After filing income tax return, every taxpayer wonders when his refund will come. A latest government data on refunds has come out. Delay in income tax refund in FY 2025-26 has again become a topic of discussion among the people. Many people are waiting for their money even months after filing returns. According to government data, till March 24, 2026, a total of 8,89,20,822 returns have been filed and 8,77,86,233 returns have been verified. Of these, 8,50,59,270 returns have been processed. This means that more than 27 lakh returns are still pending, due to which people are getting delayed in getting the refund.
Why are refunds being delayed?
Experts say that now the delay is not just due to office work, but due to problems related to system and data. According to Dinkar Sharma in Financial Express report, lakhs of people are still waiting for their tax refunds as many returns have not been processed yet.
Main reasons for halting refund
- data error– If the information of ITR, AIS and Form 26AS does not match, then investigation starts and refund may be stopped.
- E-verification not completed- Returns which have not been e-verified are not processed.
- More filing at the last moment- Near the deadline, many people file returns simultaneously, which increases the pressure on the system and slows down the work.
- Complex or heavily investigated cases- Returns that contain multiple types of income, capital gains or large refunds undergo more scrutiny, which takes time.
- Wrong information of bank- If the bank account is not correct, not verified or not linked to PAN, the refund may get stuck.