Check the status of your refund

Both options are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and have the same information as our customer service representatives, without the wait of the phone queue.

What you'll need:

  • Your Social Security number
  • The year of the tax return you filed
  • Amount of the refund you're expecting

How long will it take to get your refund?

As refund fraud resulting from identify theft has become more widespread, we’re taking extra steps to review all individual income tax returns to be sure refunds go to the rightful owners. Additional safeguards can mean that it takes us longer to process your refund. 

General refund processing times during filing season: 

  • Electronically filed returns: Up to 4 weeks
  • Paper filed returns: Up to 8 weeks
  • Returns sent by certified mail: Allow an additional 3 weeks 

We issue refunds as direct deposits to checking or saving accounts, or send checks by mail. Due to electronic banking rules, we cannot issue refunds to an international bank account. We no longer offer refunds on debit cards.

Reasons your refund may be delayed

  • Problems with direct deposit - If you requested that your refund be deposited into your bank account, but the account number was entered incorrectly, the bank won't be able to process the deposit. When this happens, the bank notifies us, and we will manually re-issue your refund as a check. This process could take up to 2 weeks between the time we receive notification from the bank and when you receive the check.
  • Missing information or documents - If we send you a letter requesting more information, please respond quickly so we can continue processing your return.

Why was your refund less than you expected?

  • If your tax return had one or more errors, it may have caused a smaller refund. We will send you a letter explaining the adjustments we made and how they affected your refund.  
  • If you owe Virginia state taxes for any previous tax years, we will withhold all or part of your refund and apply it to your outstanding tax bill(s). We will send you a letter explaining the specific bill(s) and how much of your refund was applied. If you have questions or think the refund was reduced in error, please contact us.
  • If you owe money to Virginia local governments, courts, other state agencies, or the IRS, we will withhold all or part of any remaining refund to help pay these debts. The specific agency will send you a letter explaining how much you owe and how your refund was applied. The Setoff Debt Collection Act, Va. Code § 58.1-520 through § 58.1-535, authorizes Virginia Tax to collect these debts.
    • We cannot help you with questions related to this debt. You must call the agency(s) listed on your refund check stub if you believe your refund was reduced in error or have any questions related to the debt.

If you have a remaining refund balance after your debts are paid, we will send a check to the address on your most recent tax return. We cannot issue reduced refunds by direct deposit.

Why did you receive a check when you asked for direct deposit?

You will receive a check if: 

  • Your refund was reduced because we withheld part of your refund to pay authorized debts as explained above
  • We adjusted your refund amount. We will send you a letter explaining why the refund was adjusted
  • Your bank account information was incorrect or the bank account was closed
  • You provided a routing number for a bank located outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States. Due to electronic banking rules, we cannot make direct deposits to or through international financial institutions