Americans are concerned about delays in the payment of Tax Refunds after President Donald Trump issued an executive order freezing hiring at the IRS. The situation hasn’t been clarified, but tax filers are worried that if the IRS is short-staffed, the processing of refunds may be affected and take longer to be paid out than expected. Many people have plans for their funds, and the uncertainty about payment dates is causing them stress. You can find out what we know so far below.
Donald Trump’s executive order means IRS hiring is frozen
US President Donald Trump issued an executive order on January 20, 2025, freezing all Federal hiring. This includes the Internal Revenue Service, and it’s come at a bad time just after the opening of the tax filing season for 2024. Mandated federal workers have been ordered to return to work, while any employment appointments made after February 8 have been revoked.
There’s no indication when the freeze will be lifted and the decision ultimately lies with newly appointed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Former IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig wrote on social media:
“Every facet of IRS operations will be significantly impacted by the current hiring freeze. Fortunately, IRS employees are resilient and have considerable experience with hiring freeze operations.”
Will the payment of tax refunds be affected by the hold on IRS employment?
Understandably, taxpayers who have refunds due after filing their 2024 returns are concerned that the employment freeze will mean that payments will be delayed due to a shortage of staff at this critically busy point in the year.
Tax refunds are typically paid out within just a few weeks of returns being submitted, but the ability to process the returns as quickly as in previous years could be in jeopardy due to the unprecedented situation caused by Trump’s executive order.
A staff shortage would not only mean that processing the millions of returns and refunds would take longer but there may well be customer service complications and longer waiting times for queries to be attended to as well.
The Internal Revenue Service predicted that around 140 million returns will be filed this tax season before the deadline of April 15. People who choose to file later can expect their refund payment processing to take longer. This is one of the reasons why it’s advisable to file as early as possible in the season.
In more news about Trump’s policies and how they are affecting the economy, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are getting ready for a price shock after the US President called for sharp rate cuts. It remains to be seen what the Fed decides to do under his insistence.
The IRS refund schedule
Most tax refunds are processed within 21 days of submitting a return, but the exact waiting period varies depending on whether filers file electronically (e-filing) or by mail or if changes need to be made to the return.
These are the expected refund dates for e-filers (but note that these are only projected dates, not confirmed):
- Return filed between January 22 and January 26: Expected refund date February 2
- January 29 and February 22: February 9
- February 5 to February 9: February 16
- February 12 to February 16: February 23
- February 19 to February 23: March 1
- February 26 to March 1: March 8
- March 4 to March 8: March 15
- March 11 to March 15: March 22
- March 18 to March 22: March 29
- March 25 to March 29: April 5
- April 1 to April 5: April 12
- April 8 to April 12: April 19
- April 15 (deadline): April 26
Kevin Thompson, founder and CEO of 9i Capital Group, offered a silver lining to possible delays in the payment of refunds:
“The hiring freeze may cause some delays, but I don’t anticipate any major issues at this time. If your tax refund is delayed, the IRS starts paying you interest after 45 days from the tax filing deadline or 30 days after receiving an amended return. The interest rate is the federal funds rate plus 3 percent, so if your refund takes longer than expected, at least you’ll earn a little extra—though, of course, it’s taxable.”
Unfortunately for tax filers who are impatient to receive their refunds, the hiring freeze situation means that a definite time frame can’t be provided as in previous years. Remember to only trust verified, official sources of information and don’t make firm plans for the money until you see it land in your bank account.
Another sector that’s been affected by Trump’s recent policies is Social Security. One of the first things that freshly re-inaugurated US President Donald Trump did under his second term is impose a freeze on federal funding and there are important repercussions for millions of Americans.