The Additional Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit are refundable tax credits for low to moderate-income earners. Every year, millions of Americans claim these credits on their tax returns, resulting in a refund.
As in every year, millions of Americans will be receiving tax benefits in 2026. If you are one of those who claimed either or both of these tax credits on your tax return and have not yet received your refund, please read this article thoroughly.
In this article, we have discussed in detail why you might experience delays in receiving your ACTC or EITC refund, what the refund schedule is, how you can check its status, and much more.
ACTC/EITC Delay Reason
The reason why refunds for the Earned Income Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit take longer than usual to receive is that the IRS is prevented from processing them before February 15 of any tax filing season by the PATH Act.
The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act is a law in the United States that prohibits the Internal Revenue Service from processing any tax return claiming a refundable tax credit, specifically the ACTC or EITC, before that date.
2026 ACTC/EITC Direct Deposit Dates
According to the IRS, for early electronic filers, the EITC and ACTC refund for tax year 2025 will likely begin to be released starting March 2, 2026. Taxpayers will be able to see the exact direct deposit date on or after February 21, 2026, after their return has been accepted.
The e-filing for the tax year 2025 has commenced from January 9, 2026. If you have filed your return in the initial stages and have claimed EITC/ACTC, you are likely to receive your refund as early as March 2, 2026. In the case of paper filing, you may have to wait a little longer.
The Internal Revenue Service does not officially release a schedule for receiving EITC or ACTC refunds. People can check their exact to get the direct deposit only after their tax return has been accepted by the IRS, which can be done using the Where’s My Refund? tool.
For your convenience, we have prepared an estimated schedule for the 2026 EITC/ACTC refund. Refer to table below to check what you can expect to get your refund in case of filing electronically or on-paper on a date.
E-Filing
| Filed Between | Received by IRS | Accepted by IRS | Sent by IRS |
| Jan 9 to Jan 15 | Jan 10 to Jan 16 | Feb 21 to Feb 22 | Mar 2 to Mar 4 |
| Jan 16 to Jan 22 | Jan 17 to Jan 23 | Feb 22 to Feb 24 | Mar 4 to Mar 6 |
| Jan 23 to Jan 29 | Jan 24 to Jan 30 | Feb 24 to Feb 26 | Mar 6 to Mar 9 |
| Jan 30 to Feb 5 | Jan 31 to Feb 6 | Feb 26 to Feb 28 | Mar 9 to Mar 12 |
| Feb 6 to Feb 12 | Feb 7 to Feb 13 | Feb 28 to Mar 2 | Mar 12 to Mar 16 |
| Feb 13 to Feb 19 | Feb 14 to Feb 20 | Mar 2 to Mar 4 | Mar 16 to Mar 19 |
| Feb 20 to Feb 26 | Feb 21 to Feb 27 | Mar 4 to Mar 6 | Mar 19 to Mar 23 |
| Feb 27 to Mar 5 | Feb 28 to Mar 6 | Mar 6 to Mar 9 | Mar 23 to Mar 27 |
| Mar 6 to Mar 12 | Mar 7 to Mar 13 | Mar 9 to Mar 12 | Mar 27 to Mar 31 |
| Mar 13 to Mar 19 | Mar 14 to Mar 20 | Mar 12 to Mar 16 | Mar 31 to Apr 4 |
On-Paper Filing
| Filed Between | Received by IRS | Accepted by IRS | Sent by IRS |
| Jan 9 to Jan 15 | Feb 6 to Feb 13 | Mar 11 to Mar 13 | Mar 20 to Mar 24 |
| Jan 16 to Jan 22 | Feb 13 to Feb 20 | Mar 13 to Mar 16 | Mar 24 to Mar 28 |
| Jan 23 to Jan 29 | Feb 20 to Feb 27 | Mar 16 to Mar 18 | Mar 28 to Apr 1 |
| Jan 30 to Feb 5 | Feb 27 to Mar 6 | Mar 18 to Mar 20 | Apr 1 to Apr 5 |
| Feb 6 to Feb 12 | Mar 6 to Mar 13 | Mar 20 to Mar 24 | Apr 5 to Apr 9 |
| Feb 13 to Feb 19 | Mar 13 to Mar 20 | Mar 24 to Mar 27 | Apr 9 to Apr 13 |
| Feb 20 to Feb 26 | Mar 20 to Mar 27 | Mar 27 to Mar 31 | Apr 13 to Apr 17 |
| Feb 27 to Mar 5 | Mar 27 to Apr 3 | Mar 31 to Apr 3 | Apr 17 to Apr 21 |
| Mar 6 to Mar 12 | Apr 3 to Apr 10 | Apr 3 to Apr 7 | Apr 21 to Apr 25 |
| Mar 13 to Mar 19 | Apr 10 to Apr 17 | Apr 7 to Apr 11 | Apr 25 to Apr 30 |
Once the direct deposit for the 2026 EITC/ACTC refund is sent out by the IRS, it hardly takes up to 4 hours to be received in the bank account.
How to check the 2026 EITC/ACTC Refund Status?
You can check the EITC/ACTC refund status for the tax year 2025 by going through the step-by-step instructions available below.
- Visit the ‘Where’s My Refund?’ toll webpage by visiting at https://sa.www4.irs.gov/wmr/.
- Enter your Social Security Number.
- Choose Tax Year as 2025.
- Opt filing status as Single, Married-Filing Joint Return, Married-Filing Separate Return, Head of Household & Qualifying Widow(er) / Surviving Spouse.
- Enter the refund amount.
- Click on the Submit button.
After going through the step-by-step instructions above, you will successfully have checked that your EITC/ACTC refund is received, accepted or sent by the Internal Revenue Service.
