While some people do use the terms "tax return" and "tax refund" interchangeably, these are two completely separate concepts. Your tax returns refer to the forms, the paperwork. Tax returns are submitted to the IRS annually, and they serve to show details about your income. How much income you’ve received, where your income comes from, and how much of your income was used for withholding taxes. On the other hand, tax refunds refer to the money that you receive from the IRS, and not everyone will get a tax refund. If you’ve paid more taxes than you were actually required to, you will get a tax refund.