more tax tips, here is when you could expect to receive your childcare credit money. Haven’t you filed yet? Here are some of the best tax software settings for 2025.

This story is part of Taxes 2025CNET’s coverage of the best tax software, tax tips and everything else you need to file your return and track your refund.

Track the status of your 2025 Tax Refund

The fastest way to check the status of your tax refund is by using the IRS tool Where is my refund? Tracker. The tool tells you where you are in the process and also lets you know if there are problems with your return, such as rejection due to errors.

This status information is updated once every day overnight.

How to get started

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To use the tracker, you must specify your social security number (or individual taxpayer’s identification number), your filing status (single, poison or household manager) and your reimbursement amount throughout dollars.

Visit the Tracker page on the IRS site and click the Check your refund button. Once you are directed to the Refund Status page, enter your details and click Send. You should be addressed to your refund status.

Please note that it takes 24 hours after you e-file your 2025 return or four weeks after you have submitted a paper return for your status to appear.

What are the different statuses?

When you check the IRS tool for your refund status, it will show you one of three messages.

  • Received: IRS has your tax return and is working to process it.
  • Approved: IRS has processed your return and confirmed the amount of your refund (if applicable).
  • Sent: Your tax refund is on the way to your bank via direct deposit or as a paper check sent to your mailbox.

Other resources to track your refund

IRS has a mobile app, IRS2GOthat may monitor your status of tax refund. The app can be downloaded for both iOS and Android and available in English and Spanish.

On the app you can track if your return has been received, approved or sent.

To log in, you need your social security number, filing status and the expected amount of your refund. IRS also updates the app overnight, so if you don’t see a status change, check back the following day.

Can I trace a refund from a previous tax year?

Yes, where is my refund? The tool allows you to track a refund since the tax year 2022.

If you are looking for return information from years before tax season 2022, check your IRS online account. You can see the total amount you owe, your payment history, details of your latest tax return, messages you received from the IRS and your address of the file.

Why do I see taxpayer 152 or an IRS error message?

On Where is my refund? Tracker, you can see a status other than received, approved or sent. How to decode what these messages mean.

  • Tax Topic 152: This means you are likely to get a refund, but it has not been approved or issued yet. This message includes a link to an informative page on the IRS FAQ website explaining refund types and timelines.

  • Tax Topic 151: Your tax return is during the IRS review. This may be to verify certain credits or relatives or because the IRS believes you owe money, which can result in a reduced refund. You have to wait for four weeks for a message from the IRS describing what steps to take.

There are other IRS refund codes that apply to a small number of files, such as those indicating problems with freezing, math errors or non -delivered control. You can visit the college’s investor for a list of IRS Refund Reference Codes and what they mean.

Why was my refund sent instead of sent via direct deposit?

Archiving electronic and setting up direct deposit is the fastest method of receiving your tax refund. In fact, this combination can give you your tax refund of about 21 days as opposed to the four weeks it usually takes for a paper control.

There are several reasons why your refund may be sent instead of being directly deposited into your bank account:

  • You must have given the correct account and routing numbers for deposit to review.
  • Direct deposits can only be made to an account in your name, your spouse’s name or a joint account with both names.
  • IRS can only process direct deposits for up to three refunds to a single account.

If you receive a refund check via mail, here is how to track it from the IRS to your mailbox.

For more tax tips, explore how to archive taxes for free and the tax maturs for 2025. Here, too, our cheating is to archive your taxes and our choices for the best tax software.