Your IRS refund in NC could be delayed this year with Trump’s hiring freeze. What to know
Taxpayers should expect to receive their tax refunds within 21 days of filing if they file electronically, but that money could be delayed this year.
President Donald Trump has signed at least 46 executive orders since taking office in January, according to the Federal Register — including a couple dealing with International Revenue Service (IRS) employees.
Here’s how the president’s executive orders could affect when you get your tax refund in North Carolina.
How will Trump’s executive orders impact tax refunds?
President Trump signed an executive order last month that enacted a hiring freeze for federal employees, including those in the IRS.
That means the IRS could be short-staffed during filing season. The agency expects more than 140 million individual tax returns to be filed over the next few months.
“Every facet of IRS operations will be significantly impacted by the current hiring freeze,” Charles Rettig, who served as IRS commissioner from 2018 to 2022, wrote in a recent LinkedIn post.
Trump signed another executive order that forced all federal employees who work remotely to return the office.
This move could result in a wave of early retirements, Nina Olson, executive director of the Center for Taxpayer Rights, told the Journal of Accountancy.
“Many of the IRS employees who are retirement age and currently teleworking may just decide to retire and lock in their retirement benefits,” Olson said.
How can you get your tax refund faster?
According to the IRS, the fastest way to get your tax refund is to have it electronically deposited for free into your bank account through direct deposit. Taxpayers can use it to deposit their refunds in up to three accounts.
“Eight out of 10 taxpayers get their refunds by using direct deposit,” the IRS website says. “It is simple, safe and secure. This is the same electronic transfers system used to deposit nearly 98 percent of all Social Security and Veterans Affairs benefits into millions of accounts.”
Combining electronic filing and direct deposit to file early produces the fastest refunds, according to the IRS, and some may be eligible to file electronically for free.
Smartphone apps, like TurboTax, H&R Block and TaxSlayer, can be a convenient way to file your taxes, but they usually charge a fee that can be deducted from your refund.
North Carolina taxpayers who need assistance can visit the NC Department of Revenue’s website at ncdor.gov/when-where-and-how-file-your-north-carolina-return.
This story was originally published February 6, 2025 at 3:56 PM with the headline "Your IRS refund in NC could be delayed this year with Trump’s hiring freeze. What to know."
