Income Tax Refund Delay: Taxpayers Alert! IT Dept Speeds Up Refund Claims Process; How To Check Refund Status?

Lakhs of taxpayers have been waiting for their income tax refund for over three months now. As per the latest reports, the Income Tax Department has sped up the process of crediting ITR refunds to taxpayers' accounts. These also include high-value refunds. Taxpayers can check the status of their refunds through the e-filing portal.

Income Tax Refund: Latest Update

According to reports, in the past 24 hours, a sharp surge in the clearing of refund claims has been noticed. The reports said that a large number of taxpayers have received their refunds on February 12 and February 13.

Many media houses cited CA statements whose several clients even saw refunds of large sums up to Rs 17 lakh being credited to their accounts. But they also added that many high-value refunds are still pending and are expected to be cleared in subsequent processing cycles.

How Many Taxpayers Are Yet To Receive Income Tax Refund:

When asked about the status of income tax returns, in a written reply to Rajya Sabha, the Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said that approximately 1.11 crore ITRs filed were updated or revised in over two years. Of these, a total number of 8,79,62,234 returns were filed for assessment year 2025-26 and about 24.64 lakh returns are pending or processing for more than 90 days.

Also, additional tax paid in the updated ITRs were to the tune of Rs 6,976.50 crore. While refunds claim adjusted against the additional tax payments in December 2025 stood at Rs 1,834.09 crore.

Why Your Income Tax Refund Is Delayed?

One of the reasons behind the delay is that the Income Tax department officials are cross-checking returns with Annual Information Statement (AIS) and other financial data when the income tax refund amount is high. The aim is to ensure accuracy and eliminate any errors related to refund.

In the case of assessment year 2025-26, the department launched data-driven NUDGE (Non- intrusive Usage of Data to Guide and Enable) Campaign.

According to Chaudhary, this campaign is an extensive technology-driven initiatives that leverage data analytics, legislative enablement, behavioral insights and digital communication platforms for improved tax collection efficiency by shifting the focus from post-facto enforcement to preventive, technology enabled compliance in a non-intrusive manner.

There are seven stages of this strategy called as SAKSHAM:

1. Sankalan - Systematic compilation and collection of data/information from diverse sources

2. Anusandhan - Robust research, analysis and insight generation for risk identification

3. Kriyanvyan - Converting insight into actionable interventions for targeted outcomes

4. Sampark - Proactive communication to create awareness and guide compliance behaviour

5. Hastak - Handholding and facilitation to assist taxpayers in fulfilling obligations

6. Adhikaar - Ensuring rights, transparency and enablement, fostering trust and fairness

7. Mulyankan - Continuous monitoring and evaluation to measure impact and refine actions

Hence, the process of analysing could take time and eventually delay your ITR refunds.

Apart from the above, some of the common reasons to why ITR refund is taking time are mismatches and errors in filing. For instance it is compulsory to pre-validate your bank accounts which is pivotal for EVC (electronic verification code) for e-Verification purpose. Also, if the bank account mentioned in the ITR is closed or inactive.

Also, if the name mentioned in your bank account does not matches with your PAN card details, then your ITR could be delayed. Notably, if you have an invalid IFSC code, the IT department may hold your refund until your rectify the problem.

How To Check ITR Refund Status?

ITR Refund Status On Income Tax Portal:

Step 1: Visit the e-filing website https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/

Step 2: Click on the Login button and enter your PAN details and password.

Step 3: Upon successful login, the user will land on the Home Page. On the Taskbar of the Home page, click on e-file --> Income Tax Returns --> View Filed Returns

Step 4: Complete timeline of the Income Tax Returns filed by the user will be displayed Assessment Year wise in which Refund status for particular AY will be reflected.