Why Old Income Tax Refunds Get Stuck — And How to Claim Them

Mismatched TDS/TCS credit is the most common reason refunds sit unpaid for years.

It's a common situation: a return was filed, the refund status says "determined" or even "issued," and yet nothing ever lands in the bank account — sometimes for several assessment years in a row. Here are the usual reasons, roughly in order of how often we see them.

Common reasons a refund doesn't arrive

• TDS/TCS mismatch: the credit claimed in the return doesn't match what shows in Form 26AS or the Annual Information Statement — often because the deductor filed their TDS return late, quoted the wrong PAN, or hasn't filed it at all.
• Bank account not validated: refunds are only credited to a bank account that is pre-validated and linked to PAN on the e-filing portal. An old or closed account left on file will cause the refund to fail silently.
• Return not e-verified: a return that isn't e-verified (or physically verified) within the time limit is treated as not filed at all, however complete it looked at the time of submission.
• Adjustment under Section 245: if there's an outstanding demand from an earlier year, the department can adjust the current refund against it — and will send an intimation giving a short window to respond, which is easy to miss.
• PAN-Aadhaar linkage or a defective return notice (139(9)) left unanswered can also put processing on hold indefinitely.

How to find out which one applies to you

The refund status page alone won't tell you the real reason. Check these three places on the income tax portal: the Refund/Demand status under "e-File," the "Response to Outstanding Demand" tab, and "e-Proceedings" for any pending notice. Between them, they usually explain exactly where the refund is stuck.

How to get it released

1. Correct and re-validate your bank account, then raise a refund reissue request.
2. Reconcile your return against 26AS/AIS; if there's a mismatch, ask the deductor to revise their TDS return.
3. If the return was never e-verified and the window has closed, file a condonation-of-delay request explaining the reason.
4. If you disagree with a Section 245 adjustment, respond within the time given in the intimation — silence is treated as agreement.