60-Day Review Notice - Countdown from Issue Date or Refund by Tax Day?

The 60-day review period typically begins from the date of the CP05 notice (March 18th in your case). This is an Income Verification review, where the IRS is cross-checking income data reported on your return against information received from employers, financial institutions, etc. The April 15th tax deadline has no bearing on refund processing timelines for returns under review. Be aware that while they estimate 60 days, some reviews can extend beyond this timeframe, especially if the IRS requests additional documentation from you. I've seen these reviews conclude in as little as 3 weeks, but they can sometimes extend to the full 60 days or beyond.

I went through almost the exact same situation last year. Filed early February, got the 60-day review notice mid-March. I was checking my transcript daily and driving myself crazy trying to decode all those cycle codes and freeze indicators. Eventually I found https://taxr.ai and it made a huge difference - it analyzed my transcript and explained that my student loan interest deduction had triggered a verification review (pretty common for recent grads). The system predicted my refund would be released around day 52 of the review, and it was spot on - got my DD exactly 53 days after the notice date. Might be worth checking if you're as detail-oriented as I am and want to understand exactly what's happening with your return.

The 60 days starts from the notice date, not the filing deadline. So you're looking at mid-May, not April 15th. I'm in the same boat - got my notice March 10th, so I'm counting down to May 9th. It sucks but there's literally nothing you can do to speed it up.

Have you tried calling the IRS to get more specific details about your review? I was in a similar situation and tried calling for weeks with no luck - always disconnected due to "high call volume." Finally used Claimyr (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) and got through to an agent in about 25 minutes. They confirmed my review was just routine verification of my student loan interest deduction (similar to your situation) and that everything looked fine on their end. The agent couldn't speed up the process but at least I knew exactly what was happening. Worth the fee just for peace of mind rather than waiting and wondering for another month?

I've heard about these services that supposedly get you through to the IRS faster, but isn't this just something the IRS offers for free? I checked their website and you can schedule a callback. Why pay for something when the government provides it at no cost? Seems like these companies are just taking advantage of people's frustration with the system.

Have you ever actually tried scheduling a callback during tax season? Or calling the IRS directly? The callback system is great in theory, but what happens when call volume is so high they don't even offer callbacks? What about when you need to speak to someone before the next available appointment three weeks from now? These services exist because there's a genuine gap between what the IRS claims to provide and what taxpayers actually experience. Sometimes paying a reasonable fee to solve an urgent problem makes perfect sense, doesn't it?

I'm curious about something - is this 60-day review something new the IRS is doing more frequently? It's like getting your baggage randomly selected for additional screening at the airport - is there any pattern to who gets selected? Are certain types of returns or deductions more likely to trigger these reviews?

I had the exact same situation last March - 60 day review notice that mentioned student loan interest verification. I decided to just wait it out instead of calling, and exactly 47 days after the notice date, my transcript updated and the refund was deposited 3 days later. The system works, it's just painfully slow. One tip: set up transcript alerts with the IRS so you get an email when your transcript updates - that way you don't need to check manually every day. It helped preserve my sanity during the waiting period!

Just to clarify something important that others haven't mentioned: the 60-day period is just an estimate, not a guarantee. The IRS uses this timeframe as a general guideline, but they're not legally bound to it. If they need more time, they can (and often do) take it without sending you another notice. In my experience working with clients, about 70% of these reviews are completed within the 60-day window, 25% take up to 90 days, and 5% can extend beyond that. Just wanted to set realistic expectations so you're not counting down to exactly 60 days thinking that's a hard deadline.