Just want to add that if the father suddenly decides to file taxes after several years of not filing, he could face penalties and interest from the IRS for those missed years. If he pushes this issue, it might end up costing him more than whatever he'd get from half the child tax credit.

The bottom line is that your girlfriend has no legal obligation to share the child tax credit with her ex, especially since he hasn't been filing taxes for years. The IRS rules are clear - whoever claims the child as a dependent on their tax return gets the credit. Since she's already filed and received her refund, and he hasn't filed taxes in 4-5 years, there's no mechanism for him to claim the child or the credit unless he suddenly decides to file this year. Even then, his return would likely be rejected since she already claimed the child. The 50/50 custody arrangement doesn't automatically entitle him to half the tax benefits. Tax law and custody arrangements are separate issues. Unless they have a written agreement or court order specifically addressing how tax benefits should be split, she's under no obligation to share. If he's serious about wanting tax benefits, he should start filing taxes consistently and they can work out an alternating years arrangement for future tax seasons. But for this year, the credit is rightfully hers since she's the one who actually filed and claimed the child.

I think people are overcomplicating this. Here's the simple truth about Roth IRAs: 1) You earn money at your job 2) That money gets taxed through regular income tax withholding 3) You take some of that already-taxed money and put it in a Roth IRA 4) That's it. No additional "Roth tax" to pay. The whole point of a Roth is that you pay ordinary income tax on the money NOW (which you already do through your regular paycheck withholding or estimated tax payments) so you don't have to pay ANY tax when you withdraw it later. That's why there's no special line on your tax return for "Roth IRA taxes" - it's already built into your regular income tax calculation.

I had this exact same confusion when I first started contributing to my Roth IRA! The key thing that finally clicked for me is that Roth IRAs don't create any NEW taxes - they just use money that's already been taxed. Think of it this way: if you earn $50,000 and put $6,000 into a Roth IRA, you're still paying income tax on that full $50,000. The $6,000 that goes into your Roth is just part of your regular taxable income that happened to end up in a retirement account instead of your checking account. This is totally different from a traditional 401(k) where money comes out of your paycheck BEFORE taxes, reducing your taxable income. With Roth, the money comes from your regular after-tax income. So you haven't missed anything! You've been paying the "Roth tax" all along as part of your normal income taxes. The beautiful part is that now all the growth in that account will be completely tax-free when you retire. No taxes on dividends, capital gains, or withdrawals - that's the trade-off for paying taxes upfront.

There's another important factor to consider: SBTPG's batch processing schedule. They typically transmit funds to banks in specific windows (10am, 2pm, and 6pm Eastern Time are common processing times). If your trace number appeared after today's final batch, it will go in tomorrow's first batch. Also, be aware that SBTPG's system sometimes shows the trace number before they've fully processed your refund - the status should change to "Funded" when it's actually been sent to Chime. This can affect ACH transfer timing significantly.

I'm in a similar situation right now! Got my SBTPG trace number yesterday evening and have been refreshing my Chime account every hour since then. Based on what everyone's saying here, it sounds like I should see the deposit by tomorrow morning at the latest. This is my first time using TurboTax with the refund processing fee option, so I wasn't sure what to expect with the timing. Really helpful to see all these real experiences with the SBTPG → Chime timeline. Fingers crossed we both wake up to good news tomorrow!

For those who have been through this before: Does having the trace number guarantee the money will arrive on the DDD? Here's what I understand so far: Step 1: IRS approves refund (shown on transcript) Step 2: IRS sends money to SBTPG (the "funded" status) Step 3: SBTPG issues trace number Step 4: Money arrives at Chime Is there anything else that could delay it at this point?

Thanks for sharing your timeline - this is really helpful for those of us waiting! I'm in a similar situation with a cycle 05 transcript that updated Friday, but I haven't gotten my trace number yet. SBTPG shows "funded" as of yesterday evening. Quick question: did you have to keep refreshing the SBTPG portal to see the trace number, or did they send you any kind of notification? I'm trying to figure out if I should be checking constantly or if there's a better way to monitor the progress. Also hoping my funds come through soon since I have some urgent expenses coming up too.

Have you tried using the TPG Tax Refund Status page at https://taxpayer.sbtpg.com/login rather than the regular SBTPG portal? Sometimes they have different databases that don't sync properly. Also worth checking the IRS2Go app which sometimes shows different information than the website version of Where's My Refund. If you filed with TurboTax, you should also check your account there as they sometimes have more detailed status information.

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now! Filed 1/28 and got IRS acceptance same day. My WMR tool showed "Refund Approved" on 2/18, but when I check the SBTPG tracker, it says "No records found" no matter what combination of SSN, filing status, or refund amount I try. It's been 6 days since the IRS approval and I'm starting to worry. Has anyone found that calling SBTPG directly actually helps, or do they just tell you the same thing their website says? I'm wondering if I should wait a few more days or start making calls now.