This happened to me two years in a row! The first time it took exactly 11 days from the WMR update to receiving the check. The second time was 9 days. I was counting every penny because I had car repairs that couldn't wait. One thing I learned - if you deposit the check through an ATM or mobile app, many banks put a hold on government checks over a certain amount. I went inside the branch instead and they gave me immediate access to the first $1,500. Just something to consider if you need the money quickly!

Same thing happened to my sister last year! The IRS switched her direct deposit to paper check with no explanation. In her case, it turned out her bank had updated their routing procedures and was rejecting certain types of ACH transfers from government agencies. She called her bank first before calling the IRS and they confirmed they had rejected the deposit attempt. The paper check took exactly 12 days to arrive after the WMR status changed. She was able to track it through USPS Informed Delivery like someone else mentioned - super helpful for peace of mind! One tip: when you get the check, take a photo of both sides before depositing just in case there are any issues with mobile deposit. Government checks sometimes have different formatting that can cause hiccups with mobile apps.

Wow 10 months is crazy but so happy you finally got yours! I'm currently stuck with the same 570/971 codes since August and this gives me so much hope. Quick question - did your transcript ever update with any other codes before the 846 showed up? Mine has been radio silent for weeks and I'm starting to panic 😅

This is so encouraging! I've been dealing with 570/971 codes since September and was starting to lose hope. Seeing that yours took 10 months but still came through makes me feel better about the wait. That's a nice chunk of change too - $28,582! 🎉 I'm definitely going to check out that taxr.ai site everyone's mentioning to see if I can get some clarity on my timeline. Thanks for sharing your success story and keeping the rest of us motivated! 💪

I filed an extended return last year and it took FOREVER. Mailed it in early May and didn't get my refund until mid-August. Over 14 weeks! When I finally got through to someone at the IRS, they said my return had been in a backlog of paper returns that were processed in the order received.

I'm in a similar boat - filed my extended return by mail in early May and still waiting. Reading through everyone's experiences here, it sounds like 6-8 weeks is pretty standard, but some people are waiting much longer. @Anastasia - since you filed around May 1st and it's been a few weeks, you're probably looking at getting your refund sometime in late June or early July if everything goes smoothly. The $3,800 is substantial enough that they might take extra time to review it, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. One thing I learned from this thread is that calling the IRS might be worth it just to make sure there aren't any issues holding up your return. Even if it doesn't speed things up, at least you'd know if there's something you need to address. Those services like Claimyr that people mentioned might actually be worth trying if you're getting anxious about it. Keep checking "Where's My Refund" every week or so - once your return shows up in their system, you'll at least know it's being processed rather than lost in the mail.

Something important that nobody's mentioned yet - if you don't receive your check within 4 weeks of the date shown, you should contact the IRS immediately. Unlike regular refunds where they tell you to wait 6-8 weeks before inquiring, with checks they have a different protocol because of the possibility of theft or loss in the mail system. Also, if you move or change addresses frequently, these checks will NOT be forwarded by USPS even if you have mail forwarding set up - they'll be returned to the IRS instead.

Based on my experience and what I've seen from others here, your March 7th date means the IRS will issue/mail the check on or around that date, but you should realistically expect it to arrive 5-7 business days later - so probably around March 12-16th. Since you mentioned being on a fixed income and needing to plan accordingly, I'd suggest not counting on having access to those funds until at least March 14th to be safe. The 7-day timeframe you experienced with your last refund sounds pretty typical. Also, as someone else mentioned, definitely sign up for USPS Informed Delivery if you haven't already - it's free and will at least let you know when the check is actually in transit to your mailbox.

I had the exact same thing happen with my transcripts last year. Filed on January 22nd, star appeared on January 26th, and full transcript was available on February 3rd. My refund came exactly 5 days after the transcript appeared. Do you have any complicated deductions as a contractor? Home office? Vehicle expenses? Those can sometimes trigger additional review that extends the timeline.

Thanks for sharing your timeline, Luca! As someone who's been through this process multiple times as a contractor, the star is definitely a good sign that your return is moving through the system. Based on your filing date of January 21st, you're right on track - most contractor returns with Schedule C take 2-3 weeks from filing to transcript availability. The star typically appears 3-7 days after filing, so you're in the normal window. One thing I've learned is to check your transcript early in the morning (around 6 AM EST) since that's when the IRS usually updates their systems. Given that you filed just over two weeks ago, I'd expect your full transcript to populate within the next 5-7 days if there are no issues. Keep an eye on both your transcript AND Where's My Refund - sometimes one updates before the other!