Filed federal return 3/15, no pending refund yet but state refund came through already - should I be concerned?

Don't worry too much yet. Federal and state processing systems are completely separate entities that work at different speeds. Your state refund coming quickly doesn't necessarily mean anything about your federal return. The IRS standard processing time is 21 days for e-filed returns, but can take longer depending on various factors including identity verification checks, certain credits claimed, or simply high volume periods. If you've passed the 21-day mark, you can try calling the IRS refund hotline at 800-829-1954 or checking "Where's My Refund" on irs.gov with your SSN, filing status and exact refund amount. If that doesn't show anything, give it another week before getting too concerned.

I was in this exact situation last month and was getting super stressed trying to figure out what was happening. I decided to try taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and it was incredibly helpful! Their system actually explained exactly what was happening with my return by analyzing my transcript and showed me where my refund was in the process. So much better than trying to decode all this IRS stuff on my own! Definitely check it out: https://taxr.ai

After waiting almost 5 weeks for my federal refund and not seeing anything on the IRS website, I finally used the Claimyr app (claimyr.com) and it was a game changer. Got connected to an actual IRS agent within 30 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. The agent told me my return was flagged for a simple verification and they cleared it right away. My refund was deposited 8 days later. Honestly wish I'd done this sooner instead of stressing for weeks.

The IRS is SO SLOW this year. I filed Feb 2 and didnt get my refund until March 29th. Meanwhile my state refund came in like 10 days. The IRS system is a dumpster fire. Just wait it out or try calling them (good luck with that lol

Federal is always slower than state in my experiance. Last 3 years my state came within 2 weeks and federal took 4-8 weeks depending on the year. Their still catching up from the pandemic backlog + they just don't have the staff to process things efficiently. As long as your return was accepted when you filed, your probly fine.

did you claim earned income tax credit or child tax credit? those automatically get delayed for review and can take an extra 2-3 weeks

There are delays this season because of the PATH Act (protects against refund fraud). They are holding up MANY returns for review bc of identity theft concerns. I just had to wait 7 weeks or mine. Be patient, it will come.

Are u sure you actually filed both returns? Sometimes ppl think they filed both but the fed return gets rejected for some reason (wrong AGI from previous year, typo on SSN, etc) while the state goes through fine.

have you tried checking your transcript on the irs website? sometimes that shows processing info even when wheres my refund doesnt show anything. you need to make an account tho

If you've waited more than 3 weeks since filing, I'd suggest getting your transcript from the IRS website (irs.gov/transcript). You'll need to create an account, but your transcript will show if your return has been received and where it is in processing. States are almost always faster than federal - I got my NY refund in 8 days but federal took 5 weeks.

Just had this happen to me!! State came quick but federal was nowhere to be found. I was getting really anxious and tried calling the IRS but kept getting busy signals. I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) and they got me through to an actual IRS person who told me they needed to verify my identity. I verified right there on the phone and my refund was approved 3 days later. Talking to a real person was the only way I found out what was going on.

This is totally normal. Your state processes separately from federal and most states are much faster (they deal with way fewer returns). I wouldn't worry until you're past 4-6 weeks from filing. Also try checking the IRS2Go app - sometimes it updates before the website.

Same thing happened to me last year! Turns out my federal return got flagged for identity verification but they never sent me the letter. Had to call them to find out after waiting 8 weeks. Such a pain.

Check if ur listed as a dependant on someone elses return. My BF had this happen and it turned out his parents had claimed him by mistake (he's 24 and hasn't lived with them for years). His state processed fine but federal got held up.

I recommend pulling ur tax transcript if u can. U can see EXACTLY wats happening with ur return. The IRS has specific codes that show if its being processed, under review, etc. I couldnt figure out why mine was delayed until I saw code 570 on my transcript which meant they were reviewing something. Much more useful than the generic "still processing" message on Where's My Refund.

not to freak you out but i had this happen 2 years ago and it turned out someone had filed a fraudulent return using my SSN. definitely check your transcript or call the IRS to make sure everything is ok.