ITR Refund Delays Explained: Reasons, Latest CBDT Update, and How to Check Your Refund Status

This year, income tax refunds are getting delayed more than usual. Tax professionals say that even simple, routine returns are taking longer to process. According to CBDT data, personal income tax refunds have dropped to Rs 88,548 crore by early November, compared to Rs 1.42 lakh crore during the same time last year. Overall, the government has paid out a little over Rs 2.42 lakh crore in refunds up to November 10 about 18% less than last year.

On November 17, CBDT Chairman Ravi Agrawal said, “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.”

Reasons for Delay

Tax professional says that delays happened due to the following factors:

• Late release of ITR forms
• Increased verification checks and
• Processing constraints at the Centralised Processing Centre

How to check ITR refund status online?

Following is the step-by-step guide to check your ITR refund status:

Step 1: Go to the Official Income Tax e-filing portal.

Step 2: Log in with your documents.

Step 3: Navigate to the Refund/Demand status section from the e-file menu.

Step 4: Select the applicable Assessment Year (AY 2025-26).

Step 5: Lastly, select ‘View Details’ to check the status of your income tax refund.