My sister got hers in 3 weeks but shes only getting like $100 back. Maybe bigger refunds take longer to process?

Same situation here - filed Feb 3rd electronically and still waiting. The lack of updates on the Where's My Refund tool is frustrating. At least it's good to know others are experiencing delays too. Hopefully we'll see movement soon!

Just wanted to say I had this EXACT same problem, and in my case, it randomly fixed itself after about 6 weeks. I never called or did anything special - the balance just appeared one day. The IRS is operating on stone age technology so patience is unfortunately required sometimes.

I'm dealing with the exact same frustrating situation! Filed in early March, accepted immediately, but still getting that "Your Information Is Not Available" message when I try to check my balance. One thing that helped me was checking my account transcript instead of just the balance page - go to "Get Transcript" and look at your Account Transcript for 2023. Mine actually showed the return was processed even though the balance page was still showing the error message. Also, if you know you owe $3,800, you can absolutely make a payment now through IRS Direct Pay without waiting for the balance to show up. Just select "Form 1040" and "2023" as the tax year. The system will accept payments even when your balance isn't displaying properly. I did this last week and got a confirmation number, so at least I know my payment went through. The waiting is nerve-wracking but from what I've read, this seems to be happening to a lot of people this year. Hopefully both our accounts update soon!

To all those having trouble reaching a human at IRS. I just ran across this video that gave me a shortcut to reach a human. Hope it helps! https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c

Based on your transcript and the CP21B letter from December 5th, you should definitely have received your refund by now. The typical timeframe is 2-3 weeks, so something might be holding it up. I'd suggest calling the IRS directly to check on the status - they can see if there are any issues or additional processing steps. Sometimes there are backend delays that don't show up on the automated systems. Keep your CP21B letter handy when you call as they'll likely reference it. Hope you get it sorted out soon!

Has anyone tried using the IRS's Filing Information Returns Electronically (FIRE) system to submit the 1099? I heard you can submit them electronically instead of mailing paper forms but i'm not sure if that applies to individuals or just businesses.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm dealing with a similar situation where I paid my divorce attorney $4,200 last year and had no idea about the IRS filing requirement. Based on what everyone has shared, it sounds like I need to file a 1099-MISC (Box 10 for attorney fees) with the IRS along with Form 1096 as the transmittal form, even though this was for personal legal services. I'm definitely going to check out both taxr.ai for getting the forms prepared correctly and Claimyr if I need to speak with an IRS agent about any penalties for late filing. It's frustrating that TurboTax doesn't make this clearer for individual taxpayers who aren't running businesses but still need to issue 1099s. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this could have been a costly mistake to overlook!

Just a heads up - I'm from Spain too and distribute music through CD Baby. When I submitted my W-8BEN claiming the 0% rate, they rejected it the first time saying I needed to include my Spanish tax identification number (NIE) as well as get an ITIN from the US. Had to resubmit with both numbers.

I went through this exact same situation last year with my music royalties from Spain! The confusion about 0% vs 5% rates comes from different types of royalties being grouped together in some documents. For copyright royalties specifically (which includes music compositions), Spain does have a 0% withholding rate under Article 12 of the US-Spain tax treaty. The 5% rate you're seeing likely refers to industrial royalties or patents. A couple of important things I learned the hard way: 1. You absolutely need an ITIN to claim treaty benefits - the form will be rejected without it 2. Make sure to write "Copyright Royalties" specifically in line 10, not just "royalties" 3. Keep copies of everything because some distributors will ask you to resubmit the form annually The process took me about 4 months total (mostly waiting for the ITIN), but it was worth it to avoid that 30% withholding. Good luck with your $1,200 payment - that's a nice chunk of change to not lose to unnecessary taxes!