IRS "Where's My Refund" Tool Showing "Status Unavailable" Error Since 10:23AM on Official Website

Anyone else getting the "Refund status unavailable" message on Where's My Refund? I've been trying since 10:23 this morning on the official IRS website (sa.www4.irs.gov) and keep getting this exact error: "Refund information is unavailable at this time. Please try again later." I'm beyond frustrated at this point. I'm staring at the screen that literally says: "Account Home / Refund status Refund status Refund status unavailable Refund information is unavailable at this time. Please try again later. Return to account home" It's the official IRS website - you can see the "An official website of the United States Government" at the top with the "Here's how you know" text and everything. The URL is definitely correct (sa.www4.irs.gov). Even when I try to navigate through the Account Home / Refund status section as suggested, it's the same thing. I click on "Return to account home" and then try to access my refund status again, but I just keep getting cycled back to this useless error message. The IRS website is completely useless at this point - can't even get basic refund information from their "Tools" section. I can see the MENU and Tools options, but they don't help at all. Has anyone else experienced this? Are the IRS systems down today? I filed over 3 weeks ago and just want to know where my refund is!

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14 comments

Lim Wong

The error message you're seeing on sa.www4.irs.gov at 10:23 is a common IRS system response during high-traffic periods. The official government domain (indicated by the .gov extension) confirms you're on the legitimate IRS website, but the "Refund status unavailable" message typically appears when their servers are overwhelmed or undergoing maintenance. The path shown (Account Home / Refund status) is the correct navigation route, but the system is unable to pull your specific refund data at this moment. This is different from a "refund not found" message, which would indicate your return hasn't been processed yet. The "Return to account home" button is the only available action because the system has temporarily locked access to the refund database. These interruptions are most common during peak filing season, with scheduled maintenance typically occurring between 12am-6am EST. Since you're attempting access at 10:23, this is likely due to high user volume rather than planned maintenance. Your best course of action is to wait several hours before trying again. The "Tools" section limitations you're experiencing are system-wide, not specific to your account or return.

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