IRS refund update: When will the next batch of unemployment tax payments arrive?

Millions of taxpayers who are expecting an additional refund check related to unemployment compensation are checking their bank accounts this week and wondering if the much-anticipated payment will finally arrive.

They have good reason to wonder: After the Internal Revenue Service announced that it had sent out the first round of 2.8 million refund checks a few weeks ago, it followed up by saying the next batch would be sent out in “mid-June.”

What exactly counts as mid-June? Unfortunately, the IRS did not share those specifics, but the agency tends to put out updates late on Fridays, so with any luck we’ll know a bit more about the timeline soon. We’ve reached out to the IRS for more information and will update this post if we hear back.

The refund checks were announced in March, after the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act, which exempted up to $10,200 in taxable income on unemployment compensation paid in 2020. The IRS said it identified some 13 million taxpayers who filed before the law’s passage that now had to have their returns corrected. Corrected could mean a refund, or they might simply result in someone owing less money. It’s still unclear how many refund checks are due to be released.

Speculation about the next batch of refunds has increased over the last few days on message boards and in Facebook groups dedicated to the issue, particularly among people with dependents or those who filed joint returns. The IRS said earlier that the first round of checks went to taxpayers with “simple” returns, such as single people with no dependents.

With the timeline for these checks uncertain, taxpayers with more complex tax situations are understandably eager for updates. Unfortunately, the IRS’s “Where’s My Refund?” tool does not provide information about the unemployment-related refunds, and so the only option is to check your online tax account or wait for the hardcopy letter that the IRS is sending to taxpayers whose returns are corrected.

We’ll keep you updated with the latest as soon as we learn more.