Where's My Refund?

Most people are elated if they discover that they will be receiving a large tax refund from the United States government. They immediately start dreaming about what they will do with the money. A few will choose to save their money, but most will dream about all the things they can now buy. After all that dreaming, waiting to receive the check or direct deposit can be excruciating. For those unwilling to shell out extra money for a rapid refund, the Internal Revenue Service website gives visitors an alternate way to help the time pass more quickly.

The Internal Revenue Service website (www.irs.gov) allows visitors to check the status of their refunds online. This feature is called Where's My Refund? Anyone can tract their tax refund status whether they are receiving a check by mail or having their return directly deposited into one or more accounts.

In order to check the status of your tax return, you need to enter three bits of information. The first thing you must enter is your social security number or IRS individual taxpayer identification number. Secondly, you will have to choose your filing status (single, married - filing jointly, married - filing separately, head of household or qualifying widow or widower). The final piece of information that you must enter is the exact amount of your refund that you are to receive, according to your filed tax return. Rest assured that your information will be safe on this secure website.

After entering this information, the website will notify you of your refund status. If it is already determined, the website will let you know when you will receive your refund. This is useful information for many.

The Where's My Refund? feature will also notify visitors of any mistakes made in the filing of their taxes. It allows people to see if their refund amount will differ due to any errors.

If you have trouble using the Where's My Refund? feature, you can also call the refund hotline at 1-800-829-1954 four weeks after filing to check the status of your tax refund.

People who file their taxes by mail should receive their refund within six weeks. Those who file electronically should receive their tax return within three weeks.

If you are still waiting to receive your check, visit the Internal Revenue Service's website and check out the Where's My Refund feature to see how when you can start spending your money on those dreams.