01/23/2026
Tax refunds and tax fee information you need to know.
If you do not have EITC or ACTC on your return, your refund is typically processed within 8 to 21 days.
If you do have EITC or ACTC, your refund will not be processed until after February 15. This is an IRS rule, not a tax office delay.
If you received a cash advance, remember this order:
The cash advance is taken off the top
Then tax prep fees are taken
You receive the remaining balance
Now let’s talk about fees coming out of your refund.
If you elected to have your fees taken out of your refund and you are also receiving a state refund, and your tax company selected for it to be deposited through a third-party tax bank, here’s what happens:
If your state refund comes before your federal, the bank will apply it to:
Your cash advance first
If no cash advance, then toward your fees
When your federal refund is released, your state and federal will be deposited together.
Important banking reminder:
If you chose to have your fees taken out of your refund, that is a bank service.
Your personal bank information is not listed on your tax return.
The third-party bank’s information is listed instead.
Your personal bank information is only on the third-party bank application.
So if you call the IRS and they say your bank account is not on the return, that is normal. No one is stealing your money.
If you paid your tax prep fees out of pocket, the third-party bank is not involved, and your refund comes directly from the IRS to your bank. In that case, make sure your bank information is correct.
One last thing about fees.
When you choose to have fees taken out of your refund, you are paying more than just the tax preparer. You are also paying:
The bank
The tax software company
Administrative and processing fees
Electronic filing
If you received a cash advance, you are also paying interest. For example, a $7,000 advance can carry fees of around $222 by itself.
Those fees do not all go to the tax pro.
Just a few friendly reminders, because I know it’s been a whole year since last tax season.
