2023 Tax Refund Stuck in "Action Required" Status 9 Weeks After In-Person ID Verification - No Notice Received Yet

The IRS "Action Required" status on your refund indicates your return is under manual review, but there's an important distinction here - while it says "action required," they haven't actually specified what action they need from you yet. The message shows they're still in the evaluation phase to determine IF they need more information. Your 2023 return filed as Head of Household is being reviewed, which is a common verification point for the IRS since this filing status has specific eligibility requirements. The system is essentially in a holding pattern - they'll either clear the return for processing if everything checks out, or send you a notice requesting specific documentation. The key detail in the OCR is the conditional language: "If we need additional information, we'll mail a notice." This means you don't need to take any action until you receive an actual letter from the IRS. Since you previously verified your ID in person on December 13th, this current review is likely a separate verification process. While the 9-week timeline is standard, your case may be experiencing additional delays due to the tax season preparation period you mentioned. Continue monitoring your mail for any IRS notices, and if you don't receive anything within the next 2 weeks, request your tax transcript directly from the IRS to check for any updates that might not be reflected in the Where's My Refund tool.

Quick tip - instead of playing detective with WMR and transcripts, try taxr.ai. Its only $1 and it analyzes your transcript to tell you exactly whats going on and when to expect your refund. Saved me hours of research https://taxr.ai

in the same boat bestie 😭 verified in november and still waiting. this whole system is broken fr

The IRS is so behind rn its not even funny. My friend waited 6 months after verification last year smh

Always keep copies of any letters they send you and document every phone call (date, time, rep name). Trust me on this one.

idk y they make everything so complicated. like just give us our money already 💅

I'm going through something similar - filed my 2023 return in March and got stuck in "Action Required" status after ID verification in October. What helped me was calling the Taxpayer Advocate Service (1-877-777-4778) after hitting the 12-week mark. They can actually see what's causing the hold and sometimes expedite the review process. Also, try checking your IRS online account if you haven't already - sometimes there are notices posted there before they mail the physical copy. The "Action Required" message is super vague but usually means they're doing income/withholding verification or checking your Head of Household status eligibility. Don't lose hope! I know it's frustrating but most of these manual reviews do eventually clear. Keep documenting everything like Laura said - dates, reference numbers from calls, etc. You're not alone in this mess! 🤞

Been dealing with this exact same situation! Filed my 2023 return in April and got the "Action Required" status after ID verification in November. What finally worked for me was getting my account transcript from the IRS website - it showed specific transaction codes that explained what they were actually reviewing (in my case it was income verification from a W-2 mismatch). The key thing to understand is that "Action Required" doesn't always mean YOU need to do something right away. Sometimes it just means they're waiting for their internal systems to complete cross-referencing your info with third-party sources like employers or banks. I'd recommend ordering your 2023 Account Transcript online if you can access your IRS account - look for any 400+ codes which indicate what type of review they're doing. If you see codes like 424 (income verification) or 430 (dependent verification), that gives you a clearer picture than the vague WMR message. After 10 weeks I finally called and they told me the review was actually complete but hadn't updated in their system yet. Got my refund 2 weeks later. Hang in there - I know it's super stressful but most of these do resolve eventually! 💪