
How to track your federal and Wisconsin tax refunds
Tax season is officially underway in Wisconsin and nationwide — meaning some people may already be looking forward to receiving their tax refunds.
More than a third of taxpayers relay on tax refunds to make ends meet, according to recent survey by Credit Karma, a financial management platform. Among millennials, that rate was even higher at 50%.
If you've already filed your taxes, here's when to expect your Wisconsin and federal tax refunds.
If you filed state taxes electronically in Wisconsin, then you should receive your refund in less than 12 weeks, according to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. In fact, most refunds are issues within three weeks of electronic filing.
Paper tax returns, meanwhile, can take longer to process, the department said.
The timeline for receiving federal tax refunds is similar to the state one in Wisconsin.
If you file electronically, it should take less than three weeks to receive your refund and even less time if you choose direct deposit. If you mail in a paper return, the refund should be issued within six to eight weeks of the date the IRS receives the filing.
These timelines are contingent on your returns being complete and accurate, the IRS said.
After you file your taxes, you can track your state refund on the Wisconsin Department of Revenue website and your federal refund on the IRS website.
To do so, you'll need your:
Tax year
Social Security number or individual taxpayer ID number (ITIN)
Exact refund amount
Filing status (only required for the IRS tracker)
The IRS says information is updated once daily, overnight. And once a refund is marked sent, "It may take 5 days for it to show in your bank account or several weeks for your check to arrive in the mail."
If there is an issue with your tax return requiring more information or additional review, the IRS will send you a letter and your refund could be delayed.
More: Tax season starts Monday. Here's how to file federal and state taxes for free in Wisconsin
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: When will federal and Wisconsin tax refunds arrive? How to track

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