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Transcript Update Schedule Changed? Usually Friday but Updated Tuesday
Since I've been able to check my transcripts I've been cycle 05 for the past 5 years for sure. Transcripts update Friday, WMR Saturday. Well this year is different: I filed 01/29 Accepted 01/30 Advance child tax credit deposit 02/01 Transcripts updated to all zeros on 02/02 which was a Tuesday I'm like well I gotta be cycle 05 but of course I didn't update Friday because I already updated on Tuesday. I'm wondering if I'm gonna update tomorrow. They switching things up this year?
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Tax implications of opening CDs in my children's custodial accounts?
I'm in Pennsylvania and a few years back I opened custodial savings accounts for both my kids (currently 11 and 9). My bank is offering a pretty sweet deal right now - 5.15% APY on 12-month CDs, which is way better than their regular savings rate. I'm thinking about moving some of their money into these CDs. My question is about the tax implications of the CD earnings for my children. After the 12 months is up, I plan to roll the balances right back into their regular custodial savings accounts. I'm assuming the tax treatment is the same as the interest income they already earn from their savings accounts, but I want to make sure I'm not missing anything important here. Do they need to file their own returns? Does this count as my income? The amounts aren't huge - maybe $300-400 in interest for each kid over the year, but I don't want to mess anything up with the IRS.
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Has anybody used I Bonds instead of CDs for their kids? I'm in a similar situation but considering I Bonds through Treasury Direct since the rates are comparable but there might be tax advantages?
I've done both. The advantage of I Bonds is you can defer the tax reporting until the bonds are cashed in or mature. With CDs, you'll get a 1099-INT every year even if you roll over the CD. But setting up Treasury Direct accounts for minors is more complicated than just opening a CD at your existing bank. You need to print forms, get them signed, mail them in... it's a lot more paperwork.
One thing to keep in mind with the CD rollover strategy - make sure you understand your bank's automatic renewal terms. Some banks will automatically renew CDs at whatever rate they're offering when it matures, which might be much lower than the 5.15% you're getting now. I learned this the hard way when my daughter's CD renewed at 2.8% instead of the original 4.2% rate. Also, since you're in Pennsylvania, you might want to consider timing the CD maturity for early in the year rather than late. That way if your kids do end up needing to file state returns (which PA sometimes requires even for small amounts), you'll have the 1099-INT forms in hand well before the filing deadline. The interest will be taxable in the year the CD matures, not when you initially deposit the money.
Tax debt transferred to collection agency - Any downsides to requesting it go back to the IRS?
So I've dug myself into quite a tax hole over the years. I'm now looking at roughly $85k in tax debt spread across multiple tax years going back about 8 years. The CBE Group has picked up my case and is now handling the collection. I'm wondering if there's any real disadvantage to requesting that my tax debt gets transferred back to the IRS directly? My thinking is I might be able to negotiate a better payment arrangement with the IRS than with the collection agency, but not sure if there are downsides to this approach I'm not considering. Anyone dealt with something similar or have insights on working with the IRS versus collection agencies for large tax debt situations?
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Has anyone actually tried negotiating with CBE Group before requesting a transfer back to the IRS? I'm in a similar situation ($50k debt) and wondering if I should even attempt working with them first or just go straight to requesting it go back to the IRS?
I tried working with them for about 4 months. They can only offer basic installment agreements and aren't authorized to reduce penalties or interest. If your situation is straightforward and you just need to make payments over time, they're fine. But if you need any type of hardship consideration or settlement options, get your case back to the IRS asap.
One thing to consider that I haven't seen mentioned yet - the IRS has been dealing with massive backlogs and staffing shortages since COVID. While getting your case back from CBE Group might give you access to better resolution options, it could also mean your case sits in limbo for months before anyone actually works on it. I had a similar situation with about $60k in back taxes. When I requested my case back from the collection agency, it took nearly 6 months before the IRS actually assigned someone to work on it. During that time, interest and penalties kept accruing. The upside was that once they did assign someone, I was able to get into a partial payment installment agreement that the collection agency couldn't offer. My advice would be to have a clear plan for what type of resolution you're seeking before requesting the transfer. If you just want a basic payment plan, the collection agency might actually move faster. But if you need hardship consideration, Currently Not Collectible status, or want to explore an Offer in Compromise, then definitely get it back to the IRS despite the potential delays.
This is really helpful context about the IRS backlogs. I'm curious - during those 6 months when your case was in limbo, did you have any protection from additional collection actions? Like, were you safe from levies or wage garnishments while waiting for assignment, or do you still need to be proactive about requesting those protections separately?
Good question about collection protections. During the transfer period, you're generally protected from new enforcement actions because the case is technically "in process" between the collection agency and the IRS. However, this isn't automatic protection - you should document that you've requested the transfer and keep records of when you made the request. If you're worried about levies or garnishments, you can also request a Collection Due Process hearing or submit Form 12153 to formally dispute the collection actions. This gives you additional procedural protections while your case gets sorted out. The key is being proactive rather than assuming the transfer request alone will stop all collection activity. I'd also recommend calling the IRS (or using that Claimyr service someone mentioned) to confirm your case transfer status if it's been more than 30 days since your request. Sometimes cases get stuck in the handoff process and a simple follow-up call can get things moving again.
Confused: Transcript Shows $5,755 Refund with $485 Tax Due After $2,700 Advance - AGI $60,385 with Withholding/Credits Not Adding Up
I'm really confused about my refund this year. Looking at my transcript, my total refund shows -$6,755.00, and I already received an advance of $2,700. I expected the remainder to be around $2,100, but I'm seeing different numbers that aren't making sense. Here's what my transcript shows: ``` -6,755.00 0.00 AS OF: Mar. 04, 2025 0.00 AS OF: Mar. 04, 2025 payort amount): -6,755.00 ** INFORMATION FROM THE RETURN OR AS ADJUSTED ** EXEMPTIONS: FILING STATUS: ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME: 60,385.00 TAXABLE INCOME: 30,548.00 TAX PER RETURN: 485.00 SE TAXABLE INCOME TAXPAYER: 0.00 SE TAXABLE INCOME SPOUSE: 3,165.00 TOTAL SELF EMPLOYMENT TAX: 485.00 RETURN DUE DATE OR RETURN RECEIVED DATE (WHICHEVER IS LATER) Apr. 16, 2025 PROCESSING DATE Mar. 04, 2025 TRANSACTIONS CODE EXPLANATION OF TRANSACTION CYCLE DATE AMOUNT 150 Tax return filed 20250701 03-04-2025 $485.00 70221-429-96648-5 806 W-2 or 1099 withholding 04-16-2025 -$5,752.00 766 Credit to your account 04-16-2025 -$1,101.00 768 Earned income credit 04-16-2025 -$587.00 ``` The tax per return amount of $485.00 is really throwing me off - it seems like that's all we're getting which can't be right. Our AGI is $60,385.00 with taxable income of $30,548.00. I see various credits and withholdings listed: W-2/1099 withholding of -$5,752.00, another credit of -$1,101.00, and earned income credit of -$587.00. My spouse has self-employment taxable income of $3,165.00 with a total self-employment tax of $485.00. The processing date shows as Mar. 04, 2025, and the return due date is Apr. 16, 2025. The tax return filed (code 150) shows $485.00 with cycle 70221-429-96648-5. With all these numbers, especially the total refund amount of -$6,755.00, I'm completely lost on what my remaining refund should be. If I already received $2,700, shouldn't I be getting around $4,055.00 more? The numbers in the transcript aren't adding up to what I was expecting. Can someone help me make sense of these figures?
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Just went through this same confusion last month! The key thing that helped me was realizing that on IRS transcripts, negative amounts (-) mean money owed TO you, not money you owe. So your -$6,755 total refund is actually $6,755 coming your way. Since you got $2,700 already, you should expect $4,055 more. The transcript formatting is definitely counterintuitive - took me forever to figure that out too!
IRS Transcript Shows $8,136 Refund vs Expected $15k - No Adjustments Visible Despite $8,162 in Total Payments
My transcript shows 'BAL DUE/OVER PYMT USING COMPUTER FIGURES' with a refund amount of $-8,136.00. I was expecting around $15k but my transcript shows TOTAL PAYMENTS and TOTAL PAYMENTS PER COMPUTER both at exactly $8,162.00. The refund amount is showing as $-8,136.00, and both BAL DUE/OVER PYMT USING TP FIG PER COMPUTER and BAL DUE/OVER PYMT USING COMPUTER FIGURES match at $-8,136.00. I've gone through my entire transcript line by line and I'm so confused about why my refund is so much lower than expected. Here's what my transcript shows: SCHEDULE 0012 101 $0.00 SCHEDULE 8812 ADDITIONAL CHILD TAX CREDIT: $0.00 SCHEDULE 8812 ADDITIONAL CHILD TAX CREDIT PER COMPUTER: $0.00 SCHEDULE 8812 ADDITIONAL CHILD TAX CREDIT VERIFIED: $0.00 AMOUNT PAID WITH FORM 4868: $0.00 FORM 2439 REGULATED INVESTMENT COMPANY CREDIT: $0.00 FORM 4136 CREDIT FOR FEDERAL TAX ON FUELS: $0.00 FORM 4136 CREDIT FOR FEDERAL TAX ON FUELS PER COMPUTER: $0.00 HEALTH COVERAGE TX CR: F8885 $0.00 SEC 965 TAX INSTALLMENT: $0.00 SEC 965 TAX LIABILITY: $0.00 PREMIUM TAX CREDIT AMOUNT: $0.00 PREMIUM TAX CREDIT VERIFIED AMOUNT $0.00 PRIMARY NAP FIRST TIME HOME BUYER INSTALLMENT AMT: $0.00 SECONDARY NAP FIRST TIME HOME BUYER INSTALLMENT AMT: $0.00 FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER CREDIT REPAYMENT AMOUNT $0.00 FORM 5405 TOTAL HOMEBUYERS CREDIT REPAYMENT PER COMPUTER $0.00 SMALL EMPLOYER HEALTH INSURANCE PER COMPUTER: $0.00 SMALL EMPLOYER HEALTH INSURANCE PER COMPUTER (2) $0.00 TOTAL OTHER PAYMENTS REFUNDABLE: $0.00 TOTAL PAYMENTS $8,162.00 TOTAL PAYMENTS PER COMPUTER: $8,162.00 Then under Refund or Amount Owed section: REFUND AMOUNT: $-8,136.00 ESTIMATED TAX CREDIT APPLIED TO NEXT YEAR $0.00 ESTIMATED TAX PENALTY: $0.00 TAX ON INCOME LESS STATE REFUND PER COMPUTER $0.00 BAL DUE/OVER PYMT USING TP FIG PER COMPUTER $-8,136.00 BAL DUE/OVER PYMT USING COMPUTER FIGURES: $-8,136.00 FORM 8888 TOTAL REFUND PER COMPUTER: $0.00 There's nothing in the Third Party Designee section except: THIRD PARTY DESIGNEE ID NUMBER: AUTHORIZATION INDICATOR: 0 THIRD PARTY DESIGNEE NAME: I have a Schedule C business but that doesn't explain the discrepancy. What I don't understand is where the approximately $7,000 difference between my expected refund and actual refund is coming from. There are literally zero values on every line that might show adjustments or credits being reduced. Has anyone experienced something similar or know what might be causing this? Why would there be such a big difference between my expected refund of around $15k and the actual $8,136.00 when there are no obvious offsets or adjustments showing on the transcript?
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Call the IRS and request an explanation of adjustments. Be prepared to wait on hold for like 2hrs tho
dont bother calling rn, their wait times are insane. Use taxr.ai instead, way faster
Looking at your transcript, the $7k difference is likely from credits that were claimed on your original return but disallowed during IRS processing. Since your transcript shows $0 for all additional credits (Child Tax Credit, EIC, etc.), it suggests these were either reduced or completely removed. The key thing to understand is that transcripts don't always show *why* adjustments were made - they just show the final computed amounts. You'll want to compare your originally filed return (especially Schedule 8812 for Child Tax Credit and any EIC claims) against what the IRS ultimately allowed. Have you received any notices from the IRS explaining the adjustments? They're required to send explanation letters when making changes to your return that affect your refund by this much.
Ravi Malhotra
Here's what's happening with the IRS update schedule this year: 1. The IRS received funding to modernize their processing systems 2. They're implementing a more distributed processing approach 3. Instead of processing most returns in just a few large batches, they're now processing smaller batches throughout the week 4. Your cycle code (last two digits of the 14-digit number on your transcript) determines your processing group 5. Even if you were cycle 05 before, you might be in a different cycle now 6. Check your 2023 transcript for your current cycle code 7. You need to check WMR and transcripts ASAP as the deposit could come any day now!
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Freya Christensen
I've heard similar explanations before, but I'll believe it when I see consistent improvements. Every year there's some new system or process that's supposed to make things better, yet somehow my refund still takes forever. I appreciate the breakdown though - at least this explains why my usual Friday update pattern isn't working this year.
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Omar Farouk
I'm SO RELIEVED to see someone else experiencing this! 😅 The cycle change threw me for a loop too. I did some digging and found that the IRS has officially implemented their new Enterprise Case Management system this year, which allows for more frequent processing batches. If you check your transcript, look at the full cycle code (should be 14 digits). The 4th and 5th digits represent the year (24 for 2024) and the last two digits are your cycle number. Many people who were traditionally cycle 05 are now seeing 01, 02, or 03 cycles, which explains the different update days. This doesn't necessarily mean faster or slower processing - just different days for updates.
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Chloe Davis
So if my cycle changed from 05 to 02, when should I expect WMR to update now? Still trying to figure out the new pattern tbh
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Yuki Tanaka
@Chloe Davis From what I ve'observed this year, cycle 02 typically means Tuesday updates for transcripts and Wednesday for WMR. But honestly, with all the system changes, it s'been pretty unpredictable. I d'suggest checking both your transcript and WMR every day until you see movement - the new processing system seems to be running updates more frequently than the old weekly pattern. Some people are seeing updates within 24-48 hours of each other between transcript and WMR now.
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