I had EXACTLY THIS SITUATION in June! Called the offset number: no debt. Called IRS: they said wait for BFS letter. Letter never came, but my bank suddenly had a deposit for $300 less than my expected refund a week after the projected date. Called again and after 1.5hrs on hold found out it was for a state tax debt from 2017 that I never knew about because I moved. The systems don't talk to each other well.

I went through this exact same situation last year! The WMR tool showed that scary offset warning for weeks, but when I called the Treasury Offset Program, they confirmed no debts. Turns out my return was just flagged for a routine review that had nothing to do with offsets - the IRS just uses generic messaging that doesn't match what's actually happening. What helped me was checking my account transcript (once I could finally access it) which showed the real status codes. In my case, it was just a standard review hold that resolved automatically after about 3 weeks past my original refund date. The whole time WMR kept showing the offset warning even though no offset was happening. Since you're still within your refund timeframe (March 4th), I'd wait until then before panicking. If it doesn't show up by March 5th, definitely call the IRS directly. The offset warning is probably just their system being overly cautious rather than indicating an actual problem. Hope this helps ease some of your stress!

I had a similar situation with SoFi last month. Compared to my previous experience with Chase where refunds appeared exactly on the date WMR provided, SoFi held my refund for 4 additional business days for "security verification." When I called, they confirmed they had received it but wouldn't release it until their verification process completed. There was nothing I could do to expedite it. The representative matter-of-factly informed me this is standard procedure for government deposits over a certain amount at many online banks. The funds did eventually appear, but the delay was frustrating.

I'm going through this exact situation right now with my Chime account! Filed on March 3rd, got approved March 16th with a deposit date of March 21st, and still nothing. TBG told me the same thing - that they sent it - but Chime says they don't see any pending deposits. This is so stressful because I really need this refund for some unexpected expenses. Reading through everyone's experiences here, it sounds like this is unfortunately pretty common with online banks. I'm going to try calling Chime's fraud department directly like @Niko Ramsey suggested, and maybe request that refund trace from the IRS that @Katherine Shultz mentioned. Has anyone had success getting through to an actual person at TBG who could provide more specific information about when exactly they sent the deposit? Their customer service seems pretty limited when I called yesterday. Thank you @Danielle Mays for starting this thread - it's really helpful to know I'm not alone in dealing with this!

Welcome to the world of W2 employment! That 21% withholding rate is actually pretty typical for your income level. Here's a rough breakdown of what you're probably seeing: - Federal income tax: ~12-15% (depends on your W-4 filing status and allowances) - Social Security: 6.2% - Medicare: 1.45% - State tax: varies by state, could be 0-8%+ - Possibly local taxes or SDI depending on your location The good news is that withholding is just an estimate - it's designed to get you close to what you'll actually owe. When you file your tax return next year, you'll either get a refund if too much was withheld, or owe a bit more if not enough was taken out. Pro tip: Keep your first few pay stubs and compare them when you do your taxes next year. This will help you understand whether your withholding is on target or if you need to adjust your W-4 for the following year. Most people prefer to get a small refund rather than owe money, but you don't want to give the government too big of an interest-free loan either!

Just wanted to add my perspective as someone who went through this exact same shock a few years ago! That 21% is definitely normal - I remember feeling like I was being robbed when I saw my first real paycheck. One thing that really helped me was setting up a simple spreadsheet to track my paystubs throughout the year. I'd note the gross pay, total taxes withheld, and my take-home amount. By the time tax season rolled around, I had a clear picture of whether I was on track for a refund or if I'd owe money. Also, don't forget that some of those "taxes" might actually be beneficial deductions! Things like health insurance premiums, dental/vision coverage, or retirement contributions show up as deductions but they're going toward your benefits. Make sure you're reading your paystub carefully to understand what's actually tax withholding versus other deductions. The learning curve is steep at first, but you'll get the hang of it. And honestly, once you understand how it all works, you can make strategic decisions about things like retirement contributions or flexible spending accounts that can help optimize your take-home pay while reducing your tax burden.

Just a heads up for anyone using Cash App taxes - make sure you check if your state return is also free. Some services advertise free federal but then charge for state filing. I used Cash App last year and both were completely free, but always good to double-check. Also, don't forget to save a PDF copy of your completed return and save your AGI/create a PIN for next year! Will save you this same headache when you file taxes next year.

Great thread everyone! For anyone still struggling with the verification step, there's one more option that might help - if you didn't file taxes last year at all (maybe you were a dependent or didn't have income), you can often enter "0" or "Did not file" for your prior year AGI. Cash App and most tax software have specific options for first-time filers or people who didn't file the previous year. Just look for the "I didn't file last year" or similar option during the verification process. Also wanted to echo what others said about keeping your records this year - write down your AGI somewhere safe so you don't have this same problem next year! The AGI is on line 11 of your Form 1040 once you complete your return.

Don't forget that you need to have an accounting policy in place at the beginning of the year to properly use the de minimis safe harbor election. It's not just enough to decide at tax time that you want to use it. IRS requires a written policy (doesn't have to be complicated) establishing your expense threshold up to $2,500 per item/invoice. Also, keep in mind that this election is made annually by attaching a statement to your timely filed tax return (including extensions). The statement should say something like "Section 1.263(a)-1(f) de minimis safe harbor election" and include your name, address, TIN, and the statement that you're making the election.

Something else to consider - the de minimis safe harbor doesn't apply to improvements that are part of a larger project. So if you're doing a kitchen remodel and buy 5 cabinet pulls for $15 each, you can't use de minimis for those even though individually they're under the threshold, because they're part of a larger improvement. I learned this the hard way when I got audited last year. The IRS made me recapture a bunch of small expenses I had deducted under de minimis because they were actually part of a bathroom renovation project that should have been capitalized.