The IRS issued most 2020 refunds between mid-February and late April

If you filed your 2020 return in early February, the IRS typically processed it within 21 days. That meant refunds started arriving in early March for people who chose direct deposit. If you filed later in the season — say, in March or April — your refund arrived later, often in April or May. The exact timing depended on when you filed, how you filed, and how you chose to receive your money.

The IRS does not issue refunds in the order they receive returns. Instead, they process returns in batches and issue refunds in waves. This is why two people who filed on the same day might receive their refunds a week apart.

Key Takeaways

  • Direct deposit refunds arrived faster than paper checks — typically within 21 days of filing if there were no errors on your return.
  • The IRS processed 2020 returns in batches throughout the filing season, so filing early did not may provide you received your refund first.
  • Paper checks took an additional 2 to 4 weeks after the IRS issued them, depending on mail delivery in your area.
  • If your refund did not arrive by late May 2020, the IRS Where's My Refund tool could tell you whether it was still processing or if there was a problem.

Direct deposit versus paper check — the speed difference

Direct deposit was the fastest way to receive a 2020 refund. Once the IRS approved your return, the money moved electronically to your bank account within one to three business days. Most people who chose direct deposit and filed in February received their refund by early March.

A paper check took longer. The IRS had to print the check, mail it to you, and then you had to deposit it or cash it. From the time the IRS issued the check to the time it arrived in your mailbox was typically 2 to 4 weeks, depending on where you lived and how reliable mail delivery was in your area. If you lived far from an IRS processing center, or if mail moved slowly in your region, you might have waited until May or June to see the money.

What happened if you filed late in the season

People who filed their 2020 returns in April faced longer waits. The IRS had a backlog of returns to process, and they worked through them in batches. A return filed on April 1 might not have been processed until mid-April or later, pushing the refund into May.

The filing important date for 2020 was extended to May 17, 2021, because of the pandemic. This meant people could file their 2020 return as late as May 2021 and still be on time. Anyone who filed that late received their refund in June or July 2021.

How to track your refund in real time

The IRS Where's My Refund tool was the official way to check on a 2020 refund. You could access it on the IRS website by entering your Social Security number, filing status, and the exact refund amount. The tool updated once per day, usually overnight.

The tool showed three possible statuses: "Return Received" meant the IRS had your return but had not finished processing it yet. "Refund Approved" meant the IRS had approved your return and your refund was on the way. "Refund Sent" meant the IRS had issued your refund — either electronically or as a check — and you should receive it within the timeframe for your delivery method.

If the tool said your refund was approved but you had not received it after 21 days, or if it said your refund was sent but you had not received it after 4 weeks, that was a sign something had gone wrong. You could contact the IRS at that point.

Reasons your 2020 refund might have been delayed

Some returns took longer than 21 days to process. The most common reason was an error on the return — a mismatched name, an incorrect Social Security number, or income reported on a W-2 that did not match what you reported on your return. The IRS had to stop and investigate these discrepancies before issuing the refund.

If you claimed certain credits — the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Child Tax Credit, for example — the IRS sometimes held the return for additional review. This was a compliance check and could add 2 to 4 weeks to processing time.

Bank account problems also delayed refunds. If you provided an incorrect bank account number for direct deposit, the IRS would try to deposit the money, the bank would reject it, and the IRS would have to reissue the refund as a paper check instead. That added weeks to the timeline.

What to do if your refund never arrived

If you did not receive your 2020 refund by June 2020, you had a few options. First, you could check the Where's My Refund tool again to see if the status had changed. If it still showed "Refund Sent" but you had not received the money, the check might have been lost in the mail or deposited into the wrong account.

You could contact the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040 to report a missing refund. Have your Social Security number, filing status, and the refund amount ready. The IRS could issue a replacement check or investigate whether the money had been deposited into an account you did not recognize.

If you had filed your 2020 return and never received a refund, you could also file an amended return (Form 1040-X) in a later year to claim the refund you were owed. The statute of limitations for claiming a refund was three years from the filing important date, so you had until May 2024 to claim a 2020 refund.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did the pandemic delay 2020 tax refunds?

The pandemic did cause some delays, particularly in April and May 2020 when IRS offices were closed or operating at reduced capacity. However, most refunds issued in February and March 2020 were processed on the normal timeline. Delays were more noticeable for returns filed in April and later.

What if I filed my 2020 return in 2021 because of the important date extension?

The IRS extended the 2020 filing important date to May 17, 2021. Anyone who filed by that date received their refund in June or July 2021, following the same 21-day processing timeline from their filing date.

Could I have received my 2020 refund faster by paying a tax preparer?

No. The IRS processing time was the same regardless of whether you filed yourself or used a tax preparer. Paying for expedited filing or refund services did not speed up the IRS's work. The only thing that mattered was when you filed and which delivery method you chose.

What if my bank rejected my direct deposit refund?

If your bank rejected the deposit because of an incorrect account number, the IRS reissued your refund as a paper check. This added 2 to 4 weeks to the timeline. You could have avoided this by double-checking your account number before filing.