Many taxpayers are confused for the financial year 2025-26. Their Income Tax Return (ITR) portal shows the status as “Processed”, but the refund has still not reached their bank account. This problem is common this year because the number of filed returns is very high.
So far, 7.68 crore returns have been filed by early September. Out of these, more than 6 crore returns have already been processed. Still, many taxpayers are complaining on social media that they have not received their refund even though the portal is showing “Processed”.
Why Is the Refund Getting Delayed?
“Processed” means the Income Tax Department has checked your return and confirmed your final tax or refund amount. But this does not mean that the refund has been sent to your bank. The delay can happen due to:
- Wrong bank account details or incorrect IFSC code
- Mismatch in tax details (difference between Form 26AS/AIS and the ITR)
- Processing backlog
- Bank account not active or not verified
Many taxpayers face delays because their bank account is wrong, inactive, or the IFSC code is incorrect. Any difference between the TDS amount and the information in the return can also slow down the refund.
What Taxpayers Should Do
- Log in to the e-filing portal and check your refund status.
- If the portal shows “refund issued” but money not received, contact your bank.
- If bank details are correct but refund still not received, submit a Refund Reissue Request on the portal.
- This helps the tax department to resend the refund. In many cases, the refund comes within 15–30 days.
- Sometimes delays happen because NSDL (now Protean eGov) handles the refund process.
When to Contact the Department
If more than one month has passed and the refund has still not come, contact the Centralized Processing Centre (CPC), Bengaluru.
All helpdesk numbers are available on the e-filing portal.
Make sure your registered mobile number and email ID are updated so you receive refund updates on time.
