How long does California take to deposit state tax refunds? Mine's been pending for 6 weeks
I e-filed my California state taxes through TurboTax on March 7, 2025, and got an acceptance confirmation the next day. My federal refund hit my account in less than 2 weeks, but I'm still waiting on my $734 state refund. The CA FTB website shows my return as "processing" when I check the status. It's been over 6 weeks now! Anyone know the typical timeframe for California state refunds? Is this normal or should I be worried? My return wasn't complicated - just W2 income and standard deduction.
36 comments
TillyCombatwarrior
California typically processes refunds within 2-3 weeks for e-filed returns with direct deposit. However, they're experiencing significant processing delays this year due to increased fraud prevention measures. If you're at 6+ weeks, I suggest: • Double-check your bank account info is correct on your return • Verify there are no math errors or missing information • Call CA FTB at 800-852-5711 (be prepared for long wait times) • Check if you received any notices in the mail requesting additional information In many cases, returns are flagged for additional verification, especially if the system detects potential identity theft patterns. This is happening more frequently this year. Unless you receive a specific notice of an issue, just continue to monitor your status online and be patient.
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Dyllan Nantx
Thanks for all that info! Haven't received any notices in the mail yet. I'll try calling them next week if nothing changes. Really frustrating that their website doesn't give more details.
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Anna Xian
I had this same issue last year and it was a nightmare trying to get through on their phone line. Waited for hours multiple days in a row 😫
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Jungleboo Soletrain
the California FTB is literally the worst. i would rather deal with the actual IRS any day of the week than CA.
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Rajan Walker
wait CA is taking that long now?? great. i just filed mine last week 🤦♀️ guess i'll see my refund sometime next year lol
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Nadia Zaldivar
Look, google searches and public forums are honestly the worst way to figure out what's happening with your tax situation. I've been there - spent days trying to piece together what random codes and statuses mean. Then I found taxr.ai and it was a game changer. It reads your transcript or notices and explains everything in plain english - shows exactly where your refund is in the process and why it might be delayed. I just uploaded my stuff and it explained everything that was happening with my CA refund delay. Way better than playing detective with forum posts! https://taxr.ai
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Lukas Fitzgerald
Does this actually work for state tax issues too or just federal?
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Nadia Zaldivar
Works for both! I used it for my California refund situation too. You just upload your documents (transcripts or notices) and it interprets everything for you. Saved me so much confusion.
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Rajan Walker
Sounds interesting. How exactly does it work? Does it just read your transcript or does it do more?
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Rajan Walker
Just tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and WOW. It explained my CA refund delay was due to income verification (something I never would have figured out from the generic "processing" status). Worth every penny - saved me hours of research and stress. Seriously people, stop wasting time trying to decode tax stuff yourself!
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Ev Luca
I waited 9 weeks for my CA refund and was going crazy with the generic "processing" message. Finally got through to someone using claimyr.com - they connected me with a CA FTB agent who explained my return was flagged for manual review due to a mismatch between my reported income and what my employer reported. Got it resolved in one call and refund showed up 4 days later. Talking to an actual human was the only way I made progress after weeks of frustration. Best decision ever to use their service instead of wasting more time on hold.
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Avery Davis
is this some kind of ad? never heard of this service before
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Ev Luca
Nah, just something I found when I was desperate to talk to someone at CA FTB. They basically wait on hold for you and call when an agent is ready. After trying for weeks myself and never getting through, it was worth it to finally get answers.
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Collins Angel
how much does this cost? seems sketchy that you have to pay to talk to a government agency
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Ev Luca
You're paying for the time-saving service, not to talk to the government. After spending hours on hold multiple days, the cost was nothing compared to the value of my time and sanity. Plus I got my refund sorted out immediately instead of waiting more weeks.
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Marcelle Drum
Tried this yesterday after seeing your comment and got to talk to an actual agent within 40 minutes instead of the 3+ hours I spent on hold last week! They told me my refund was held for address verification 🙄 but now it's being released. Thanks for the tip!
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Tate Jensen
I filed with California on February 18 and didnt get my refund until April 28th. No explanation for the delay. The whole time the website just said "processing" too. Their system is a joke this year.
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Adaline Wong
Im on week 8 waiting for mine smh. Called twice and both times they just said "its still processing" with no additional info. California tax board is useless.
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Gabriel Ruiz
same. week 7 here. ive given up at this point
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Misterclamation Skyblue
i got mine in 10 days... filed in early february tho. think they got backed up in March
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Peyton Clarke
FWIW mine took exactly 8 weeks this year when it normally takes 2-3 weeks in past years. No explanation given.
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Vince Eh
Mine sat in processing for 5 weeks before I got a letter saying they needed more info to verify my identity. Had to scan and upload a bunch of documents. Then it took another 3 weeks after that to get my refund. Check your mail carefully.
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Dyllan Nantx
Thanks, I'll keep an eye out for any mail from them! Did you get any notice on the website that something was needed or did you only find out from the letter?
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Vince Eh
only from the letter. the website just showed "processing" the entire time. super helpfull right? 🙄
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Sophia Gabriel
Check if you have any old penalties or fees from previous years. I was waiting forever because apparently I had an unpaid $28 fee from 2023 that I never knew about, and they were holding my $900 refund hostage because of it.
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Tobias Lancaster
If its any consolation, I'm in the exact same boat. Filed March 12, got federal back promptly, but CA still says processing. Called twice and they just say its "in queue"... whatever the heck that means.
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Dyllan Nantx
Ugh, so frustrating! At least I'm not alone. Did they give you any estimate for when it might be done?
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Tobias Lancaster
nope! just said to "keep waiting" 🤬
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Ezra Beard
I work in accounting (not a tax pro) and we're seeing massive delays with CA returns this season. They implemented new security measures after last year's fraud issues and it's slowing everything down. Most clients are waiting 6-10 weeks vs the usual 2-3.
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Statiia Aarssizan
THIS ⬆️ My wife works at a CPA firm and they're telling all clients to expect 8-10 week waits for CA refunds this year. It's not just you.
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Reginald Blackwell
have u checked ur bank account info on the return? my friend thought he was waiting for his but he had typed one digit wrong in his account number 🤦♂️
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Dyllan Nantx
I double-checked it and the routing/account numbers are correct. Good thought though!
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Aria Khan
California tax board is a disaster this year. Took them 11 weeks to process mine. No explanation given. My theory is they're holding onto refunds to earn interest on the money as long as possible lol
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Everett Tutum
100%. they're making bank on all our money while we wait.
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Sunny Wang
Not sure that's how it works but ok
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Everett Tutum
the government always finds ways to make money off people. wake up. 👀
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