I had this exact situation with Bank of America last month. My DDD was February 22nd, nothing appeared until February 25th. I called them after day 2 and they claimed they hadn't received anything, but then it magically appeared the next morning. I've been with BoA for 12 years and this happens almost every tax season - they're consistently slower than other banks with tax refunds. Has anyone else confirmed their deposit arrived yet from the 3/15 batch?

I'm dealing with the same frustrating situation with Bank of America! My DDD was also 3/15 and still nothing showing up in my account as of this morning. Reading through everyone's experiences here is actually really reassuring - sounds like BoA just has a slower processing system for tax refunds compared to other banks. I'm going to follow the advice about waiting until at least 5 business days before panicking, and definitely going to check my account early tomorrow morning since someone mentioned they process overnight batches around 3-4am. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it's helping me stay calm instead of assuming something went wrong!

LPT: Record the call if you can (check your state laws first). It helped me when there was a mixup later and I could prove what the agent told me.

Be extra careful about scams too! The IRS will NEVER call you first - they always send letters first. Since you got the official letter, you're good, but just make sure you're calling the number on the actual IRS letter, not any number someone might give you online or over the phone. There are tons of scammers pretending to be the IRS trying to steal people's info during identity verification calls. Stay safe out there!

Something nobody's mentioning - if you get married now, you're considered married for the ENTIRE tax year, even if you get married on December 31st. So if you're gonna do it for tax purposes, just make sure it's before the new year.

I was in almost the exact situation last year! We decided to get married in December and it saved us about $3,800 in taxes by filing jointly. The higher standard deduction and better tax brackets made a huge difference with one income. Plus with the house purchase, we were able to deduct mortgage interest which was another bonus. Just my real-world experience!

Whatever you do, don't go to one of those "tax relief" places you see advertised on TV! My brother was in a similar situation (8 years unfiled) and paid one of those companies $4,000 upfront. They literally did NOTHING for months then said he "didn't qualify" for their program. You're better off getting your transcripts and working with a local CPA or EA (Enrolled Agent) who specializes in back taxes. They typically charge by the return rather than some huge upfront fee.

Hey Nia, I was in a very similar situation about 3 years ago - hadn't filed for about 12 years and was completely paralyzed by anxiety about it. I understand that overwhelming feeling. Here's what worked for me: I started by getting my wage and income transcripts from the IRS website first (before trying to call them). This showed me exactly what income was reported under my SSN for each year, which was actually less scary than I thought it would be. Then I focused on just the last 6 years like others mentioned. For the years when I made under the filing threshold, I didn't need to file at all. For the others, I found that some years I was actually owed refunds! The key thing that helped my anxiety was breaking it down into small steps instead of trying to solve everything at once. Week 1: get transcripts. Week 2: figure out which years actually required filing. Week 3: tackle the most recent year first. Also, once I finally got compliant, the mental relief was incredible. I could apply for jobs without worrying about background checks, I could get a mortgage, I could sleep better. You're taking the right first step by addressing this now. The IRS really does want to work with people who voluntarily come forward. You've got this!

wait so if I need proof of filing for my mortgage application, will this cause problems??

This is totally normal! I had the same panic attack when I saw this on my transcript last year. The VONF letter is basically just a default entry that shows up until the IRS fully processes and updates your filing status in their system. Since you already got your refund, your return was definitely processed - it's just that their transcript system hasn't caught up yet. The IRS systems are notoriously slow to update these status markers. You can ignore it unless you actually need to prove non-filing status for something specific.