Why has the Tax Office not yet refunded my income tax?

BarcelonaThere are taxpayers who, even now, after the year in which they filed their 2024 income tax return (IRPF), have still not received the refund they requested. This is money they overpaid to the Tax Agency, on which the Agency does not pay interest. Although the Tax Agency has shortened refund processing times, which in some cases are completed in a matter of days, at the beginning of this year there are still 388,899 taxpayers who have not received their refunds, representing 2.6% of the total. Each year there is a similar proportion of outstanding returns, and these are the ones the Tax Agency scrutinizes most closely.

A total of €13.094 million in refunds have been issued to 15.6 million taxpayers, representing 97.4% of the total, and 95.5% of the requested amounts, totaling €15,611.6 million, have been paid. In the 2024 income tax campaign, 24.7 million returns were filed, of which 15.9 million were eligible for a refund.

The most common reason why a refund has not yet been issued is that it may be undergoing a specific audit or review. In the case of self-employed individuals who file income tax returns, the Tax Agency delves deeper and typically analyzes potential irregularities in the reporting of income or expenses, or conducts checks when these expenses do not correspond to the reported professional activity. There may also be incorrect data, errors, income that doesn't match the data held by the tax authorities, or expenses that haven't been recorded.

Six months

Those affected can check the status of their refund request at the Tax Agency websiteTherefore, a digital certificate is required, or the Cl@ve PIN system, which grants temporary access, can be used, or the reference number of the corresponding tax return can be used. The Tax Agency has six months from the end of the tax season to make refunds, that is, until January 1st of the following year. Only if the delay is attributable to the tax administration is the taxpayer entitled to collect late payment interest, currently at 4.0625%, which is calculated automatically, although it is advisable to review it. It should be noted that this interest on the outstanding amount from 2023 onwards must be declared as a capital gain in the Personal Income Tax (IRPF), following a change of criteria by the Supreme Court through ruling 24/2023, of January 13th.