How Do You Check Your Income Tax Refund Status?

10 Aug 2021|

4 min read |

by ICICI Securities Team

Introduction

The Indian IT department has digitalized the taxation process to stay up-to-date and offer convenience to taxpayers. You get a simple, online facility to check the refund status for the ITR now.

Understanding the basics of Income Tax Refund

If you pay over and above your actual income tax liability, you will receive a refund of the excess amount paid from the IT department. That is your ITR refund.

How to claim a refund?

You can claim an IT refund by filing your ITR and getting it verified. Once this is done, the IT department will assess and verify your claim. If they find it valid, they will process your refund successfully.

How much of your refund claim can you get?

When you claim for a refund, it gets processed by the IT department. The tax authorities assess and verify your claim. The amount of refund you get is based on this assessment. It could match the amount you have claimed, or it may be more or less than it. You will be notified about the refund amount you are eligible to receive from the IT department under section 143(1) by the Central Processing Centre (CPC).

How to check your ITR refund status?

Once you have been intimated about the amount of refund you will receive, it will get processed by the IT department. You can check your refund status through either of these channels:

IT e-filing Portal
TIN NSDL portal

Guide to check your Refund status through IT e-filing Portal

Visit the IT e-filing portal (www.incometax.gov.in) and log in to your account using your credentials.
Click on the 'View Returns / Forms' option on the Dashboard.
On the landing page, your PAN will be auto-populated. Choose 'Income Tax Returns' from the dropdown menu against 'Select an Option'. Plug in your relevant Assessment Year (AY) and submit it.
The details of your filed and verified ITR will appear. Click on the 'Acknowledgment Number'.
The landing page will have a date and event-wise status report. Your Refund status details will be mentioned at the bottom of this report as pending or paid. If your refund has been paid, this report will also give out information on the refund clearance date and its mode of payment so that you can accordingly verify the same using your bank records.

Guide to check your Refund status through Tax Information Network (TIN) Portal

TIN is an initiative by the Indian IT department to modernize and simplify the current taxation systems. You can click on this link to go to the 'Refund Tracking' page of this Portal.
Next, submit your details regarding your PAN and Assessment.
The landing page will give out the Refund Status with its clearance date and its mode of payment

Decoding different Refund Statuses

Refund Status	What does it mean, and what you can do about it?
Refund Paid	Your ITR processing is complete, and your refund has been paid. If you haven't received it yet, you should connect with your bank to figure out the problem.
No Demand No Refund	You are not required to be taxed as per the IT department, and hence you stand ineligible for a refund. If you still think you are eligible for your refund claim, you could revise your ITR and file it again.
Refund Unpaid	Your claim for a refund has been verified. However, you have not received your refund due to issues with your bank or address details. In this case, you should update your correct information about the IT portal and request a refund again.
Refund Status Not Determined	Your refund claim is yet to be processed. You could try checking for your refund status after a couple of days in this case
Refund Sent Out to Refund Banker	Your claim for a refund has been processed. Your refund has been initiated by sending out information to the Refund Banker. Here, you should wait for your refund to be credited to your account.
Demand Determined	The IT department finds an error in your tax calculation. It finds pending tax liability towards you. You can verify the error by reviewing the calculation mentioned in 143(1). If you find an error, make the required payment, and if there is no error, you should revise your ITR with supporting documentation for justification and request a refund again.
Rectification Processed, Refund Determined, and Details Sent to Refund Banker	Your revised ITR has been accepted, and your corresponding refund has been processed. You can contact your bank to check if your refund is credited.
Rectification Processed and Demand Determined	Your revised ITR has been accepted, but the IT department still finds outstanding tax liability towards you. In this case, you must verify the details and make the necessary payments.
Rectification Processed, No Demand, and No Refund	Your revised ITR has been accepted, and as per the calculations of the IT department, you don't have an additional tax liability, and you aren't eligible for a refund either.

Conclusion

It's always nice to receive an IT refund back. It's more like a gift to you, from yourself. So, even if you're done filing your return and having it verified, your job isn't done. You should keep an eye on the refund procedure. And remember, the key to a faster process of getting your refund is e-filing your ITR.

Additional Read: How to File Your Child's First Income Tax

Disclaimer

ICICI Securities Ltd.( I-Sec). Registered office of I-Sec is at ICICI Securities Ltd. - ICICI Centre, H. T. Parekh Marg, Churchgate, Mumbai - 400020, India, Tel No : 022 - 2288 2460, 022 - 2288 2470. Please note, filing of tax related services are not Exchange traded products and I-Sec is acting as a distributor to solicit these products. All disputes with respect to the distribution activity, would not have access to Exchange investor redressal forum or Arbitration mechanism. The contents herein above shall not be considered as an invitation or persuasion to trade or invest. I-Sec and affiliates accept no liabilities for any loss or damage of any kind arising out of any actions taken in reliance thereon. The contents herein mentioned are solely for informational and educational purpose. Investments in securities market are subject to market risks, read all the related documents carefully before investing.

Disclaimer