Refund Info
tax.idaho.gov/refundinfo
Refund status
Check your refund status online to get the most up-to-date information. This is the same information that our Taxpayer Services representatives can give you on the phone.
- Where's My Refund? - flyer for Idaho taxpayers (12-30-2016) new
Typical refund timeframes
- First time you filed an Idaho income tax return? It takes about three weeks to enter your account into our system. Until that time, our refund updates will report your return as "not entered in system." Add those three weeks to the estimates below to determine your refund timeframe.
- E-filed? You can generally begin tracking your return about four business days after you receive your acknowledgement email from the Tax Commission. Expect your refund about 7-8 weeks after the acknowledgement date.
- Filed on paper? You must wait about three weeks to begin tracking your refund. We must manually enter information from paper returns into our database. Your refund will take about 10-11 weeks to process.
- Received a letter from us asking for more information? Your refund will be delayed until we get the requested information, and we've been able to review it.
Refund timeframes are general and don't apply to every refund. It's best not to depend on getting a refund by a certain date, especially when making purchases or paying bills.
Rapid Response = Faster Refund
All income tax returns go through identity theft fraud detection, as well as accuracy checks before we issue any refunds. After you file your return, we may send you letters asking for more information.
If you receive a letter from us, please respond quickly so we can review your information and get your refund to you as soon as possible.
- Fraud Detection: To detect and combat tax identity theft, the Tax Commission uses a variety of methods to validate your identity and tax return. To help protect your information and keep refunds from going to criminals, we may send you:
- An Identity Verification letter that asks you to take a short online quiz or provide copies of documents to verify your identity
- A PIN letter that asks you to verify online whether you or your representative filed the tax return we received
- Accuracy Checks: We stop about 25% of individual income tax returns each year to resolve mathematical errors or request missing information. We want to be sure that your tax return correctly reflects your information and intent.
To do this, we may send you:- A Request for Information letter that asks for missing or additional information to support data reported on the tax return
- A Tax Computation Change letter that provides an explanation of changes that were made to the tax return
Tips to help your refund process faster
- Be sure to keep a copy of all your tax records. You may need to refer to these documents.
- Don't file before you've received all your W-2s or other required information. You can file an amended return to add this missing information, but it can delay your refund by weeks or months.
- Take a moment to review your return carefully before sending it. Missing or unclear information can delay the processing of your return by months. Common oversights include:
- Paper returns
- Not signing the return. (Both spouses must sign if it's a joint return.)
- Not including your W-2s.
- Not including your federal (IRS) return.
- Math errors or incorrect bank deposit information.
- Electronic returns
- Entering information from your W-2s incorrectly.
- Unclear or incorrect bank deposit information.
- Paper returns
- E-file the tax return, and use direct deposit to get the fastest possible refund. Also, provide your driver's license or identity card number when you e-file. Although your return won't be rejected if you don't, providing this information will help your return process faster.
- If you receive a letter from the Tax Commission asking for information, respond to it quickly so we can review your material and continue processing your return.
File earlier in the year, if that's possible. Your return may process more quickly, and you might beat the criminals filing fraudulent returns.
More information
- Visit our Individual Income Tax page.
- If you have an outstanding debt with some state agencies or the IRS, your refund may be seized. Read more about this process.
- If you need help to prepare your tax return, check out the resources on our Free Income Tax Help page.
- If our Idaho Refund Status page says your refund was mailed to you some time ago but you haven't received it, contact Taxpayer Services for information on requesting a reissue of the check.
- If you think you may have been a victim of identity theft, check the resources on our Identity Theft page.
