{"id":19244,"date":"2011-01-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-01-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/can-get-tax-refund-faster\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T22:01:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T22:01:27","slug":"can-get-tax-refund-faster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/can-get-tax-refund-faster\/","title":{"rendered":"Can You Get Your Tax Refund any Faster?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most of what you've read online about IRS problems is wrong, or at least misleading. I'm Darrin Mish. I practice tax law in Tampa and I've been doing this for 32 years. Here's what's actually true.<\/p>\n

Many tax preparers make claims that they can get you your tax refund in double quick time, some even boasting a 24 hour refund. \u00a0But how far-fetched are such claims? \u00a0And are tax preparers really able to get around the IRS refund procedures to obtain your refund in a shorter time? \u00a0Or maybe the IRS has a fast-track program that can get you your refund in 24 hours? \u00a0Click here to read or watch more IRS Help resources.<\/a><\/div>\n
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As a taxpayer, you should be on your guard against any over-the-top claims of super fast tax refunds. \u00a0The fact is the IRS does not have any special fast-track program for you to short circuit their standard procedures. \u00a0Neither can a tax preparer achieve this for you.<\/div>\n
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But you may come across tax preparers making claims they can give you immediate refunds or have known of friends who have received such quick refunds. \u00a0Actually, what these tax preparers offer is not the actual refund you would get from the IRS, but a Refund Anticipation Loan or RAL.<\/div>\n
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The truth is the actual refund from the IRS takes a number of weeks to obtain depending on how you filed your tax returns. \u00a0If you filed your returns electronically, you can expect your return in about 3 weeks. \u00a0On the other hand, if you submitted your tax returns by post, it can take up to 8 weeks. \u00a0If you have amended a previous year\u2019s tax returns to claim a refund, the time taken for it would be between 8 to 12 weeks.<\/div>\n
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If you add the option to have your refund directly deposited then you would likely receive your refunds a week earlier than these timeframes whereas e-filed returns with direct deposits can even be received in as little as 10 days.<\/div>\n
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Anything that is received any earlier than these timeframes is an RAL. \u00a0An RAL is a loan that the tax preparer extends to you that is not above the sum of your refund. \u00a0In return, your tax refund goes to them. \u00a0But you must remember that should your refund be withheld by the IRS for any reason, or used to offset to another debt you owe to the government, then you not only will owe the tax preparer company what you borrowed, but you also may still owe the IRS or your state.<\/div>\n
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Another problem with RALs is that they come at high interest rates. \u00a0If your income is higher than a certain threshold, you can still e-file through the IRS web site for a small fee. \u00a0Every year, the IRS partners with reputable dot com companies for free tax preparation and filing through the IRS web site.<\/div>\n
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So if you do apply for an RAL, make sure you completely understand the terms of the loan. \u00a0Find out if they offer any guarantee and what happens if the IRS withholds your refund. \u00a0For example, will there be a penalty or interest if your refund is delayed.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most of what you've read online about IRS problems is wrong, or at least misleading. I'm Darrin Mish. I practice tax law in Tampa and I've been doing this for 32 years. Here's what's actually true. Many tax preparers make claims that they can get you your tax refund in double quick time, some even […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-irs-help"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19244"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21875,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19244\/revisions\/21875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/getirshelp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}