If you’re still waiting for your income tax refund, you’re not alone. Many taxpayers are experiencing longer-than-usual delays this year. Although a large number of people have already received their refunds, several claims are on hold after being flagged for review by the income tax department’s system. In total, 6.97 crore ITRs were filed for the assessment year 2025-26.

Why Are Some Tax Refunds Delayed?

CBDT Chairman Ravi Agrawal has explained that the income tax department is currently reviewing cases where deduction claims appear questionable, which has slowed down the processing of certain refunds. He added that genuine refund cases are expected to be cleared by December.

Agrawal said some applications were flagged as “high-value” or “red-flagged” by the system due to the type of deductions claimed. “We have also written to the taxpayers to file a revised return in case they have forgotten something,” he told reporters at an event at Bharat Mandapam, according to PTI.

How to Track Your Income Tax Refund Status

Checking your refund status is simple and can be done online in just a few steps:

– Visit the Income Tax e-filing portal.

– Log in using your User ID and password.

– Go to ‘e-File’ → Income Tax Returns → View Filed Returns.

– Select the assessment year 2025-26 to view your refund details.

– Once you open it, the status will show whether your refund is ‘under processing’, ‘partial refund adjusted’, ‘full refund adjusted’, or ‘refund failure’.

When Can Taxpayers Expect Their Refunds?

Agrawal said the department is already clearing smaller refund amounts, while reviewing claims that appear incorrect or questionable. He explained the process is ongoing. “Low-value refunds are being released. We have analysed and found that some wrong refunds or deductions were being claimed. So, this is a continuous process. We hope to release the remaining refunds by this month or by December,” Agrawal told PTI.

Deductors who have deposited extra TDS or TCS with the government are entitled to interest at 0.5% per month on the excess amount. This interest is calculated from the date the refund application is submitted or, in cases related to orders under Sections 250, 254, or 260, from the date the tax was originally paid—and continues until the refund is released.

Why Your Income Tax Refund May Fail

Sometimes a refund may not reach your bank account even after it has been processed by the Income Tax Department. Here are some common reasons why the credit might fail:

PAN is inoperative: If your PAN is not linked with Aadhaar, the refund will fail and you’ll receive a warning to complete the linking.

Bank account not pre-validated: Refunds are issued only to pre-validated bank accounts, so make sure yours is verified on the portal.

Name mismatch: If the name on your bank account is different from the name on your PAN, the payment may be rejected.

Invalid IFSC code: An incorrect or outdated IFSC code can block the transfer.

Closed bank account: If the account mentioned in your ITR is no longer active, the refund cannot be processed.