Pro tip: If you have access to your state tax account, sometimes you can still see your federal refund status there depending on your state!

Same thing happened to me last week! I was so confused because I never received any letter either. Ended up having to call the IRS verification line that @NebulaNinja mentioned and they were able to send me a new verification letter. The wait time was brutal (like 45 minutes on hold) but at least I got it sorted. They said the letters sometimes get lost in the mail or take longer during peak tax season. Definitely frustrating when you just want to check your refund status!

Did you check your transcript for a TC 846 code with the 03/05 date? Sometimes people confuse the cycle date with the actual DDD. Make sure you're looking at the right code!

Just wanted to follow up on this thread since I was in a very similar situation last month. I had a DDD of 02/18 with Venmo and was wondering about the early deposit timing too. My refund actually hit my Venmo account on 02/16 (2 days early), which seems to be pretty consistent with what others are reporting here. The key thing I learned is that Venmo's early deposit feature does work for tax refunds, but it's typically 1-2 business days early rather than the full 5 days you might see advertised for regular paychecks. One tip - make sure you have push notifications turned on in your Venmo app. My refund actually posted around 3 AM on that Friday morning, so I woke up to the notification which was a nice surprise! Given your DDD of 03/05 and the fact that you only took a partial advance, I'd expect to see your remaining refund amount in your Venmo account either Monday 03/03 or possibly even Friday 02/28 if the IRS releases it early like some others mentioned.

The IRS is so behind this year its not even funny. My friend filed in February and just got hers last week smh

Same exact thing happened to me! That status change from "still being processed" to "being processed" is definitely progress. I was stressing about it too but got my refund about 10 days after seeing that change. The waiting is brutal but you're definitely moving through the system now. Try not to check every single day (easier said than done I know lol) - maybe check every few days instead to save your sanity!

I might be in the minority here but I actually just pay my overseas contractors through Paypal or Wise and I've never collected W-8BEN forms. Been doing this for like 3 years with no issues. I just categorize it as "contract labor" on my Schedule C. My accountant said its fine as long as I'm keeping detailed records of who I paid and what for. Maybe I'm doing it wrong but no problems so far!

I'm dealing with a very similar situation! I have contractors in Vietnam and Thailand for my e-commerce product photography business. After reading through all these responses, I'm realizing I need to get those W-8BEN forms ASAP. One thing I wanted to add - make sure you're clear about what services your contractors are actually providing. The IRS distinguishes between services performed outside the US versus services that benefit a US business. Since your contractors are doing the actual editing work overseas, you should be good, but it's worth documenting that the work is being performed entirely outside the US. Also, I've found it helpful to include a clause in my contractor agreements that specifically states they're responsible for their own tax obligations in their home country and that they're not US tax residents. Not required, but it adds another layer of documentation if questions ever come up. Thanks for posting this question - it's made me realize I need to get more organized with my international contractor documentation too!

Has anyone tried calling USO directly? I had a similar issue with Enterprise Products Partners last year, and when I called their investor relations department, they were able to email me a preliminary tax worksheet that had most of the numbers I needed.

I went through this exact situation last year with my USO shares! After hours of research and calling around, here's what I learned: USO typically releases their tax package (preliminary K-1 info) on their investor relations website around late March/early April, but the official K-1 doesn't come until September or October. I ended up using their preliminary numbers to file on time, and when the actual K-1 arrived, the differences were minimal - mostly just rounding differences and some minor adjustments. The key is to check their website frequently in the coming weeks. One thing that really helped me was keeping detailed records of all my USO distributions throughout 2024, because those numbers usually match pretty closely with what ends up on the K-1. If you have your brokerage statements, you can use those distribution amounts as a starting point for estimates. The $10k penalty your wife mentioned is likely related to foreign partnership reporting (Form 8865), but USO is a US partnership, so that shouldn't apply here. The penalties for incorrect partnership reporting are usually much smaller and based on actual tax underpayment. My recommendation: Check USO's investor relations page daily, use any preliminary info they provide to file by the deadline, and amend if needed when the final K-1 arrives. It's way less stressful than dealing with extensions every year!