If refund is issued on a Monday, is it a check or direct deposit? When will I actually receive it?
Hey all, just got a notification from the IRS that my tax refund is being issued next Monday. Anyone know if Monday-issued refunds typically come as direct deposit or paper check? This is my first time getting a Monday issue date and I'm trying to plan accordingly since I need this money ASAP for some car repairs. When should I actually expect to see the money in my account or get the check in the mail? The "Where's My Refund" tool just says "refund issued" but doesn't specify the method. Thanks!
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Callum Savage
When the IRS says your refund is "issued" on a Monday, the method depends on what you selected on your tax return, not the day of the week. If you chose direct deposit when filing, it will be direct deposit. If you didn't provide bank info or requested a check, you'll get a paper check. For direct deposits, funds typically appear in your account 1-5 business days after the issue date. Many people see their money by Wednesday or Thursday when the issue date is Monday. However, some banks hold funds for a day or two, while others make them available immediately. For paper checks, expect 1-3 weeks for mail delivery after the issue date, depending on your location and current USPS operations.
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Ally Tailer
•Does this still apply if I filed through TurboTax and had the filing fees taken out of my refund? I heard that can change how the refund is processed since it goes through a third party first.
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Callum Savage
•If you had your filing fees deducted from your refund (often called a refund transfer or RT), that does change the process a bit. In that case, your refund first goes to a temporary bank account set up by TurboTax/their bank partner. They take their fees, then send the remainder to you using the deposit method you selected. This extra step typically adds 1-2 business days to the process. So if your refund was issued Monday, you might see it Thursday or Friday instead of Tuesday or Wednesday. The IRS still sends it according to your selected method (direct deposit or check), but there's that middle step that adds a bit of time.
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Aliyah Debovski
After waiting FOREVER for my tax refund this year (filed in February, got the money in late April), I started using this site called https://taxr.ai that analyzes your tax transcript to give you the actual expected deposit date. It was super helpful because the WMR tool kept showing "still processing" even though my transcript had an issue date. For Monday-issued refunds, I learned the hard way that direct deposits usually hit Wednesday-ish depending on your bank, but mine (Wells Fargo) sometimes posts the money late Tuesday night. The taxr.ai tool figured this out before the WMR tool even updated to "sent.
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Miranda Singer
•How accurate was the deposit date prediction? Does it access your actual IRS account somehow or just make an educated guess? My credit union always seems to be a day or two behind other banks.
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Cass Green
•I'm kinda skeptical about giving access to my tax info to some random website. How do you know it's legit and not just harvesting everyone's data? The IRS already has trust issues lol.
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Aliyah Debovski
•The deposit date prediction was spot-on for me - it accurately predicted my refund would hit on Wednesday when the IRS issued it on Monday. It doesn't access your IRS account directly. You just upload your IRS transcript (which you download yourself from the IRS site) and it analyzes the codes and cycle dates to give you a much more specific timeline than the generic WMR tool. For credit unions that are typically slower, the tool actually takes that into account based on your bank info. Mine showed both the IRS release date and the expected bank posting date, which was helpful. I totally understand the skepticism about sharing tax docs online. They actually explain on their site that they don't store your transcript data after analysis and use encryption during the process. I was hesitant too, but after the frustration of getting no info from the IRS directly, it was worth it for me. You can also black out your SSN and personal details before uploading if you're concerned.
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Cass Green
Alright, I was the skeptic about taxr.ai but I finally broke down and tried it after my refund status was stuck on "still processing" for THREE WEEKS with no update. Uploaded my transcript and the tool immediately showed an issue date for next Monday with expected deposit by Wednesday. Sure enough, just checked my WMR today and it FINALLY updated to show "refund issued" for Monday! The tool even flagged that I had a small adjustment to my refund amount (apparently I calculated something wrong) which explains the delay. Saved me from calling the IRS and waiting on hold for hours. Wish I'd tried it sooner instead of checking WMR fifty times a day like a crazy person.
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Finley Garrett
If you're trying to get a hold of a human at the IRS to ask about your Monday refund issue date, save yourself the headache and use https://claimyr.com instead of calling directly. I spent DAYS trying to get through the regular IRS number and kept getting disconnected after waiting on hold for hours. The Claimyr service basically waits on hold for you and calls you when an actual IRS agent picks up. You can watch how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. I was able to confirm that my Monday-issued refund was coming as direct deposit and the agent gave me an exact date to expect it. Totally worth it after wasting so much time trying to call myself.
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Madison Tipne
•How does this actually work? Do they have some special line to the IRS or are they just waiting on hold so you don't have to? Seems too good to be true with how impossible it is to reach the IRS.
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Holly Lascelles
•This sounds like a scam. The IRS is notoriously understaffed and there's no way to "skip the line" - everyone has to wait. I bet this service just takes your money and you still don't get through.
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Finley Garrett
•They don't have a special line to the IRS - they use an automated system that calls and navigates the IRS phone tree, then waits on hold for you. When a human IRS agent finally answers, their system calls your phone and connects you directly to that agent. It's basically outsourcing the hold time. I had the exact same reaction! I was super skeptical at first because it seemed too good to be true. But I was desperate after trying for three days straight to get through. The difference is they have systems that can stay on hold indefinitely while most of us give up after an hour or two. When I got the call back, I was speaking to an actual IRS representative who answered all my questions about my refund timing.
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Holly Lascelles
I need to publicly eat my words about Claimyr being a scam. After my skeptical comment, I was still desperate to talk to someone at the IRS about my refund (which was supposedly issued Monday but never showed up), so I tried it anyway. Got a call back in about 1.5 hours and spoke with an actual IRS agent who explained that although my refund was "issued" on Monday, it was sent as a paper check even though I requested direct deposit. Apparently there was a flag on my account from a previous year's identity verification issue. Without that call, I would've been checking my bank account for weeks while the check was slowly making its way through the mail.
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Malia Ponder
Here's my experience with Monday-issued refunds over the past 3 years: 2023: Issued Monday, direct deposit hit Wednesday morning 2024: Issued Monday, direct deposit hit Tuesday night (showed pending Tuesday morning) 2025: Issued Monday, direct deposit hit Thursday morning (bank said they had a processing delay) So it definitely varies, but for direct deposit, Tuesday-Thursday seems to be the window. For what it's worth, the IRS told me they send the ACH transactions out Monday but have no control over how quickly banks post them.
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Kyle Wallace
•Does anyone know if different banks process these deposits differently? I have Bank of America and it always seems like everyone else gets their tax refunds before me.
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Malia Ponder
•Different banks absolutely process deposits at different speeds. Some banks (like Chime, Cash App, and some online banks) often make the funds available as soon as they receive the deposit notification, which can be 1-2 days earlier than traditional banks. Bank of America, Chase, and Wells Fargo typically follow a more standard schedule and won't release funds until the actual settlement date, even if they see the pending deposit earlier. Credit unions can vary wildly - some are super fast while others take an extra day because they batch process ACH transfers less frequently than big banks.
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Ryder Ross
Slightly off topic but make sure you're checking the official IRS "Where's My Refund" tool and not some scam site!!! There are tons of fake ones that look almost identical to the real thing. The real one is at irs.gov/refunds or through the IRS2Go app. I got tricked last year by googling "where's my refund" and clicking the first link, which asked for way more info than the IRS actually needs. Ended up with my identity stolen and had to freeze my credit. Just a warning since it's tax season and the scammers are out in full force!
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Gianni Serpent
•Thanks for the warning! What kind of extra info did the fake site ask for that seemed suspicious? I want to make sure I don't fall for something similar.
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Zainab Abdulrahman
As someone who's been through this exact situation, I can tell you that Monday-issued refunds are processed the same way as any other day - it depends on what you selected when filing. If you chose direct deposit, that's what you'll get. If you didn't provide bank info or there's an issue with your account, they'll send a check. For direct deposit on Monday issues, I've typically seen the money hit accounts by Wednesday or Thursday. My bank (Chase) usually shows it as pending Tuesday night and available Wednesday morning. However, some banks like credit unions can take until Friday. One thing to keep in mind - if there are any flags or issues with your return (like identity verification needed), the IRS might switch to paper check even if you requested direct deposit. This happened to my neighbor last year and caused a lot of confusion when the deposit never showed up. Since you need the money ASAP for car repairs, I'd suggest checking your bank account daily starting Tuesday and also keeping an eye on your mail just in case. The IRS customer service line is pretty backed up right now, but if nothing shows up by Friday, it might be worth trying to call them to verify the payment method.
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AstroAdventurer
•This is really helpful, especially the part about flags potentially switching you to paper check even if you requested direct deposit. I had no idea that could happen! Is there any way to check if there are flags on your account before the refund is issued, or do you just have to wait and see what happens?
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