Archive · 8 Sep 2026
Six Checks for Delayed or Failed Income-Tax Refunds
An income-tax refund may take four to five weeks after your return is e-verified.
You can check what is happening by signing in to the income-tax e-filing portal.
The portal may say that your refund was issued, partly adjusted, fully adjusted or failed.
If the refund was issued but has not arrived, check that the correct bank account is validated.
A refund can fail if your bank details do not match your PAN details or if the account is closed or inactive.
It can also fail if your PAN is not linked with Aadhaar and is therefore inoperative.
You can fix bank-account problems and try to validate the account again.
If the refund failed, you can use the Refund Reissue service and verify the request online.
Refunds generally take four to five weeks after an income-tax return is e-verified.
Taxpayers can view refund status and the return lifecycle under View Filed Returns on the e-filing portal.
Refunds may fail because of unvalidated accounts, PAN-name mismatches, incorrect IFSC codes, closed accounts or an inoperative PAN.
Taxpayers can correct bank-account problems and revalidate an account through the My Bank Account service.
For failed refunds, taxpayers with a validated bank account can submit an e-verified Refund Reissue request online.
- Who
- Taxpayers waiting for income-tax refunds and the Income Tax Department.
- What
- Taxpayers are advised to check refund status, bank-account validation and refund-reissue options when a refund is delayed, failed or not credited.
- When
- Refunds generally take four to five weeks after the income-tax return is e-verified.
- Where
- The income-tax e-filing portal, including View Filed Returns, My Bank Account and Refund Reissue services.
- Why
- Refunds may be delayed or fail because of return issues, unvalidated or incorrect bank details, PAN-related problems or refund adjustments.
- Typical processing time
- Generally four to five weeks after e-verification
- Status location
- e-File > Income Tax Returns > View Filed Returns
- Possible statuses
- Refund issued, partially adjusted, fully adjusted or failed
- Required account status
- Only a validated bank account can be nominated for a refund
- Common failure causes
- Unvalidated account, PAN-name mismatch, invalid IFSC, closed account or inoperative PAN
- Reissue route
- Services > Refund Reissue, followed by selecting a validated account and e-verifying the request
- Confirmation
- A transaction ID and confirmation are provided after successful e-verification