The short answer
STATE TAX REFUND is a direct deposit of your state income-tax refund from your state's department of revenue or taxation. It arrives after the state processes your return and confirms you overpaid. It is separate from any federal IRS refund and usually posts on a different schedule than the federal payment.
Why it shows up like this
A STATE TAX REFUND line posts when your state tax agency finishes reviewing your return and sends back the amount you overpaid during the year. The exact wording depends on the state: California shows the Franchise Tax Board, New York shows the state tax department, and many states show a comptroller or department of revenue. The descriptor names a government agency, not a private company or a store.
States run their own processing systems, so a state refund clears on a timeline set by that state rather than by the IRS. Some states issue the money as a direct deposit, while others fall back to a mailed check or a prepaid card when no bank account is on file. The deposited figure matches your state return unless the agency corrected an entry or applied an offset for a debt.
A state refund is entirely independent of your federal taxes. You can be owed money by your state while still owing the IRS, or the reverse, so the two deposits do not have to match or arrive together. When the state amount is smaller than you filed, a math adjustment or a state-level offset is almost always the reason, and the state's refund lookup tool will show it.
Don't recognize it? You might still
- You overpaid state income tax through paycheck withholding or estimated payments.
- Your state processed the return on a different timeline than the IRS, so it landed separately.
- The state adjusted an entry on your return, changing the refund from what you filed.
- A state offset for past-due state taxes, court fees, or unpaid tolls reduced the amount before deposit.
What to do, in order
- Use your state's Where's My Refund tool Every state tax agency runs an online refund status lookup. Enter your details there to confirm the refund was issued, the amount, and the method, then match it to the deposit on your statement.
- Compare it to your state return Check the figure against your filed state return, not your federal one. The two are calculated separately, so a mismatch with your federal refund is expected and not a sign of an error.
- Flag a refund you never filed for If a state refund appears for a state where you did not file, or lands in an account you do not recognize, treat it as possible identity theft and contact that state's revenue department right away.
Quick questions
I already got my federal refund. Why is there a second deposit?
Federal and state refunds come from different governments on different schedules. The federal one posts as IRS TREAS 310, while the state one shows as STATE TAX REFUND or your state's own wording. Receiving both, days or even weeks apart, is completely normal.
My state refund is smaller than I calculated. Why?
The state may have corrected an entry or applied an offset for a state debt such as back taxes, court fees, or unpaid tolls. The agency mails a notice explaining the change, and the online refund tool shows the adjusted amount that was actually sent.
Independent reference — not affiliated with your state department of revenue. Billing names and policies change; verify with the merchant or your bank before acting.
Verified sources
Every claim on this page is checked against official sources — open them to confirm before you call your bank.
- Federation of Tax Administrators — state tax agencies https://www.taxadmin.org/
- IRS — Refunds (federal versus state) https://www.irs.gov/refunds
Reviewed Sep 25, 2026 · high · About UnknownCharges