Federal Refund Still Missing After California State Refund Authorized February 6th - Normal Wait Time?

Got my state refund deposited last week but still nothing from federal. I checked my state tax website and it shows "We authorized your refund on Thursday, February 06, 2025." According to the state website, they say to "Please allow: 10 business days to receive your refund by direct deposit, or 25 business days to receive your refund by check." They also mentioned "If we made any adjustments to your return, we will notify you by mail." My state refund was already deposited into my account, which is great, but I'm still waiting on my federal refund with no updates at all. The state system at least gives me clear timeframes and updates with a proper status showing "Received", "Processing", and "Issued" steps, but I'm completely in the dark about my federal refund status. Starting to get worried about my federal refund though... Is this normal for federal to take longer than state? The California state tax system at least tells me exactly what's happening with my money and when to expect it. They even have a "What did you think about this service?" survey (apparently takes 30 seconds) and a "Return to Check Refund Status" button. Meanwhile, the IRS hasn't given me any indication of when I might see my federal refund. Has anyone else experienced this? How much longer should I expect to wait for federal after already receiving state?

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Jake Sinclair

The state tax system shows your refund was officially authorized on February 6th, 2025, and provides specific timeframes for receiving your money. If you chose direct deposit, you should receive your funds within 10 business days (roughly by February 20th), while paper checks will take up to 25 business days (around March 12th). The system is transparent about potential adjustments - if they modified your return amount, you'll receive a separate notification by mail. This state refund tracking system is more detailed than the federal IRS system, which is typical. The timestamp (7:49) and full copyright notice show this is an official state portal. While your state refund is progressing normally with clear status updates, federal refunds often take longer to process and provide less detailed tracking information, especially during the busy tax season between January and April. The navigation elements visible ("Return to Check Refund Status" and survey option) indicate this is a final confirmation page, meaning your refund has moved past the "Processing" stage and is now in "Issued" status. This is a positive sign that your state refund is on track for delivery within the specified timeframe.

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