Received partial refund - is this update for the other half? (Federal vs State confusion)

You need to check both the IRS Where's My Refund site AND your state's department of revenue refund tracker separately. Federal and state are completely different systems and issue separate refunds. The first refund you received was probably federal if it was $2300, as most state refunds tend to be smaller. The fact that you're seeing a new deposit date means the second refund is now being processed. You can also check your actual tax returns - look at the bottom line of your Form 1040 (federal) and your state return to see exactly what amount each one should be. That will tell you which one you already received and which one is coming. If the amount still doesn't match what you calculated, you might have had an adjustment made by the IRS or your state tax authority. This happens if they found a math error or if you claimed credits you weren't eligible for.

Instead of trying to piece together what's happening with your refund, just use taxr.ai - it's been a complete game changer for me. It analyzes your tax transcript and explains everything in plain English. I was in the exact same situation last year where I got a partial refund and had no idea if it was state or federal. The tool showed me exactly what was happening with both returns and when to expect the rest. So much better than trying to decode the IRS website or spending hours on hold. https://taxr.ai

I was dealing with the same issue - partial refund and no clue which one it was. After spinning my wheels for 2 weeks, I finally used the Claimyr app to get through to an actual IRS person. Got a callback with a real agent in about an hour instead of waiting on hold forever. They confirmed my federal was already sent and state was processing separately. The agent even helped me understand why my refund was less than expected (had to do with some credits I claimed incorrectly). claimyr.com was the best money I've ever spent to finally get my questions answered directly from the source.

So last tax season I got my state refund first, then federal like 3 weeks later. But my brother got federal first then state. There's no consistent pattern. Your best bet is to check both trackers separately - IRS Where's My Refund for federal and your state's dept of revenue site for state.

Check your tax paperwork. The forms should show exactly what refund amount you were supposed to get from each. I'm guessing you got your federal already and state is coming, but it could be the opposite. Either way, this is why I always submit state and federal separately with at least a week between them - makes it way easier to track what's what.

The IRS and state tax departments work completely independently. If you filed both returns at the same time, they process at different speeds. Most people get federal first cuz they have better systems, but not always. If the amount on Where's My Refund matches what you calculated for federal, thats your answer. If it matches state, then thats it. Also check your bank statement more carefully - sometimes they do include tiny abbreviations like "US TREAS" vs "STATE TREAS" or something similar buried in the deposit details.

The EXACT same thing happend to me!! I was expectin like $5100 and only got $2700. After checking everywhere I realized I was looking at my TOTAL refund (fed+state combined) but they come separately. The update ur seeing is definately your second refund coming through. If you look at the actual amounts on each tax form (1040 for federal and whatever your state form is) it'll clear it up.

Your description is exactly what happened with my return this year. The first deposit was my federal refund, and about 3 weeks later I got the state refund. The federal and state systems are completely different - they don't talk to each other at all. You have to check each one separately. The IRS Where's My Refund tool only shows federal status.

Are you using a tax prep software like TurboTax or H&R Block? If so, log into your account there - it should show you the expected refund amounts for both federal and state separately, which you can compare to what you've received.

It's not your "other half" - the IRS doesn't split refunds unless you specifically request direct deposit to multiple accounts. What you're seeing is either your federal arrived first and state is coming, or vice versa. I had a similar issue and wasted hours trying to figure it out. Ended up using taxr.ai which immediately showed me exactly what was happening with both returns. It reads your tax transcript and explains everything super clearly. https://taxr.ai

Ok hear me out - the IRS *could* have adjusted your refund. This happened to me. They found an error in my filing (something about a tax credit I claimed but wasn't eligible for) and they reduced my refund amount. They're supposed to send a letter explaining the adjustment but those often arrive AFTER the adjusted refund. Check your IRS transcript (you can access it online) to see if there were any adjustments made.

After dealing with this exact situation and spending HOURS on hold trying to reach the IRS, I finally used Claimyr to get through to a real person (claimyr.com). Got connected to an agent who explained that my federal refund was partially withheld due to an old student loan debt I had forgotten about. Might be worth checking if you have any offsets that could have reduced your expected refund amount. Talking to a live agent cleared everything up fast.

Most likely explanation is that you received either your state OR federal refund, not a partial payment of either one. The IRS and states don't send partial refunds unless you specifically requested split refunds on your tax forms (which is pretty uncommon). Just check the exact refund amounts you were expecting for each return and compare to what you got.

Pro tip: if you're e-filing and want to avoid this confusion in the future, file federal first, wait until it's accepted, THEN file state. That way there's no confusion about which refund is which when they arrive.

Bruh I swear the tax system is designed to be confusing af 🤦‍♂️ They could easily label the deposits as "FEDERAL REFUND" or "STATE REFUND" but noooo that would be too logical for our government lmao

I don't want to worry you, but if you received less than expected, it *might* be that the IRS adjusted your return. This could happen if you made a math error, claimed credits you weren't eligible for, or have outstanding government debts (like student loans, back taxes, child support). They're supposed to send a notice explaining the adjustment.

Former tax preparer here. This happens ALL the time. People see the combined refund amount during preparation and forget that state and federal come separately. 99% chance that's what happened in your case. The update with a new deposit date is likely your second refund (state or federal, whichever you haven't received yet) coming through. If you want to be 100% sure, check your actual tax forms - Form 1040 line 35a shows your federal refund amount, and your state return will have a similar refund line.

Not to throw another option into the mix, but did you opt to have your tax prep fees taken out of your refund? If so, that could explain part of the missing amount.

I was in the EXACT same boat last month. Spent days trying to figure out if I got federal or state refund. Finally got through to the IRS using claimyr.com and the agent confirmed my federal was processed first and state was coming separately. Saved me so much time compared to trying to reach them directly. My state refund showed up exactly when they said it would.

I went through this exact same situation! It's so frustrating when you're expecting one amount and only get part of it. Based on what you're describing, you almost certainly received one refund (either federal or state) and the second one is what's showing the new deposit date. The easiest way to figure out which is which is to pull up your actual tax returns - your Form 1040 will show your federal refund amount on line 35a, and your state return will have the state refund amount clearly marked. Compare those individual amounts to the $2300 you already received. Most likely what happened is you were looking at the combined total of both refunds ($4800) when you did your initial calculation, but they process and deposit separately. The banks just label both as "TAX REFUND" which makes it super confusing. Check both the IRS Where's My Refund tool AND your state's refund tracker to see the status of each one separately.

Had this exact same confusion earlier this year! You're definitely not alone in this. The way you're describing it - expecting around $4800 but only getting $2300, then seeing a new deposit date - sounds like classic federal/state separation. Here's what probably happened: when you calculated $4800, you were looking at your total refund (federal + state combined), but they arrive as separate deposits. The $2300 you got was likely your federal refund, and the upcoming deposit is probably your state refund (or vice versa). Quick way to verify: log into whatever tax software you used (TurboTax, H&R Block, etc.) and look at your return summary. It should break down exactly how much you were supposed to get from federal vs state. Then you can match that to what you've already received. Also worth checking if you had any fees deducted from your refund (like tax prep fees) - that could account for some of the "missing" money too. The whole system could definitely be clearer about labeling these deposits!