(Updated on Feb 2012)
Inspite of the income tax filing delay, a lot of people who don’t usually itemize have filed their taxes and anxiously waiting for their refund. You can easily check your federal and state income tax return refund status. I have compiled the information on how to check the refund status with IRS for federal returns and each state’s department of revenue for your state return. You will need a few pieces of information in hand to check the status
- Your Social Security Number (or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number)
- Your Filing Status
- The exact whole dollar amount of your refund
Federal Income tax return refund status
You can generally get information about your refund 72 hours after IRS acknowledges receipt of your e-filed return. If you filed a paper return you will have to wait for 3 to 4 weeks for the information to be updated online. With all the free e-file options, all the more reason to e-file this year. After the waiting period you can check your tax refund status either using the IRS online tool “Where’s my refund?” or by calling (800) 829-4477 (this service is automated, so you can use it 24/7).
IRS is keeping up with the technology and there is an app for it too. You can download the android app or iphone app and check your refund status using the IRS2Go apps. The apps look neat, they also include an option to get tax tips delivered to your phone.
State tax return refund status
What about my state tax refund? You can find that out too! Every state that levies personal income tax, has either online tools and/or phone hotlines to provide up to date information on the status of your refund. The information required by each of them is slightly different, but at the minimum you will be asked to provide the same information as the federal tax status check.
| State | Online Tax Refund Status | Phone number to check the tax status |
|---|---|---|
| AL | Alabama Dept. of Revenue | 800-558-3912 |
| AK | Alaska has no state income tax | |
| AZ | Arizona Dept. of Revenue | 602-255-3381 or 800-352-4090 |
| AR | Arkansas Dept. of Finance and Admin. | 501-682-0200 or 800-438-1992 |
| CA | California Franchise Tax Board | 800-852-5711 |
| CO | Colorado Dept. of Revenue | 303-238-3278 |
| CT | Connecticut Dept. of Revenue | 860-297-5962 |
| DE | Delaware Dept. of Revenue | 302-577-8784 |
| FL | Florida Dept. of Revenue (sales tax, use tax, etc.) | 850-488-8937 |
| GA | Georgia Dept. of Revenue | 877-423-6711 |
| HI | Hawaii Dept. of Taxation | 808-587-4242 |
| ID | Idaho Tax Commission | 208-334-7660 |
| IL | Illinois Dept. of Revenue | 800-732-8866 |
| IN | Indiana Dept. of Revenue | 317-232-2240 |
| IA | Iowa Dept. of Revenue | 515-281-4966 |
| KS | Kansas Dept. of Revenue | 800-894-0318 |
| KY | Kentucky Dept. of Revenue | 502-564-1600 |
| LA | Louisiana Dept. of Revenue | 225-219-0102 |
| ME | Maine Revenue Services | 207-626-8475 |
| MD | Maryland Comptroller | 800-218-8160 |
| MA | Massachusetts Dept. of Revenue | 800-392-6089 |
| MI | Michigan Dept. of Treasury | 517-373-3200 |
| MN | Minnesota Revenue | 651-296-3781 |
| MS | Mississippi Tax Commission | 601-923-7801 |
| MO | Missouri Dept. of Revenue | 573-526-8299 |
| MT | Montana Dept. of Revenue | 866-859-2254 |
| NE | Nebraska Dept. of Revenue | 800-742-7474 |
| NV | Nevada has no state income tax | |
| NH | New Hampshire has no state income tax | |
| NJ | There is no option to check online | 800-323-4400 (within NJ, NY, PA, DE, and MD) or 609-826-4400 (anywhere) |
| NM | New Mexico Taxation and Revenue | 505-476-3778 |
| NY | New York Dept. of Taxation and Finance | 518-457-5149 |
| NC | North Carolina Dept. of Revenue | 877-252-4052 |
| ND | Office of State Tax Commissioner | 701-328-2770 |
| OH | Ohio Dept. of Taxation Services | 800-282-1780 |
| OK | There is no option to check online | 405-521-3160 or 800-522-8165 (in-state toll free) |
| OR | Oregon Dept. of Revenue | 503-378-4988 |
| PA | Pennsylvania Dept. of Revenue Services | 717-787-8201 |
| RI | Rhode Island Division of Taxation | 401-574-8941 |
| SC | South Carolina Dept. of Revenue | There are 6 locations to assist. |
| SD | South Dakota has no state income tax | |
| TN | Tennessee has no state income tax | |
| TX | Texas has no state income tax | |
| UT | Utah Tax Commission | 801-297-2200 |
| VT | Vermont Dept. of Taxes | 802-828-0145 |
| VA | Virginia Dept. of Taxation | 804-367-2486 |
| WA | Washington has no personal income tax | |
| WV | West Virginia Dept. of Revenue | 304-558-3333 |
| WI | Wisconsin Dept. of Revenue | 866-947-7363 |
| WY | Wyoming has no state income tax | |
[Canadians can check their tax refund status here - Online ]
If you receive a refund every year, you might want to adjust your withholding (Form W4) to have less taxes withheld from your paycheck, an increase in cash flow. If you think of your tax refund as a forced saving, you might want to consider opening a savings account and directing all the extra cash you get by adjusting your withholding into it. The choice of how to spend your tax refund, whether you are getting a few hundred dollars or several thousand dollars, is endless. Explore your options, make a plan and spend it wisely! Have you filed already? Are you in the “very-happy-with-my-large-refund” camp or “never-give-an-interest-free-loan-to-uncle-sam” camp 
?
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Suba, Great resource… Now if only I can find some time to actually do my taxes
I remember using that last year, although premature for this year.
Hmmmm…. maybe I should move to one of those states that has no income tax.
I’m in the grind-my-teeth-and-get-a-headache-everytime-I-think-about-taxes camp.
Wow! Your post is very informative. Great resource Suba!
That’s good advice to decrease withholding from your paycheck if you frequently receive large tax refunds. I received tax refunds in the range of 2-3k in 2009 and 2010, so about half way through 2010, I made that adjustment! We shall see how it turns out on this year’s taxes!
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