ITR status check e-filing refund 2026

ITR status is the stage of a filed return on incometax.gov.in. Return status and refund status are different screens. E-verify the ITR-V first; CPC will not process an unverified return.

On this page

• Return status vs refund status
• E-verify the ITR-V
• Income Tax e-filing flow
• If the return is stuck or defective
• RTI to CPC or the AO PIO
• FAQ: ITR-V, refund, login

Filing an Income Tax Return is only the first step. After you submit, the return must be e-verified. Then the Centralised Processing Centre processes it. A refund, if any, is a later stage. Do not refresh one screen hoping it answers both questions.

A processed return gets an intimation under Income-tax Act s.143(1). That intimation compares your figures with the Department's computation. Refund credit, if the intimation shows one, is a separate movement to your pre-validated bank account.

There is no refund-day figure on this page. CPC does not publish a citizen SLA of “X days after e-verify” on the help pages used here. Match the portal to the passbook. Ignore WhatsApp forwards that quote a week count.

PAN must be live before you file. See how to apply for PAN card and PAN card status check. Name mismatch with Aadhaar can block e-verify and refunds. See PAN-Aadhaar name mismatch KYC fix.

GST refund is a different law and a different portal. That walkthrough is GST refund status 2026.

ITR-V is the verification of a return you already uploaded. Without it, status stays pending for e-verification. Processing does not start.

The Income Tax Department FAQ on the 30-day timeline, read with Notification No. 5/2022 dated 29.07.2022, says this: from 1 August 2022, e-verification or submission of ITR-V shall be 30 days from the date of filing. If you upload in time but verify late, the date of e-verify can be treated as the date of furnishing. Late-filing consequences can then follow. An unverified return can be treated as invalid. A condonation request exists for genuine delay. Use the portal's condonation path, not a cafe promise.

Ways the portal offers e-verify

• Aadhaar OTP on the mobile linked to Aadhaar
• Electronic Verification Code through net banking, bank account, demat, or other methods the screen lists
• Digital Signature Certificate where the form allows it
• Signed paper ITR-V posted to CPC, only if you cannot e-verify. Use the address printed on your ITR-V PDF. Do not copy an old blog address from memory.

e-Verify is the faster path. Confirm the Aadhaar mobile first. UIDAI enrolment help is on how to apply for Aadhaar.

1. Open incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal.
2. On the homepage, open Income Tax Return (ITR) Status.
3. Enter the 15-digit acknowledgement number and a valid mobile number.
4. Enter the OTP sent to that mobile.
5. Read the status of that return. Screenshot it.

The acknowledgement number is on the ITR-V emailed after filing. It is also on View Filed Returns after login.

1. Log in with your e-Filing user ID. For most individuals that is the PAN, plus password.
2. Go to e-File, then Income Tax Returns, then View Filed Returns.
3. Select the assessment year.
4. Open View Details for the return life cycle and action items.
5. Download ITR-V, the return PDF, and the intimation order when it exists.

Post-login shows more than pre-login. Use it when you need the intimation or a refund line.

Forgot password is on the same login page. Do not use a lookalike “e-filing refund” domain. The official host is incometax.gov.in and the eportal.incometax.gov.in service behind it.

Never share OTP, password, or PAN login. The Department will not call you to “release a refund” against an OTP.

Exact labels can vary. Follow the screen.

AIS / TIS mismatch is a separate compliance issue. It is not the same screen as ITR status. If a high-value information mismatch sits on AIS, treat that as its own response, not as “refund delayed by X days”.

If status is pending for e-verification, e-verify first. Nothing else helps until that is done.

If it shows defective, read the notice. Respond through the portal within the time given. Section 139(9) defective-return language lives in the Act. The portal tells you what to fix.

If a verified return stays under processing with no intimation, raise a grievance on e-Filing / e-Nivaran. Note the acknowledgement.

Do not invent a refund calendar. If the intimation shows a refund and the bank has nothing, match the pre-validated account on the portal to the passbook. Wrong IFSC and a closed account are common. Fix bank details on the portal. Then wait for the next credit attempt. Still silent: grievance, then RTI.

The processing authority is the Centralised Processing Centre. If View Filed Returns shows transfer to the Assessing Officer, the live file is with that AO. Use Know Your JAO at knowYourAO to name the office.

File under RTI Act 2005 s.6(1) to the PIO of CPC Bengaluru for a CPC processing file, or to the PIO of the jurisdictional Assessing Officer / Principal Commissioner if the return was transferred. Reply is due in 30 days under s.7(1). First appeal is s.19(1).

RTI asks for the movement log. It does not order a refund. Demand-for-payment language is the wrong tool.

1. Current status of ITR for PAN [number], acknowledgement [number], assessment year [year], as on the date of this reply.
2. Date of e-verification or ITR-V receipt, date of processing, and date of s.143(1) intimation if issued.
3. Name and designation of the official with whom the return or refund is pending, and from which date.
4. If a refund is determined: amount, payment advice or refund banker reference, and reason any credit has not reached the pre-validated account.
5. Action taken on e-Nivaran grievance [number] dated [date].

Draft with the AI RTI Drafter. Appeal with the First Appeal Builder. Method: The RTI Playbook.

• Use incometax.gov.in only. Ignore look-alike refund apps and search ads.
• Never share OTP, password, or PAN login, including with callers who name a refund amount.
• No agent fee is needed to check your own ITR status. The service is free.
• Do not post ITR-V or AIS screenshots in public groups.

• Tracking refund on the return-status screen and calling it “stuck”.
• Leaving ITR-V unverified, then blaming CPC.
• Quoting a blog's refund day-count as if it were a CBDT circular.
• Filing RTI to “CBDT, North Block” for one acknowledgement.
• Using a closed bank account as the pre-validated refund account.

Yes. Use pre-login Income Tax Return (ITR) Status on incometax.gov.in. Enter the 15-digit acknowledgement and a mobile, then OTP. For downloads and refund lines, log in and open View Filed Returns.

After filing, open e-Verify Return on the same portal. Use Aadhaar OTP, EVC, net banking, or DSC as the screen allows. Department FAQ with Notification 5/2022: from 1 August 2022 the time-limit is 30 days from filing. Verify late and the furnishing date can shift. An unverified return can be treated as invalid.

It is a 15-digit number generated when you file. It is on the ITR-V emailed to you. After login it is under e-File, Income Tax Returns, View Filed Returns.

Refund status is a later stage after processing. Open View Filed Returns for that assessment year. Read the intimation. Then match the bank statement. This page does not print a refund day-count. There is none to invent.

Filing alone does not complete the process. Until you e-verify, status stays pending for e-verification. Complete e-verify, then check again. If the 30-day window has passed, use the portal's condonation path.

After processing, the Department issues an intimation under s.143(1). It compares your figures with the Department's computation. Download it under View Filed Returns. If you disagree, a rectification under s.154 may follow. That is a later step, not status check.

Pre-login ITR Status needs only the acknowledgement and a mobile OTP. Reset the password from the official login page. Do not use a third-party “unlock e-filing” site.

If the return is still with CPC, RTI the CPC PIO. If View Filed Returns shows transfer to the Assessing Officer, RTI that AO's office. Know Your JAO names the charge. Grievance first.

• How to apply for PAN card
• How to apply for Aadhaar
• PAN-Aadhaar name mismatch KYC fix
• GST refund status 2026
• How to apply guides
• Status check guides
• AI RTI Drafter
• The RTI Playbook

• Income Tax e-Filing portal - incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal
• ITR-V 30-day FAQ - ITR-V FAQs / 30 days timeline
• How to e-Verify - e-Verify FAQ
• Notification No. 5/2022 dated 29.07.2022 (30-day ITR-V)
• Income-tax Act, 1961 s.139(9), s.143(1), s.154
• RTI Act 2005 s.6(1), s.7(1), s.19(1)

Reviewed for RTI Wiki by Dr. Shrawan Kumar Pathak.