Waiting on a tax refund from the IRS? Here's when you can expect a rebate - and how to track its status

With Tax Day just passed, millions of Americans will now be thinking about when they might be receiving a refund from the IRS. 

Three-quarters of taxpayers anticipated receiving a refund this tax season  - according to a CreditKarma survey from January - with many planning to spend it on necessities such as paying off credit card debt.

According to the latest data from the IRS, the number of refunds this year is down 3.3 percent, while the average dollar amount people are getting back from the agency is up.  

The average income tax refund so far this season is $3,011, up $123 from last year. 

If you filed your tax return before yesterday's deadline and want to know when you might get your refund, you can track its status through the IRS.  

With Tax Day just passed, millions of Americans will now be thinking about when they might be receiving a refund from the IRS

If you filed an electric return and signed up for direct deposit, the IRS says you should receive your funds within 21 days of filing. 

That is as long as there are no issues with your return. 

If you sent your return by mail or filed an amended return, it will take at least four weeks for your refund to be processed, CNBC reported. 

You can keep track of the status of your refund on the IRS's 'Where's My Refund' site or on the IRS2Go mobile app.

In order to use the service you will need your Social Security number or Individual Tax Identification Number, your filing status and the refund you are expecting. 

The status of your return is available to view within 24 hours of e-filing.

The IRS warns that you should only try to call to get an update if it has been at least 21 days since you filed an electronic return - or six weeks since you sent a print return. 

You can also make an appointment to get assistance at your local IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center office. 

The agency has been keen to promote the changes it has made since receiving tens of billions in funding under the Biden Administration's Inflation Reduction Act. 

It has aimed to cut phone wait times, digitize documents and speed up the refund process. 

The agency has been keen to promote the changes it has made since receiving tens of billions in funding under the Biden Administration's Inflation Reduction Act (Pictured: IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel)

Latest agency numbers show almost 102 million Americans have filed a return this season, with $200 billion delivered in refunds. 

This data only takes into account filings through April 5, so these numbers are expected to rise significantly when they take in last-minute filers. 

'It's clear that we're seeing historic improvements in taxpayer service levels, and the agency is rebounding from some very tough and lean years during the past decade,' said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. 

The IRS says call wait times have been cut down to three minutes this tax season, compared with the average 28 minutes in 2022. 

That has saved taxpayers 1.4 million hours of hold time and the agency has answered 3 million more calls compared with the same time frame the year prior, AP reported.