Anyone received Illinois state tax refund yet? Mine says 'received being processed'

Illinois state refunds are definitely moving slower than federal this year. According to the IL Department of Revenue website (checked on April 15th), they're currently processing returns filed in early March. Their official timeline states up to 4-6 weeks for electronic returns and 8-10 weeks for paper returns. Last year at this time they were about 2 weeks faster in processing. If you e-filed and it's been less than 6 weeks, you're still within normal processing times.

Did you e-file or paper file? And if you don't mind sharing, approximately when did you submit your return? I believe the processing times might vary quite a bit depending on these factors.

Thank you for your questions. Yes, I e-filed on March 2nd through a tax professional. My federal refund was processed and deposited within 10 days, but the Illinois one is still showing as 'received being processed.' I also verified that all my information is correct - address, bank account for direct deposit, etc. I have two W-2s from different employers, if that makes any difference. The amount is not very large, around $850, so I wouldn't expect any special review.

Illinois is notorious for slow processing compared to other states! I was in the same boat last year and got so frustrated with the "being processed" message that I finally tried calling their helpline. Spent 3 days trying to get through with no luck. A friend recommended Claimyr (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) to get past the phone tree hell. Got connected to an actual human at IL Dept of Revenue in about 15 minutes who confirmed my return was just in the normal queue and nothing was wrong. Saved me weeks of anxiety! 😅

Has anyone tried using the MyTax Illinois portal instead of just the "Where's My Refund" tool? According to mytax.illinois.gov there's supposed to be more detailed information available if you create an account. I'm wondering if it shows different status information than the basic refund checker?

Illinois state refunds are subject to additional verification procedures this year due to increased fraud prevention measures. The IL Department of Revenue implemented enhanced identity verification protocols that can add 7-14 business days to normal processing times. Additionally, returns claiming certain credits like the Earned Income Credit or Education Credit undergo mandatory review regardless of filing method. The "received being processed" status typically persists until all verification steps are complete, at which point it changes to "processed" approximately 3-5 business days before direct deposit occurs.

Are you a first-time filer in Illinois? I've noticed new residents often face longer processing times than people who've filed in the state before.

I'm in a similar situation! Filed my Illinois return on March 5th and still showing "received being processed." Coming from another state where refunds were much faster, this waiting period has been quite stressful. Based on what everyone is sharing here, it sounds like 6-8 weeks is pretty normal for Illinois, especially with the new verification procedures they've implemented. I'm going to try checking the MyTax Illinois portal that @Anastasia Sokolov mentioned to see if there's more detailed status information available. Hang in there - seems like we're all in the same boat this year!

I've been dealing with the same "received being processed" status since I filed on March 8th, and reading through everyone's experiences here has been really helpful. As someone new to the Illinois tax system (moved here from out of state last year), I had no idea that first-time filers face additional verification steps. The 6-8 week timeline that several people mentioned seems consistent with what I'm seeing, though it's definitely frustrating coming from a state where refunds were much quicker. I'm going to try both calling the IL Department of Revenue and checking the MyTax Illinois portal to see if I can get more specific information about my return status. Thanks to everyone for sharing their timelines and experiences - it's reassuring to know this delay seems to be the norm rather than an issue with my specific return!

I'm also waiting on my Illinois state refund and found this thread really informative! I filed electronically on February 28th and have been stuck on "received being processed" for over 6 weeks now. As a newcomer to this community and someone who just moved to Illinois last year, I had no idea about the additional verification steps for first-time filers that several people mentioned. My federal refund came through in about 10 days, so the contrast with Illinois processing times has been pretty stark. Based on what everyone is sharing, it sounds like the 6-8 week timeline is unfortunately normal this year, especially with the enhanced fraud prevention measures. I'm going to try the MyTax Illinois portal suggestion to see if I can get more detailed status information. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences and timelines - it's really helpful to know this isn't just an issue with my specific return!

I'm also dealing with the same situation and really appreciate finding this community discussion! Filed my Illinois return on March 1st through TurboTax and it's been showing "received being processed" for about 6 weeks now. As someone new to Illinois (moved here from California last year), I had no idea that first-time filers go through additional verification - that explains a lot! In California, my state refunds typically came within 2-3 weeks, so this has been quite an adjustment. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been really reassuring that this seems to be the standard processing time rather than something being wrong with my return. I'm definitely going to try the MyTax Illinois portal that was mentioned to see if there's more detailed status information available. Thank you to everyone for sharing your timelines and insights - it's so helpful to have this community resource when navigating a new state's tax system!

I'm in a very similar situation and this discussion has been incredibly helpful! I filed my Illinois return on March 12th and have been stuck on "received being processed" ever since. As a newcomer to both this community and Illinois (just moved here from Texas last fall), I was getting really worried that something was wrong with my return since my federal refund came through so quickly. Reading about the additional verification procedures for first-time filers and the general 6-8 week processing timeline has been so reassuring - I had no idea this was standard for Illinois! In Texas, state refunds were much faster, so this has definitely been an adjustment. I'm going to check out the MyTax Illinois portal that several people mentioned to see if I can get more detailed status information. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences and timelines - it's amazing how much better I feel knowing this delay is normal rather than an issue with my specific return!

I'm also new to this community and dealing with my first Illinois tax season after moving here from overseas last year! Filed my return on March 15th and have been watching that "received being processed" status for weeks now. This entire discussion has been so incredibly helpful - I was starting to panic thinking something was wrong with my return since my federal refund arrived so quickly. Learning about the additional verification steps for first-time filers and the 6-8 week processing timeline has been such a relief! In my home country, tax refunds worked completely differently, so I'm still adjusting to how the system works here. The MyTax Illinois portal suggestion sounds promising - I'm definitely going to try that to see if I can get more detailed information than the basic status checker provides. Thank you to everyone for sharing your experiences and creating such a supportive discussion. It's amazing how much better I feel knowing this delay is completely normal rather than an issue with my specific filing!

I'm also new to this community and going through my first Illinois tax filing experience! Filed my return on March 18th and have been stuck on "received being processed" for about 5 weeks now. This entire discussion has been incredibly reassuring - I was starting to worry that I had made an error somewhere since my federal refund was deposited so quickly while Illinois seems to take forever. As someone who moved here from another country last year, I had no idea about the additional verification procedures for first-time filers or that 6-8 weeks was considered normal processing time. The tax system here is so different from what I'm used to! I'm definitely going to try the MyTax Illinois portal that several people mentioned to see if I can get more detailed status information. Thank you to everyone for sharing your timelines and experiences - it's such a relief to know this delay is standard rather than something being wrong with my specific return. This community has been so helpful in understanding how things work here!