The IRS predicts that most taxpayers in the US will receive their tax refunds between April 9 and 15, 2025. This schedule applies to both digital and paper returns, though processing times vary significantly between the two methods.
Official guidelines state that digital returns submitted between March 19 and April 8, 2025, may take up to 21 days to process. Paper returns mailed between February 13 and March 20, 2025 may take 4 to 8 weeks after receipt.
Differences in processing times between paper and digital returns
The IRS prioritizes electronic forms for faster validation and reduced errors, resulting in the disparity in deadlines. While digital returns are typically reviewed within three weeks, physical returns necessitate manual scanning and verification of attached documents, which delays their processing.
Those who submitted digitally had the advantage of submitting close to the deadline (April 15), while those who chose paper had to send their documents a month earlier to coincide with the refund window. This gap could have an impact on taxpayers’ financial planning, particularly those with urgent liquidity needs.
A relevant finding is that, while both groups would receive their funds on the same dates, taxpayers who used paper had a long wait after the initial shipment. A return submitted on February 13, 2025 may not be processed until the end of March, resulting in a total delay of up to 63 days.
These estimates are supported by anonymous sources, who note that “refunds for paper returns can take 28 to 56 days after the IRS receives them.” The agency reports that in electronic formats, 90% of refunds are issued within 21 days with no errors.
Why you should file your taxes digitally
Digital filing expedites refunds and reduces mail-related risks, according to tax experts. However, according to IRS data, approximately 10% of taxpayers continue to prefer the physical format, whether due to habit, technological distrust, or return complexity.
The IRS recommends that all information, including bank account numbers, addresses, and deduction calculations, be thoroughly verified. Simple errors, regardless of the format chosen, can cause the refund to be delayed by several weeks. In addition, the agency recommends checking the status of the process using its Where’s My Refund? tool.
The following timeline summarizes the critical dates for each method:
- Digital statements: filed between March 19 and April 8, 2025. Maximum processing: 21 days. Refund window: April 9-15.
- Paper statements: sent by mail between February 13 and March 20, 2025. Processing: 4-8 weeks after receipt. Refund window: same as digital ones.
This overlap in final dates conceals a significant difference: paper taxpayers had to submit their declaration up to 35 days before digital taxpayers to receive their refund in April. Those who submitted around March 20, for example, waited nearly a month longer than those who submitted digitally on April 8.
