Income tax refund delayed? Here’s how to track status online

With the deadline for filing the Income Tax Return (ITR) ending on September 16, 2025, many taxpayers are now waiting to receive their refunds. Before checking the status of your refund, it is important to ensure that your ITR has been accepted and processed by the Income Tax Department.

Once your income tax return is e-verified, the refund process is initiated. Typically, refunds are credited to the taxpayer’s bank account within four to five weeks after the ITR has been filed. However, the actual timeline varies depending on the complexity of the ITR filed.

According to industry experts, much of this depends on whether the return was filed accurately, whether the bank details were verified, whether the entered information was correct, and whether the return was filed early or just before the deadline.

"The Income Tax Department has made notable strides in speeding up refund processing—many taxpayers now receive refunds within a month, and in some instances, refunds are issued just days after filing returns," said Avnish Arora, executive director, direct tax, Forvis Mazars India.

Here’s how to check your ITR refund status:

You can track the status of your income tax refund by following these steps:

• Step 1: Visit www.incometax.gov.in and log in using your PAN and password. Make sure your PAN is linked to your Aadhaar. If not, you can link it by selecting the “Link Now” option on the portal.

• Step 2: From the top menu, navigate to Services → Know Your Refund Status.

• Step 3: Click on the e-File tab, then select Income Tax Returns, and choose View Filed Returns.

• Step 4: Select the relevant assessment year, and your refund status will be displayed on the screen.

Earlier this week, the Income Tax Department extended the due date for filing ITR by a day to September 16. This extension was granted as several taxpayers and professionals were experiencing issues with the Income Tax e-filing portal, which underwent scheduled maintenance in the early hours of September 15, 2025.

This is the second extension provided to taxpayers by the department. Previously, the due date for ITR filing for the assessment year 2025-26 was July 31, 2025; it was later extended to September 15, 2025.

The IT department has revealed that more than 7 crore ITRs had already been submitted for the Assessment Year 2025-26.