Getting a big fat check from Uncle Sam probably seems like a win. After working hard all year and diligently completing your tax return , a major windfall in the form of a refund feels like a reward. Unfortunately, its not.

The truth is that a tax refund is simply your own money, which you earned throughout the year, being paid back because you had too much tax taken out of your paychecks. Even though you worked all year to earn the money, you didnt actually have access to it until the following April.

It might not seem like a big deal to get a tax refund. In a way, its like a forced savings account, which could be a good thing for people who arent great at consistently saving throughout the year. The problem? That savings account doesnt earn any interest and you cant withdraw from it if you need the money for something more important.

Thats a concept that personal finance site SmartAsset sought to explain with a new study highlighting tax refunds and their hidden costs. Getting a big refund in April isnt so great after all.

How Tax Refunds Cost You Money Over Time

Tax time is a time when people are generally very excited to get a refund, and sometimes, unhappy to be paying taxes, said AJ Smith, vice president of financial education at SmartAsset. If youre getting a refund in 2020, it means that throughout 2019, too much money was taken out of your paycheck by the government and now youre getting that money back. You essentially gave the government an interest-free loan.

Smith said her team wanted to show what that really could mean if you took intentional action with that money throughout the year instead of getting a refund later.

As you can see below, waiting to receive your refund in April might mean missing out on savings or investment interest, or paying more interest on debt, depending on how youd choose to use the funds if you received them in your paycheck instead.