Yet to receive income tax refund? Know the common reasons for delayed processing

Delay in tax refund? Ascertain the reasons for delay in processing through the e-filing portal

The income tax (I-T) department has released offline excel utilities for forms ITR-2 and ITR-3, the key forms that are relevant for individual taxpayers, but glitches have meant that many are yet to start the annual e-filing exercise.

However, that’s not the case with pensioners/salaried taxpayers and professionals who have to use ITR-1 (Sahaj) and ITR-4 (Sugam) respectively. “ITR-2 and ITR-3 offline excel utilities have just been released, but there are some teething issues. We are yet to start filing their clients’ returns as we are waiting for all the issues to be resolved. As a result of this, the traffic to the e-filing portal is perhaps lower at the moment, and ITR-1 and ITR-4 returns are being processed faster. Most such taxpayers have already received their refunds,” says Nitesh Buddhdev, Founder, Nimit Consultancy.

If you haven’t received yours, you ought to log in to the e-filing portal (incometax.gov.in), go to e-file > income tax returns > view filed returns and ascertain the refund status. You can also call the State Bank of India's (refund banker designated by the I-T department) helpline number (18004259760) for the same. Here’s a list of the most common causes of delay or rejection of refund claims:

Variation in ITR, AIS data

ITR processing and refund credit could face hurdles if the data in your return does not match the information in AIS (annual information statement) or Form-26AS (tax credit statement).

Also read: Income tax return filing: ITR forms for AY 2025–26 notified — check key changes

Erroneous bank account details

Errors in entering the bank account details to which refunds have to be credited is one of the common causes for tax refunds being stuck. According to the I-T department, your refund processing may not go through if your bank is not pre-validated. This process is mandatory and you must complete it before filing your returns.

Bank account-PAN data mismatch

Refund request may be rejected or delayed if the name on your bank account significantly differs from the name as per PAN records, especially in case of joint accounts or spelling variations.

If you have erroneously mentioned an invalid IFSC code for your bank account or have already closed the bank account selected for refund, it will not be processed, leading to a delay.

Refund credit failure

Your refund claim could also be rejected or there could be a failure in crediting the refund to your bank account. In such cases, the date and reasons for the failure will be displayed. For example, if your PAN is not operative as it is not linked to your Aadhaar, the website will display an alert, asking you to complete the process after paying the penal fee of Rs 1,000 under section 234H.

Also read: ITR filing 2025: From ITR-1 to ITR-7 - how to choose the right income tax return form

Adjustments against tax dues

Also, your tax refund could be partially adjusted against taxes due, if any. In such cases, your refund amount and clearance date will be mentioned, but the status will read as: ‘Processed and partially refund adjusted’. Then, there is a possibility that the entire refund amount that you had claimed could be adjusted against tax dues. In such cases, this update will be displayed: ‘(return) Processed and full amount adjusted’.