Income Tax Refunds Rise 29% to INR 2.20 Lakh Crore: Check Why Your Refund Is Pending and What To Do
The Income Tax Department has issued INR 2,20,026.72 crore in direct tax refunds as of September 17, up 29.19% from last year. If your money hasn't arrived, here are the likely reasons and the steps to fix it.
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The Income Tax Department has issued direct tax refunds worth INR 2,20,026.72 crore as of September 17, a jump of 29.19% from the INR 1,70,310.28 crore paid out in the same period last year. The faster disbursal comes with record compliance, as more than 7.8 crore Income Tax Returns (ITRs) had been filed by late August. Gross direct tax collections have also grown steadily, rising 15.19% year-on-year to INR 14.32 lakh crore, backed by healthy growth in both corporate and non-corporate personal tax. Even so, a large number of taxpayers are still waiting for their refunds.
As per the latest Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) data, corporate taxpayers received the biggest share, at around INR 1,38,570 crore. Non-corporate filers, which include salaried individuals, professionals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs), received INR 81,439.39 crore. Tax authorities say automated systems and the Centralized Processing Centre (CPC) have sped up return processing, allowing more refunds to clear early in the financial cycle. How To Check Your Income Tax Refund Status Online?
How To Check Your Pending Refund
If the money has not reached your bank account, these steps can help you find the problem:
- Check the ITR processing status. Log in to the e-filing portal (incometax.gov.in), go to e-File > Income Tax Returns > View Filed Returns, and see whether the status reads "Processed with Refund Due" or the return is still under processing.
- Review bank account pre-validation. The refund account should show a green "Validated" checkmark and have "Refund Re-issue" enabled.
- Look at the e-Filing worklist and pending actions. Check portal notifications for outstanding tax demands, defect notices or "nudge" compliance alerts.
- Submit a Refund Re-issue request. If the portal shows the refund failed because of an incorrect IFSC code, an inactive account or a name mismatch, update your bank details and raise a formal "Refund Re-issue" request on the portal. ITR Deadline August 31: ITR-3 vs ITR-4, Eligibility, Documents and Filing Rules Explained.
Common Reasons Behind Refund Delays
Delays usually come from procedural checks and not just administrative backlog:
- Incomplete e-verification: Filing the ITR is only the first step. If the return is not e-verified within the mandatory 30-day window, processing cannot start.
- Mismatch in tax credits: The department matches your claims with Form 26AS, the Annual Information Statement (AIS) and Tax Information Network (TIN) records. Any discrepancy in Tax Deducted at Source (TDS), Tax Collected at Source (TCS) or advance tax automatically pauses clearance.
- Bank account validation failure: Even after processing, a refund cannot be credited if the bank account is not pre-validated on the portal, or if the name and PAN details do not exactly match bank records.
- Outstanding tax demands: Under Section 245 of the Income-tax Act, unpaid liabilities from earlier assessment years can be adjusted against your current refund.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 19, 2026 10:18 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
