Where Is My State Tax Refund?

How to check the status of your state tax refund

For all our kvetching, the IRS is *usually* pretty good about sending out tax refunds in a timely manner. In other countries, Australia for example, it’s not uncommon to hear of people waiting 20 or even 30 weeks for their tax refunds. All things considered, the 2 to 3 weeks the IRS makes us wait isn’t really all that bad – especially for government work.

But state tax refunds can be a different matter. They often arrive well behind your federal tax refund which, depending on your perspective, can constitute either be a pleasant surprise or an agonizing wait. Here’s how long you can expect to wait for your state tax refund and how to check its status:

• Alabama state tax refund – With your social security number and refund amount you can check your refund status on the Alabama Department of Revenue website.

• Arizona state tax refund – Arizona e-filers can expect their refunds in 15 days and paper filers in 12 weeks. If you’re curious about the status of your refund, head over to the Department of Revenue’s online tool.

• Arkansas state tax refund – Slightly quicker than other states, Arkansas claims it can get refunds from e-filed returns out in 10 days and 6-8 weeks for paper returns. Still burning to know where your refund is? You can check its status here.

• California state tax refund – The California Franchise Tax Board claims that most e-filers should receive their refunds in 7-10 days and most paper filers should receive their refunds in 8-12 weeks. California has an online tool that can help you check the status of your refund.

• Colorado state tax refund – You can check your refund status online here at Revenue Online.

• Connecticut state tax refund – Connecticut’s super speedy Department of Revenue Services claims to get refunds out to e-filers in 4 business days and to paper filers in 10-12 weeks. You can check the status of your refund here.

• Delaware state tax refund – Submit a refund inquiry online to find out where your Delaware refund is.

• District of Columbia tax refund – Residents of the nation’s capital can go online to check the status of their not-quite-a-state refund.

• Georgia state tax refund – Georgia tax refunds typically take 6 days for e-filers and 8-12 weeks for paper filers. You can check the status of your Georgia state tax refund here.

• Hawaii state tax refund – The Aloha State’s a little slower than others, as refunds are issued within 8 weeks of filing. You can check the status of your refund online here.

• Idaho state tax refund – Idaho e-filers can expect their refunds in about 4 weeks and paper filers in 10 weeks. In the meantime, the Idaho State Tax Commission allows you to check your refund online.

• Illinois state tax refund – The land of the man who introduced income tax to the United States promises you your refund in 15 weeks. You can check on your Illinois refund here.

• Indiana state tax refund – Hoosiers will have to wait 3 weeks to get their e-filed refunds and 12 weeks to get refunds from a paper return. You can check the status of your Indiana refund here.

• Iowa state tax refund – Iowans can check the status of their refund here.

• Kansas state tax refund – The normal processing time for paper filed Kansas returns is 16 weeks. E-filed returns should take somewhat less time. You can check your refund’s status here.

• Kentucky state tax refund – E-filed Kentucky refunds generally take 7-10 days and paper returns 8-12 weeks. A little behind the times, Kentucky has a number, (502) 564-1600, that you can call to check the status of your refund.

• Louisiana state tax refund – The Louisiana Department of Revenue estimates that refunds should get to e-filers in 7-10 days and to paper filers in 12-16 weeks. You can check the state of your refund with this online tool.

• Maine state tax refund - Check the status of a State of Maine refund here.

• Maryland state tax refund – Maryland paper filers can expect their refund in 30 days, and e-filers in less time than that. Marylanders can check the status of their refunds here.

• Massachusetts state tax refund – An e-filed return should get you a refund in less than a week, a paper return in less than 3 weeks. You can check the status of your Massachusetts refund online here, after you create an account.

• Michigan state tax refund – In Michigan it can take up to 2 weeks for the state to get e-filers their refunds and up to 6 weeks to get paper filers their refunds. You can check your refund’s status here.

• Minnesota state tax refund – Expect it to take 35 business days for the state to get you your refund if you e-filed and up to 90 days if you paper filed. Minnesota taxpayers can check the status of their refunds here.

• Mississippi state tax refund – Mississippi taxpayers who e-filed a return can expect their refund in 2 weeks, 8-10 weeks if they paper filed. You can check the status of your refund online.

• Missouri state tax refund – You can check the status of your Missouri refund online.

• Montana state tax refund – Check the status of your Montana refund here.

• Nebraska state tax refund – You can check the status of your Nebraska state refund here.

• New Jersey state tax refund – New Jersey allows you to check the status of your refund online. Be warned, paper filers, your information won’t even be available in the system for 6-8 weeks. E-filers, on the other hand, can expect their direct deposit in 1-2 weeks.

• New Mexico state tax refund – Check your New Mexico state tax refund here. E-file refunds generally take 2-4 weeks; paper returns take 6-8 weeks, or even 12 weeks if you filed late in the season.

• New York state tax refund – New York allows you to check on your refund here. New York gives paper filers a target of 6-8 weeks, with e-filers getting refunds faster.

• North Carolina state tax refund – Check the status of your North Carolina refund here.

• North Dakota state tax refund – Check the status your refund online a few days after you e-file or a few weeks after you paper file.

• Ohio state tax refund – E-filing can get you your refund in 7-10 days. If you paper file, however, you may have to wait 4-6 weeks. You can check on the status of your Ohio state refund here.

• Oklahoma state tax refund – Having yet to upgrade to an online system, Oklahoma says you can call (800) 522-8165 in-state toll free to check on your refund.

• Oregon state tax refund – You should get your refund 4-10 days after you e-file or 4-6 weeks after you paper file. Check your Oregon state tax refund online here.

• Pennsylvania state tax refund – You can check your PA refund status online. Note, the state requires 8-10 weeks to process returns.

• Rhode Island state tax refund – Rhode Islanders can check the status of their tax refunds here.

• South Carolina state tax refund – You can check on your SC refund here. South Carolina estimates that paper filers will get their refund in 3+ weeks and e-filers in as little as 12 days.

• Utah state tax refund – Utah allows you to check the status of your refund online, though the state warns that e-filed returns take 30 days to process and paper filed returns 90 days.

• Vermont state tax refund – You can check the status of your Vermont refund here. E-filers can expect their return in 3-4 weeks while paper filers will have to wait 6-8 weeks.

• Virginia state tax refund – Virginians can go here to check their refund status. E-filed refunds should take about a week and a paper return refunds up to 7 weeks.

• West Virginia state tax refund – You can check the status of your WV refund here. West Virginians will have to wait 8 weeks for a refund from their paper return and 3 weeks for a refund from an e-filed return.

• Wisconsin state tax refund – E-filed Wisconsin returns take a week before the refunds go out and paper returns up to 12 weeks. You can check the status of your refund here.

Photo via Si1very on Flickr. 

Tags: state taxes

This entry was posted on Monday, April 30th, 2012 at 7:42 pm and is filed under Tax Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.