How long is Income Tax Return processing and refund issuance taking in AY 2025-26?

For the current tax filing season (assessment year 2025-26), the Income Tax Department has cut down the average ITR processing and refund issuing time to an unprecedented 17 days from 93 days back in 2013, according to media reports.

In 2024, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in Parliament that the average time to process income tax returns (ITR) has dropped from 93 days in FY 2013-14 to 10 days in FY 2023-24.

The IT department has been trying to cut the processing time for a few years and has shown tremendous improvement in the current filing period. 

Some taxpayers have reported receiving their refunds within four hours of filing and verifying their return, marking a significant shift from previous years. 

On July 17 last month, a taxpayer, MK Nathan, shared his experience on the social media platform X, saying that his ITR was processed and the refund was issued in just 24 hours. 

"The new #ITR1 form filed yes'day @ 12:28PM&it got processed & confirmation email recd within 🔟Hrs @ 8:57PM. #IncomeTax Refund recd within 1️⃣2️⃣Hrs @ 8:18AM after it has been processed. Hope this is d record tat #ITR form processed& refund issued within 2️⃣4️⃣Hrs," the taxpayer wrote on X, tagging the Income Tax department.

The IT department replied to the appreciation post saying, "Glad to hear that. Thank you for the acknowledgement."

Further, refund claims of ITR-1 are considered to be prioritised, followed by ITR-2 and 3, due to their simplicity. Refund claims also get delayed if the ITR is filed too close to the deadline. 

Over 1.3 crore income tax returns (ITRs) have already been filed, and more than 1.2 crore returns have been verified by taxpayers. 

Is there a delay this year?

While the refund process has been expedited, the system has been made even more robust and vigilant to prevent tax fraud and identify fake deduction claims. The IT department this year is using sources like AIS (Annual Information Statement) and Form 26AS to verify information and catch fraudulent claims.

However, the stricter security has also caused some delays as the IT department is looking at old returns as well, and following rigorous verification and additional document checks. 

Taxpayers must ensure that they have pre-validated their bank account, linked their PAN-Aadhaar and corrected errors (if any) made by them in the filing to receive timely returns. The IT department also offers interest on delays on refunds, and while delays can be frustrating, taxpayers are advised to remain patient.