If your Income Tax refund fails because the bank account mentioned in your ITR is closed or inactive, don’t worry — your money is safe.
You can still claim it by updating your bank details on the Income Tax e-filing portal.
Refunds usually fail due to simple reasons:
The bank account is closed or inactive.
The account was not pre-validated on the Income Tax portal.
Incorrect details like IFSC code or account number were entered.
When a refund fails, the portal may show the status as “Refund Failed” or “Payment Not Processed”.
How to Update Your Bank Account and Reclaim Your Refund
Follow these steps to get your refund re-issued:
Add a New Bank Account
Log in to your account at www.incometax.gov.in
Go to ‘My Profile’ → ‘My Bank Account’.
Click ‘Add Bank Account’ and enter your new account details (IFSC, account number, type).
Submit and validate the account.
Mark it as your “Refund Receiving Account.”
Request Refund Re-Issue
Go to the ‘Services’ section.
Choose ‘Refund Re-issue’.
Select the Assessment Year for which the refund failed.
Pick your new validated bank account and submit.
Once approved, the Income Tax Department will reprocess your refund to your updated account, usually within a few working days.
Key Points to Remember
Only a pre-validated and active account can receive refunds.
Account validation may take 1–3 working days, so do it early.
Ensure your new account is linked to your PAN.
Check the refund status regularly under “View Filed Returns” → “Refund Status.”
Double-check that you’ve entered the correct IFSC and account number before submitting.
By following these simple steps, you can easily reclaim your failed income tax refund without any hassle.
