Why Does Income Tax Department Take Time to Refund Large Amounts?
The due date of filing Income Tax Return (ITR) for Assessment Year 2025-26 was further extended to September 15, for non-audit taxpayers. Taxpayers who are entitled to a refund are wondering whether the income tax department will delay their refunds if the refund amount is huge. Many are questioning whether there is any rule regarding the maximum refunds.
There are no rules regarding the maximum amount of refunds, as per the Income Tax Act. No matter how small or big the refund is, it will be transferred to your bank account. However, the time taken for crediting a refund can be different. The small refunds are credited earlier than the large refunds. This is because the income tax department examines the larger amount, which can result in delayed refunds.
Additionally, if you have filed your income close to the due date or on the due date, 16 September 2025, the e-filing portal, due to high traffic, slows down the e-verification by 24 to 48 hours. But for those who have filed their ITR early, weeks before the due date, the e-verification takes a few hours. Many taxpayers this year claimed that their ITR was also processed early, and the refunds were received the same day.
The refunds are usually credited to your bank account within 2 weeks to a month after the e-verification of your ITR. But if your ITR has business income, capital gains, or several deductions, the income tax department may increase the processing time. However, for a simple ITR with just salary and basic deductions, the ITR is processed faster, and the refunds are credited faster too.
If your refunds are not credited on time, then there could be some issues, such as errors in Aadhaar, PAN, or bank account details; mismatches in TDS data; incorrect IFSC codes; or the bank not being pre-validated.
To check your refund status, log in to the income tax portal using your password and ID and navigate to the e-File tab. Select the view filed returns, and the refund status will be shown on your screen.
