How to Check Your Income Tax Refund Status on the e-Filing Portal, Step by Step

You filed your return in July 2026, the acknowledgement says the refund is on its way, and weeks later your bank account is still untouched. Before you assume the money is lost, know that the Income Tax Department gives you a live, self-service view of exactly where your refund sits in its lifecycle. This guide walks through checking that status on the e-Filing portal for Assessment Year 2026-27, reading each of the four possible outcomes, and fixing the single most common reason a refund fails to land: an unvalidated bank account.

The Scenario

Take a salaried taxpayer who filed the return for AY 2026-27 on 18 July 2026 and e-verified it the same day, with a computed refund of Rs 15,800 arising because the employer deducted more TDS than the final liability. Six weeks on, the refund has not been credited, and the reader wants to know whether it has been issued, adjusted against an old demand, or has failed at the bank end. Under Section 143(1) of the Income-tax Act 1961, the Centralised Processing Centre (CPC) must process the return and issue an intimation before any refund is released, so the first fact to establish is whether processing is even complete.

The Income Tax Department publishes a dedicated "Refund Status" user manual on incometax.gov.in describing four distinct end states, and the remedy for each differs. This piece resolves the scenario with the department's own definitions, a step-by-step portal walkthrough for the 2026 interface, and a worked refund computation on the FY 2025-26 slab structure.

Statutory Answer

The entitlement to a refund flows from Section 237 of the Income-tax Act 1961, which grants a refund where the tax paid (by TDS, advance tax or self-assessment tax) exceeds the amount properly chargeable for that assessment year. Section 143(1) governs the summary processing under which the CPC computes and grants that refund, and every refund credited for AY 2026-27 is preceded by a Section 143(1) intimation sent to the registered email on the ITR account.

Where the department delays the refund, Section 244A(1) of the Act provides simple interest at 0.5% per month or part of a month (an effective 6% per annum) on the refund amount, computed from 1 April of the assessment year to the date the refund is granted, provided the refund is 10% or more of the tax determined. This interest is itself taxable in the year of receipt, a point many readers miss when the credited figure exceeds the refund shown in their return.

The Department's Refund Status utility reports one of four outcomes, summarised below with the statutory or procedural trigger for each:

A "refund partially adjusted" or "full refund adjusted" status is not an error: under Section 245 the department may set off a current-year refund against a confirmed demand from an earlier year, but only after giving the taxpayer prior intimation and an opportunity to respond. If you disagree with the set-off, the response is filed through the "Response to Outstanding Demand" facility on the same portal, mirroring the online-response mechanism used for a Section 148 reassessment notice.

A "refund failed" status is almost always procedural rather than legal. The Income Tax Department lists the recurring failure reasons as an unvalidated or closed bank account, a name mismatch between the bank record and the PAN, an invalid IFSC code, and an inoperative PAN that has not been linked with Aadhaar. Since refunds are credited only to a pre-validated account whose name matches the PAN, none of these can be cured by waiting; each needs a specific correction on the portal.

Checking Status on the e-Filing Portal, Step by Step

The 2026 e-Filing interface routes refund status through the filed-return record rather than a separate page. Follow these six steps:

1. Log in at incometax.gov.in with your PAN as the user ID and complete the Aadhaar OTP or password authentication.
2. From the top menu, open e-File > Income Tax Returns > View Filed Returns.
3. Select Assessment Year 2026-27 (the year for the return filed in 2026 for income earned in FY 2025-26).
4. Click View Details against that return to open the refund lifecycle timeline.
5. Read the status line, which will show one of the four outcomes: refund issued, refund partially adjusted, full refund adjusted, or refund failed.
6. Where the status is "refund failed", note the stated reason and proceed to the bank pre-validation fix described below.

To pre-validate a bank account so a re-issued refund can land, open Profile > My Bank Account > Add Bank Account, enter the account number and IFSC exactly as they appear on the bank record, and submit for validation; the account name must match the PAN name character for character. Only a validated and nominated account can receive a refund, which is why the department insists on pre-validation before any re-issue request. If your PAN shows as inoperative, link it with Aadhaar first, because an inoperative PAN blocks the credit at source.

Worked Resolution

Return to the salaried reader with a refund of Rs 15,800 for AY 2026-27. The refund figure is not arbitrary; it is the gap between the tax the employer withheld and the final liability under the FY 2025-26 new-regime slabs. The table below sets out those slabs, which are the basis for every number that follows.

Example A - refund from a nil liability. A reader with a gross salary of Rs 12,75,000 claims the new-regime standard deduction of Rs 75,000, leaving a taxable income of exactly Rs 12,00,000. The tax before rebate is Rs 20,000 (5% of the Rs 4,00,000 in the second slab) plus Rs 40,000 (10% of the Rs 4,00,000 in the third slab), totalling Rs 60,000. Because the income does not exceed Rs 12,00,000, the Section 87A rebate of up to Rs 60,000 wipes out the entire liability, so the final tax is nil. If the employer had already deducted Rs 28,600 of TDS during the year, the whole Rs 28,600 is refundable.

Example B - refund from over-deduction. A reader with a gross salary of Rs 15,75,000 claims the same Rs 75,000 standard deduction, giving a taxable income of Rs 15,00,000. The tax is Rs 20,000 plus Rs 40,000 plus Rs 45,000 (15% of the Rs 3,00,000 falling in the fourth slab), or Rs 1,05,000. Since the income exceeds Rs 12,00,000, no Section 87A rebate applies; adding the 4% health and education cess of Rs 4,200 gives a final liability of Rs 1,09,200. Against a TDS of Rs 1,25,000 deducted by the employer, the refund is Rs 15,800.

In Example B the refund of Rs 15,800 exceeds 10% of the Rs 1,09,200 determined tax (that threshold is Rs 10,920), so Section 244A interest at 0.5% per month runs from 1 April 2026 until the refund is granted. A refund credited on 30 September 2026 carries six months of interest, adding roughly Rs 474 (six times 0.5% of Rs 15,800). You can reproduce either computation on the income tax calculator, test whether the old or new regime leaves a larger refund on the old vs new regime tool, and reconcile the withheld figure on the TDS calculator.

If Example B's refund still shows as "failed" after processing, the cause is on the banking side, not the computation. The reader must pre-validate the account, ensure the PAN-Aadhaar link is active, and then raise a refund re-issue request; the Rs 15,800 (plus Section 244A interest) is re-credited once a validated account is nominated. For readers who earlier claimed an education-loan deduction, note that a refund can also arise from an unclaimed Section 80E interest deduction surfacing only at return-filing stage.

FAQ

How long does an income tax refund take for AY 2026-27?

There is no fixed statutory deadline, but a return e-verified promptly is typically processed under Section 143(1) within a few weeks, and the refund follows the Section 143(1) intimation. If the account is pre-validated and the PAN is operative, the credit usually lands soon after the intimation is issued. Section 244A interest at 0.5% per month compensates for any delay running from 1 April 2026.

What does "refund failed" mean and how do I fix it?

It means the credit was attempted but rejected by the banking channel. The Income Tax Department attributes this to an unvalidated or closed bank account, a name mismatch with the PAN, an invalid IFSC code, or an inoperative PAN. Fix it by pre-validating a bank account under Profile > My Bank Account, ensuring the name matches your PAN, linking PAN with Aadhaar if the PAN is inoperative, and then submitting a refund re-issue request.

Why was my refund adjusted against an old demand?

Under Section 245 of the Income-tax Act 1961, the department may set off a current-year refund against a confirmed outstanding demand from an earlier assessment year, but only after prior intimation. A "partially adjusted" status means part of the refund was set off and the balance paid; "full refund adjusted" means the entire refund was absorbed. If you dispute the demand, respond through the "Response to Outstanding Demand" facility on the portal.

Do I need to pre-validate my bank account to get a refund?

Yes. Since refunds are credited only to a pre-validated account whose holder name matches the PAN, an account that has not been validated cannot receive the money. Add and validate the account under Profile > My Bank Account > Add Bank Account, entering the account number and IFSC exactly as on the bank record, and nominate it for refund.

Is the interest on a delayed refund taxable?

Yes. The Section 244A(1) interest of 0.5% per month is paid over and above the refund, but it is taxable as income in the year you receive it. If your Rs 15,800 refund carries six months of interest of about Rs 474, that Rs 474 must be reported in the return for the year of receipt, even though the Rs 15,800 principal is not taxed again.

Can an inoperative PAN stop my refund?

Yes. A PAN that has not been linked with Aadhaar is treated as inoperative, and an inoperative PAN blocks the refund credit at source. Link the PAN with Aadhaar on incometax.gov.in first, wait for the status to turn operative, and then raise the refund re-issue request against a pre-validated bank account.

Where exactly do I see the refund status on the portal?

Log in at incometax.gov.in, open e-File > Income Tax Returns > View Filed Returns, select Assessment Year 2026-27, and click View Details to see the refund lifecycle. The status line shows one of four outcomes: refund issued, refund partially adjusted, full refund adjusted, or refund failed.