It's that time of the year again when we all have to start pulling those papers, documents, and receipts together to file our income tax returns. If you're like most people, you've thought quite a bit about how much of a return you're going to get and you've taken great pains in order to not have to pay any more money to Uncle Sam than you already have.
With the exception of a few states, most of us all have to file federal and state income taxes and are hoping to get a refund from both. In the past, once you filed, it could take quite a few weeks to get a letter back from the IRS telling you that your income taxes have been received and your refund has been approved. But now there is no reason to wait that long to find out your tax refund status. If you're wondering just how to check my state tax refund status, simply follow the steps below.
Wait
While we live in the world of automation you must still allow a certain amount of time before you can check the status of your state tax refund. For most states, the minimum waiting time is around three days after you e-file your return. However, if you file through the mail, you will have to wait even longer before the results are available (approximately three to four weeks).
Collect the Data
One of the first things I need to do in learning how to check my state tax refund is to collect the right data. First, I will need to have my social security number, filing status, and the total amount of the tax refund I can expect. All of this information will be found on the top page of the tax refund form.
Go Online
Next, I will need to go to the state IRS website to get my information. On their home page, I will click the Where's My Refund link, which will direct me to a simple form that I must fill out to check my status. There, I will find three separate sections where II must fill in the required information. Once completed, I will then hit the 'submit' button at the bottom of the page and the status of my return will come up.
By Phone
I can also check the status of my return by phone. I can simply call the IRS office at 800-829-1954 and follow the instructions given by the automated service to get my status.
If I used a professional tax service to file my income taxes, I may find that checking the status is much easier than that. Many services offer free checking as an additional service when I file with them. There are also apps for Smart Phones that can also be used. One thing for sure, information is readily available for anyone these days, cutting out a lot of the worry and anxiety that can go with filing our taxes so no one ever has to worry about how to check my state tax refund status again.