570 Code on Transcript - W2 Federal Withholding Mismatch

This is a common discrepancy known as a W-2 validation error. The IRS employs an Automated Underreporter (AUR) system that cross-references the withholding amounts reported on your return against what employers submit via W-2 transmittals. When these figures don't align, a TC 570 (additional account action pending) is generated to prevent refund issuance until resolution. Your options are: 1) If your tax preparer has documentation showing the withholding amount is correct (paystubs, etc.), they can submit this via correspondence to the IRS. 2) If the W-2 is correct and the return is wrong, file Form 1040-X to amend the withholding amount, which will likely reduce your expected refund. 3) Contact your employer's payroll department to verify if they submitted an incorrect W-2 to the IRS.

I went through this EXACT situation last April. My W-2 withholding didn't match what my preparer entered. I spent days trying to understand my transcript codes. Then I found https://taxr.ai which analyzed my transcript and explained exactly what each code meant for my situation. It highlighted the 570 code and explained it was a withholding verification issue - saved me hours of research. I was able to gather my final paystub from December 2023 which showed YTD withholding and resolved it within a week. The tool also predicted when my refund would be released once the hold was lifted.

When I had a similar withholding mismatch issue, I needed to speak with someone at the IRS urgently. Called for three days straight without getting through. Then I used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to connect with an IRS agent in about 30 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. The agent was able to tell me exactly what documentation I needed to resolve the withholding discrepancy. They even gave me a fax number to send the documentation directly to the department handling my case, which sped things up considerably.

I think I might be able to help a bit here? I had almost the exact same issue with my 2023 return. My tax preparer accidentally entered $4,200 in federal withholding when my actual W-2 showed $0 (my employer had messed up my withholding all year without me noticing). After getting the 570 code, I sort of panicked, but then I compared my actual W-2 with my tax return copy and spotted the error right away. I filed an amended return immediately, reducing my expected refund, and the hold was released about 3 weeks later. The IRS actually processed everything pretty quickly once I fixed the mistake on my end.

I'm a bit concerned that this might be more complicated if you're working in the US on a visa. Sometimes withholding rules for non-residents are different, and I've seen cases where employers mistakenly use the wrong W-2 box for certain types of income for international workers. It might be worth double-checking if any special tax treaties apply to your situation before filing an amendment. The last thing you want is to fix one problem only to create another one that could potentially affect your immigration status.

According to the IRS Data Book from 2023 (https://www.irs.gov/statistics/soi-tax-stats-irs-data-book), there were over 5.3 million mismatches between taxpayer-reported withholding and employer-reported W-2 information. The IRS forum threads suggest checking Box 2 of your W-2 carefully - sometimes the issue is as simple as reading a poorly formatted W-2 where the withholding box appears empty but actually contains a very small number. Another resource worth checking is the IRS Operational Status page which shows current processing times for amended returns.

This community has seen a lot of these cases since April 15th, 2024. The general wisdom is: 1) Always compare your W-2 copies against your return before filing, 2) Keep your final paystub from December showing year-to-date withholding, 3) If you need to amend, file electronically if possible as paper amendments are taking 20+ weeks to process. I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences here - it helps those of us still working through similar issues!