efile Refund Cycle

• According to the 2011 IRS efile Refund Cycle Chart, refunds that are efiled and requested to be remitted by direct deposit will be sent within eight to 14 days of receipt. If you requested a check, it will take up to seven days longer to process and get in the mail. Note that the IRS does not guarantee a date by which a refund will be deposited in a financial institution or by which a check will be mailed.
  
  

efiling vs Filing by Mail

• The general guidelines are that it takes up to three weeks to get a refund if you efile, and six to eight weeks if you file by mail. However, the IRS has generally been able to hold to the more ambitious schedule laid out in the efile Refund Cycle chart.
  
  

Where's My refund?

• Where's My Refund? is an online tool to check the status of your refund recently introduced by the IRS. If you efiled, you can use Where's My refund? to check on the status of your refund as soon as 72 hours after the IRS acknowledged receipt of your return. It takes three to four weeks for mailed paper returns to enter the Where's My Refund? system.
  
  

The efile Process and efile Providers

• Individual taxpayers have the right to efile their own return or to use the services of a paid efile provider. The efiling process is relatively simple, and just involves logging into a secure server with a PIN number to download your return. If your tax return is prepared by a bookkeeper or tax accountant, they will very likely efile and take care of the whole process for you as part of their service. Most bookkeepers and accountants are IRS efile providers.