How to check your income tax refund status

For the assessment year 2025-26, over 1.15 crore income tax returns (ITRs) have already been filed, and more than 1.09 crore have been verified. However, many taxpayers are waiting for their refunds and are getting concerned over the delay. 

Taxpayers receive an income tax refund when the tax they’ve already paid to the government is more than their actual liability. This happens due to many reasons, including excess Tax Deducted at Source (TDS), advance tax overpayment, deductions, exemptions, capital gains adjustments, or errors in taxation. 

You can claim a refund while filing your ITR, and it is usually credited to your bank account within 4 to 5 weeks of e-verification of the ITR. In cases of delay, taxpayers can raise a grievance on the income tax portal or contact the IT department’s helpline. 

How to check your income tax refund status

The status of the income tax refund can be checked online easily on the income tax portal or the NSDL portal.    

Ensure that you pre-validate your bank account and e-verify your ITR to receive the refund on time. Without e-verification, the ITR process is incomplete, and the refund amount will not be credited to your account. 

If your refund is delayed, some reasons might include missing/incorrect bank account details, a mismatch between returns and Form 26AS/AIS, pending e-verification or any pending notices. Further, if you’ve filed ITR too close to the deadline, which is September 31 this year, the refund processing might be delayed due to the high volume of return filing.

Interest on income tax refund

There is also interest on the income tax refund, which acts as a compensation for the delay in refund processing. The period for which interest is payable depends on when you filed the ITR:

• If you file the ITR before the due date, interest is calculated from April 1 of the assessment year until the refund is issued.
• If you file the ITR after the due date, interest is calculated from the date of filing the ITR until the date the refund is issued.

Further, there are conditions on interest payments. Interest on income tax refund isn't payable:

• If the refund amount is less than 10% of the total tax liability for the year.
• If the refund amount is below ₹100.

Interest is only payable on valid refunds processed by the Income Tax Department. The rate of interest is 0.5% per month (6% per annum) on the refund amount.