How a refund arises, and when it is actually paid
A refund arises when the tax paid for the year, through TDS, TCS, advance tax and self-assessment tax, is more than the tax finally payable. It is claimed by filing the return, and the department's own guidance is direct on this: the refund can be claimed only through filing a return of income within the time limit prescribed under section 139. Where the excess comes from instalments, see refund of excess advance tax.
Three things must all be true before money moves.
- The return is filed.
- The return is verified, within 30 days of filing. An unverified return is treated as invalid, so no refund can arise from it.
- A bank account is validated and nominated for refund on the portal, because only a validated account can be nominated to receive an income tax refund.
The return is then processed and an intimation under section 143(1) is issued, which is where the refund figure is confirmed or changed. No statute or official page prescribes how many days processing takes, and this page does not promise one. What can be said is that a refund is not late in any legal sense until processing is done and the credit fails.
The seven reasons a refund does not arrive
Most of them have nothing to do with the department being slow.
| Reason | What you will see |
|---|---|
| The return was never verified | The return shows as filed but not processed, and the status does not move |
| No validated bank account, or none nominated for refund | The refund is determined but never credited |
| The credit failed at the bank | Status shows refund failure, often with a prompt to link PAN with Aadhaar |
| The refund was set off against an old demand | The refund is shown as fully or partly adjusted |
| The return itself was adjusted on processing | The intimation reduces or removes the refund, usually on a mismatch with the AIS or Form 26AS |
| The return was treated as defective | A notice asks you to correct it, and processing stops until you do |
| You claimed a credit that is not in the department's records | TDS that the deductor never deposited or reported cannot be refunded to you. For salary TDS, see ITR filing for salaried employees |
The first four are mechanical and you can clear them yourself. The last three are a tax problem, not a plumbing problem, and they need the return or the deductor's filing fixed.
Check the status first
Sign in to the portal and go to e-File, then Income Tax Returns, then View Filed Returns, and open View Details for the year you are chasing. That screen shows what the department has actually done, which is the only reliable starting point.
What each status means, and the fix
| Status | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Return filed, not verified | The 30-day verification window is running or has passed | Verify now. If the window has passed, the verification date becomes the filing date, which can make the return belated |
| Under processing | Filed and verified, not yet processed | Wait. No action is available and no official timeline is prescribed |
| Refund issued | Processed and paid | Check the bank account, including the one you nominated rather than the one you expected |
| Refund failure | Processing is done but the credit did not go through | Fix the bank account, then raise a reissue request |
| Refund partially adjusted | Part of the refund was set off against an outstanding demand | Read the intimation. If the demand is wrong, respond to it |
| Full refund adjusted | The whole refund went to an outstanding demand | Same as above, and check whether the demand is even yours |
| No demand, no refund | The department has computed neither | Compare the intimation with your own computation, then consider a rectification |
The bank account is the most common blocker
Only a validated bank account can be nominated to receive a refund, and validation needs a valid PAN registered on the portal and an active bank account linked with that PAN. The account holder's identity has to match the PAN records.
Common causes of a failed credit or a failed validation:
- The account is not validated, or is validated but not nominated for refund.
- The name on the account does not match the PAN.
- The IFSC has changed, usually after a bank merger.
- The account in the return has since been closed.
- PAN and Aadhaar are not linked, which the portal flags with a warning when a refund fails. See PAN registration.
Accounts you can validate include savings, current, cash credit, overdraft and NRO accounts (for a non-resident, see NRI income tax return filing). A loan account or a PPF account will fail with an invalid account error. You can validate several accounts and nominate more than one for refund. If validation fails, the account appears under failed bank accounts and you can revalidate it after correcting the details. If your bank details change after validation, the portal shows a warning symbol, and you have to bring your contact details in line with the bank's records before revalidating.
Raise a refund reissue request
This is the fix for a refund that has been determined but failed to reach you. You need to be a registered user, the return must be filed with a refund failure recorded, you must have a validated bank account, and you need one verification method available: an Aadhaar-linked mobile, a registered digital signature, or EVC through net banking, a bank account or a demat account.
The path is Services, then Refund Reissue, then Create Refund Reissue Request.
- Sign in to the portal.
- Go to Services and select Refund Reissue.
- Click Create Refund Reissue Request.
- Select the record you are requesting reissue for and continue.
- Select the validated bank account you want the refund in. Only validated accounts are listed, so add and validate a new one first if the old account is closed.
- Complete e-verification.
You get a transaction ID by email and SMS, which is what you quote in any follow-up. There is no fee for a reissue request.
When your refund is set off against an old demand
The department may, instead of paying the refund, set off the amount to be refunded, or part of it, against a sum remaining payable by you. This is the section 245 power, and it comes with a condition: it requires an intimation in writing to you of the action proposed to be taken.
So a set-off you did not expect means one of three things.
- The intimation went to an email address or postal address you no longer use.
- The demand is real, and paying it was simply overdue.
- The demand is wrong: an old year already settled, a duplicate, tax paid but not linked, or a demand raised on someone else's transaction.
Respond to the demand on the portal rather than ignoring it, because silence is read as agreement and the set-off then stands. Where the demand is wrong, the route is a response to the outstanding demand and, depending on the reason, a rectification of the order that created it. We do this work under income tax notice reply, which is the page for the reply itself.
Interest on a delayed refund
You are entitled to interest, and it is not something the department decides as a favour. Under section 244A the rate is one-half percent for every month or part of a month.
| Where the refund is from | Interest runs from |
|---|---|
| TDS, TCS or advance tax | 1 April of the assessment year, where the return was filed by the due date, otherwise from the date the return was filed, up to the date the refund is granted |
| Self-assessment tax | The later of the date the return was filed and the date the tax was paid, up to the date the refund is granted |
One limit to know: no interest is payable if the amount of the refund is less than 10% of the tax as determined. Interest is added by the department when the refund is issued, so check the intimation to see whether it was allowed for the full period.
Interest can also run the other way. Where you were granted a refund that turns out to be excessive, section 234D charges interest at 0.5% a month on the excess from the date it was granted until the regular assessment is completed.
When the refund is smaller than you expected
Read the intimation under section 143(1) line by line against your own computation. In practice the gap is almost always one of these.
- A TDS credit disallowed. The deductor did not deposit it, or reported it against the wrong PAN, quarter or year. The fix is with the deductor, and a corrected statement from them, not with the department. See TDS return filing.
- An AIS mismatch. Income the department has on record and your return does not.
- A deduction or exemption denied on processing, often for a missing declaration or a schedule left incomplete.
- Interest under sections 234A, 234B or 234C computed on processing and netted off against the refund.
Where the intimation is wrong on the face of the record, a rectification is the route. Where it needs an explanation, a response to the intimation is. Both are handled on income tax notice reply.
If TDS keeps exceeding your liability year after year, see lower tax deduction certificate.
A refund for an earlier year
| Situation | Route |
|---|---|
| The year is still within the belated return window | File the belated return. See belated and revised return filing |
| You filed, but left out a credit or a deduction | Revise the return, if the revision window is open |
| You filed and the refund never came | Check the status, then a reissue request, then a grievance |
| The year is out of time for a normal return | An updated return cannot help: an ITR-U cannot be filed where it would increase a refund. A condonation of delay request under section 119(2)(b) is the only route, and it is discretionary |
That last row catches people out. The updated return is a generous window in most respects, but it is closed to a refund claim by design. See ITR-U updated return filing for what it does cover.
If nothing moves: the grievance route
The portal has a grievance facility, e-Nivaran, and refund complaints have a home in it. After signing in, go to the Grievances menu and then Submit Grievance. Without signing in, go to Contact Us and select Grievances.
Pick the right department, because a grievance filed against the wrong one goes nowhere.
| Department | What it handles |
|---|---|
| CPC-ITR | Processing of income tax returns, which is where most refund grievances belong |
| e-filing | Problems with the portal itself, with a return or with a statutory form |
| AO | Assessment matters, including a demand raised by your Assessing Officer |
| CPC-TDS | TDS matters, which is where a missing credit caused by a deductor sits |
Check the status afterwards under Grievances, then View Grievance Status, or before signing in through Contact Us and View Grievance with your acknowledgement number and mobile number. Keep the acknowledgement number: it is what makes a follow-up possible.
Government fee and our fee
The department charges nothing to claim a refund or to have one reissued.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Regikart professional fee, refund follow-up and reissue | Fee on quote after a free review |
| Government fee to claim or reissue a refund | No government fee |
| Return filing, where the refund needs a belated or revised return | From ₹999, see income tax return filing |
| Reply to an intimation or a demand notice | See income tax notice reply |
Professional fees exclude GST at 18%. Government fees, where they apply, are paid at actuals to the department and are shown separately. Fees verified on 27 September 2026.
A refund follow-up is quoted after a review because the work varies from a ten-minute bank validation to a full reply on a disputed demand from an old year. We tell you which one it is before you pay anything.
How we chase a stuck refund
- Read the record. The return, the intimation under section 143(1), the portal status, the AIS and Form 26AS.
- Name the blocker. Verification, bank account, set-off, mismatch or an unpaid TDS credit. One of them is the cause, and the fix follows from it.
- Clear the mechanical ones. Verification, bank validation and nomination, and the reissue request.
- Take on the substantive ones. A response to an outstanding demand, a rectification, or a corrected statement chased from your deductor.
- Escalate properly. A grievance to the right department with the right acknowledgement numbers, and follow-up until the credit lands.
- Check the interest. Whether section 244A interest was allowed, and for the right period.
Documents we need
| Item | Why |
|---|---|
| Acknowledgement number and the year | To locate the return and its status |
| E-filing login, or an OTP when we are with you | The status, the intimation and the reissue request all live inside your login |
| Intimation under section 143(1), if received | It shows how the refund figure was computed |
| Any demand notice or section 245 intimation | To test whether the set-off is correct |
| Bank details: account number, IFSC, and the name as it appears on the account | Validation fails on mismatches |
| Form 16, Form 16A or Form 132, and salary slips | To prove credits the department has disallowed |
| AIS, TIS and Form 26AS | Downloaded with your consent, to find the mismatch |
| Earlier years' returns and computations, where an old demand is involved | Old demands are usually settled with old records |
Income-tax Act, 1961 and Income-tax Act, 2025
A refund for FY 2025-26 or an earlier year is governed by the Income-tax Act, 1961: the return under section 139, the intimation under section 143(1), the set-off under section 245 and interest under section 244A.
From Tax Year 2026-27 the Income-tax Act, 2025 applies, with returns filed under section 263. The refund machinery carries over into that Act, and this page does not put 2025 Act section numbers against the refund, set-off and interest provisions until they are confirmed. What does not change is the practical chain: file, verify, validate the account, and read the intimation.
Why Regikart for a refund follow-up
Regikart is a CA and CS firm serving 250+ clients from offices in Kolkata (head office), Delhi and Bengaluru. Refund work is done by a Chartered Accountant, because the ones that matter are disputes, not button-clicks.
- We find the blocker before doing anything. A reissue request on a return that was never verified is wasted effort.
- We test the set-off. An old demand adjusted against your refund is often wrong, and it is easier to challenge with the original records in hand.
- We check the interest. Section 244A interest is frequently allowed for a shorter period than it should be.
- We take it to the right desk. CPC-ITR, CPC-TDS or the Assessing Officer, with the acknowledgement numbers that make a grievance moveable.
- The same team afterwards. If the refund turns into a notice, income tax notice reply answers it, and if the year still needs filing, income tax return filing does that.