Finance
All about tax refunds: Average delivery time and how to check that status of your refund
Breitbart economics and finance editor John Carney joins ‘The Bottom Line’ to discuss The Washington Post fact-checking President Biden’s tax pledge, saying it has ‘incomplete budgeting.’
Even though the processing of filing taxes can be stressful to get done, many look forward to the refund that they receive.
You aren’t going to receive the same refund, or a refund at all, each year. Whether you get a refund is dependent on a variety of factors. The main one is how much you have paid to the government in taxes in the previous year. If you have had too much of your income withheld, then you will get a refund of that extra amount you paid during the previous year.
The faster you file your taxes, the faster your refund will be on its way. Here’s everything you need to know about tax refunds.
For the fastest refund, file your taxes electronically, and opt for direct deposit. (iStock / iStock)
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1. Can I calculate how much I’m getting back?
The short answer is yes. You can calculate (approximately) how much your refund will be before you receive it.
The easiest way to do this is through the many refund calculators available online. All you have to do is fill out your financial information and a refund amount will be provided to you. While this number may not be exact, it can give you a good idea of what you can expect to get back in your refund.
Some companies that have online refund calculators are TurboTax, H&R Block and NerdWallet.
2. What are tax refunds?
A tax refund is the money that you get back after filing your taxes. You receive a refund if you had too much money withheld and overpaid your taxes the previous year.
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“Taxpayers are typically eligible for refunds if they are employees and have excess federal/state withholdings or if they are self-employed — the quarterly estimated tax payments remitted during the course of the year exceeds the tax liability,” Jason Schwitzer, a CPA and managing partner at Nathen T. Schwitzer & Associates, told FOX Business.
3. When should I expect my refund?
There is no exact answer to this question, because not everyone gets their refund at the same time. How quickly you get your refund has a lot to do with how quickly you file, how you file and how you choose to receive your refund.
It’s important to file your taxes both quickly and accurately to get your refund fast. (iStock / iStock)
The first tip is to file your taxes as soon as you can. The faster you file, the faster you can expect that refund to hit your bank account.
While the speed at which you file is important, the accuracy of your information is also extremely important. If there is any information that is not correct or further information is needed, it could take more than 120 days to process the refund, according to the IRS. If there are any issues, you will receive a letter from the IRS.
According to the IRS, filing your taxes electronically is the most efficient method.
Another important factor is choosing to receive your refund through direct deposit, in order to get a faster refund delivery time.
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“If you elect to receive your refund by direct deposit, you will receive those funds typically in two to four weeks, depending on how quickly your tax return is processed and if it is electronically filed,” Schwitzer said. “If you elect to receive your refund by paper check it can take double, sometimes triple the amount of time — especially if your address is not up-to-date and accurate.”
4. Can I check my refund status online?
Yes, you can check your refund status online or even through an app on your phone.
There is a “Where’s My Refund” tab on the IRS website where you can go to check the status of your refund. To do this, you will need to have your Social Security number, taxpayer ID number, filing status and the exact refund amount on your return handy.
There is also a way to check your refund status on the IRS2Go mobile app.
5. What should I do with my tax refund?
What you decide to do with the money you get back really depends on what your needs are at the time you receive your refund.
Many choose to pay off a debt with their tax refunds or put it into their savings. (iStock / iStock)
“It depends on what the cash flow needs of the taxpayer. There may be a need to pay down consumer debt or utilize the funds towards the subsequent year’s estimated tax payments. But really it depends on the needs of the taxpayer,” Schwitzer said.
Many elect to put their tax refund straight into a high-yield savings account or invest the cash, if they are able. If you have any outstanding debt, whether that be on a credit card, or maybe a student or car loan, putting your refund towards that also isn’t a bad idea.
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A tax refund can also be a great cushion to put away as part, or the start, of an emergency fund to protect you when unexpected expenses arise.
Alliance Global Partners chief global strategist Mark Grant discusses his income tax strategy for retirees on ‘Varney & Co.’
For the generation that should be in its “peak savings years,” the prospect of retiring on time has shifted from a plan to a prayer.
A newly released Employee Financial Wellness Survey by PwC found that nearly 50% of Gen X employees are pushing back their retirement dates, citing stagnant wages, rising everyday costs, and a lack of liquid savings.
Additionally, only 38% of Gen Xers believe they can retire when they originally planned, and more than half of this demographic expect to withdraw funds from their retirement accounts early to cover short-term costs.
“For employers, this isn’t a future problem. Financial anxiety during peak career years can affect focus and engagement,” PwC researchers write. “If the risks are clear, the question is why more employees aren’t taking action. It’s not a lack of desire. Most employees want stability, confidence and to feel in control. But many don’t feel equipped to get there.”
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The primary driver of this retirement delay is the inability to save as inflation eats away at monthly expenses, the report notes. Twenty-five percent of the total workforce is living without a buffer, and nearly half cannot meet basic household expenses.
Nearly half of Gen X workers are delaying retirement, PwC reports. (Getty Images)
“[Forty-nine percent] say their compensation isn’t keeping up with costs. As expenses rise faster than income, day-to-day trade-offs are becoming routine. Employees aren’t just feeling squeezed. They’re making difficult financial decisions to stay afloat,” the PwC report continues..
As a result, when Gen Xers cannot afford to leave their current jobs, the entire corporate ladder stalls, creating business risks, with companies facing higher costs as older talent remains on payroll longer than expected.
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“When employees dip into retirement funds early or delay retirement altogether, it affects more than personal finances and retirement plan leakage,” the report says. “It may also influence workforce planning, healthcare costs, succession timing and overall organizational stability.”
The findings also show that a significant portion – 41% – of the workforce feel they were never given the tools to manage a crisis of this magnitude, leading to a sense of being “overwhelmed” by financial choices.
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‘The Big Money Show’ breaks down new IRS limits for 401(k)s and IRAs, giving savers more room to invest for retirement.
PwC provided a call to action for employees and their employers, encouraging them to reduce the stigma around financial education, foster trust through human coaches, emphasize skill building and focus on day-to-day finances before long-term goals.
“Employees define financial wellness simply: less stress, fewer surprises and the freedom to make financial choices with confidence. For employers, that’s the opportunity.”
Cybersecurity and enterprise software stocks have been market dogs in 2026, with fears that AI will wipe out a wide range of companies in the enterprise space dominating the narrative. But they snapped a brutal losing streak this past week, joining in the broader market rally that saw all losses from the U.S.-Iran war regained by the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500.
Cybersecurity has been “a victim of some of the AI-related headlines,” Christian Magoon, Amplify ETFs CEO, said on this week’s “ETF Edge.”
It wasn’t just niche cybersecurity names. Take Microsoft, for example, which was recently down close to 20% for the year. Its shares surged last week by 13%.
A big driver of the pummeling in software stocks was a rotation within tech by investors to AI infrastructure and semiconductors and some other names in large-cap tech, Magoon said, and since cybersecurity stocks and ETFs are heavily weighted towards software companies, they were left behind even as those businesses continue to grow on a fundamental basis.
But Wall Street now has become more bullish with the stocks at lower levels. Brent Thill, Jefferies tech analyst, said last week that the worst may be over for software stocks. “I think that this concept that software is dead, and then Anthropic and OpenAI are going to kill the entire industry, is just over-exaggerated,” he said on CNBC’s “Money Movers” on Wednesday.
“Big Short” investor Michael Burry wrote in a Substack post on Wednesday that he is becoming bullish about software stocks after the recent selloff. “Software stocks remain interesting because of accelerated extreme declines last week arising from a reflexive positive feedback loop between falling software stocks and changes in the market for their bank debt,” he wrote.
The Global X Cybersecurity ETF (BUG), is down about 12% since the beginning of the year, with top holdings including Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, Akamai Technologies and CrowdStrike. But BUG was up 12% last week. The First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF (CIBR) is down 6% for the year, but up 9% in the past week.
Piper Sandler analyst Rob Owens reiterated an “overweight” rating on Palo Alto Networks which helped the stock pop 7% — it is now down roughly 6% on the year. Its peers saw similar moves, including CrowdStrike.
Performance of Global X cybersecurity ETF versus S&P 500 over past one-year period.
Magoon said expectations may have become too high in cybersecurity, and with a crowding effect among investors, solid results were not enough to to push stocks higher. But the down-and-then-back-up 2026 for the sector is also a reminder that when stocks fall sharply in a short period of time, opportunity may knock.
“Once you’re down over 10% in some of these subsectors, you start to see the contrarians start to say, ‘well, maybe I’ll take a look at this,'” Magoon said.
He said AI does add both opportunity and uncertainty to the cybersecurity equation, increasing demand but also introducing new competition. But he added, “I think the dip is good to buy in an AI-driven world,” specifically because the risks to companies may lead to more M&A in cyber names that benefits the stocks.
For now, investors may look for opportunity on the margins rather than rush back into beaten-up tech names. “I think investors are still going to remain underweight software,” Thill said.
But Magoon advises investors to at least take the reminder to keep an eye on niches in the market during pronounced downturns. “The best-performing are often the least bought and do the best over the next 12 months versus late-in-the-game piling on,” he said.
While that may have been a mindset that worked against the last investors into cybersecurity and enterprise software in mid-2025 when the negative sentiment started building, at least for now, it’s started working for the stocks in the sector again.
Meanwhile, this year’s biggest winner is also a good example of what can be an extended trade in either a bullish or bearish direction. Last year, institutional ownership of energy was at multi-year lows, Magoon said, referencing Bank of America data. “Reverse sentiment can be a great indicator,” he said.
But he cautioned that any selective buying of stocks that have dipped does have to contend with the risk that there is a potentially bigger drawdown in the market yet to come in 2026. That is because midterm election years historically have been marked by large drawdowns. “If you think it is bad right now, it could get a lot worse,” Magoon said. But he added that there’s a silver-lining in that data, too, for the patient investor. The market has posted very strong 12-month returns after midterm election drawdowns end. So, for investors with a longer-term time horizon and no need for short-term liquidity, Magoon said, “stick in there.”
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New innovation in the exchange-traded fund industry could come at a cost to investors during extreme conditions.
According to MFS Investment Management’s Jamie Harrison, ETFs involved in increasingly complex derivatives and less transparent markets may be in uncharted territory when it comes to violent downturns.
“Those would be something that you’d want to keep an eye on as volatility ramps up,” the firm’s head of ETF capital markets told CNBC’s “ETF Edge” this week. “As innovation continues to increase at a rapid pace within the ETF wrapper, [it’s] definitely something that we advise our clients to be really front-footed about… Lack of transparency could absolutely be an issue if we’re going to start seeing some deep sell-offs.”
His firm has been around since 1924 and is known for inventing the open-end mutual fund. Last year, ETF.com named MFS Investment Management as the best new ETF issuer.
“It’s important to do due diligence on the portfolio,” he said. “Having a firm that has deep partnerships, deep bench of subject matter experts that plays with the A-team in terms of the Street and liquidity providers available [are] super important.”
Liquidity as the real issue?
Harrison suggested the real issue is liquidity, particularly during a steep sell-off.
“We’ve all seen the news and the headlines around potential private credit ETFs. That picture becomes much more murky,” he added. “It’s up to advisors, to investors [and] to clients to really dig in and look under the hood and engage with their issuers.”
He noted investors will have to ask some tough questions.
“What does this look like in a 20% drawdown? How does this liquidity facility work? Am I going to be able to get in? Am I going to be able to get out? And if I’m able to get out, am I able to get out at a price that’s tight to NAV [net asset value], and what’s the infrastructure at your shop in terms of managing that consideration for me,” said Harrison.
Amplify ETFs’ Christian Magoon is also concerned about these newer ETF strategies could weather a monster drawdown. He listed private credit as a red flag.
“If your ETF owns private credit, I think it’s worth taking a look at, kind of what the standards are around liquidity and how that ETF is trading, because that should be a bit of a mismatch between the trading pace of ETFs and the underlying asset,” the firm’s CEO said in the same interview.
Magoon also highlighted potential issues surrounding equity-linked notes. The notes provide fixed income security while offering potentially higher returns linked to stocks or equity indexes.
“Those could potentially be in stress due to redemptions and the underlying credit risk. That’s another kind of unique derivative,” Magoon said. “I would very closely look at any ETF that has equity-linked notes should we get into a major drawdown or there be a contagion in private credit or something related to the banking system.”
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