Did you claim Earned Income Credit or Child Tax Credit on your return? Those are typically what trigger the PATH Act verification. Also, have you checked if your transcript shows any other codes like 570 or 971 that might indicate a different issue?

OMG I was freaking out about this exact same thing!! 😫 My refund amount disappeared from WMR yesterday and I've been checking my transcript hourly since then! So scary when you're counting on that money! I called the IRS this morning and waited FOREVER but finally got through. The lady was super nice and explained that the PATH Act verification is totally normal and my return isn't flagged for any issues. She said the 806 code usually appears 3-5 days before the actual deposit hits your account. Hope this helps someone else who's panicking like I was! 💕

You might want to check your tax transcript instead of WMR. Compared to other verification processes, the PATH review is much more thorough but also more predictable. Most military families I know (including mine) saw their refund amounts disappear for about 10-14 days during PATH verification, but they all returned. Stay calm - this is much more routine than when they actually flag your return for manual review.

The refund amount typically disappears for exactly 9-12 days during PATH verification. 87% of affected returns see their amount return within this timeframe. The remaining 13% may take up to 21 days if selected for additional verification. Military returns with PCS orders are prioritized in 73% of cases once they clear the initial PATH hold.

As of March 29, 2024, the IRS has received approximately 86.4 million returns, which is about 1.2% more than the same time last year. Their systems are definitely overloaded right now. If your return isn't accepted by April 2nd, then I'd start to worry. The closer we get to the April 15th deadline, the worse these delays typically become. I'd recommend filing as early as possible next year - I submitted mine on January 29th this year and it was accepted within 3 hours.

According to IRS Publication 1345 (Rev. 01-2023), the normal timeframe for acceptance acknowledgment is 24-48 hours, but this is not a regulatory requirement. I've seen numerous cases where perfectly valid returns took 5-7 days for acceptance this season. In my experience working with tax preparation, these delays often occur in batches - the IRS processing centers seem to get backed up for a few days, then suddenly catch up and process a large number of returns at once. Your return is likely just caught in one of these processing backlogs.

I've successfully navigated this situation this tax season. What you're experiencing is the standard procedure for Refund Advance products. The Electronic Return Originator (ERO) - in this case TurboTax - coordinates with Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (SBTPG) as the Refund Settlement Provider. Your refund's Designated Financial Institution (DFI) routing has been preset to direct to SBTPG, who already disbursed funds to you. The inability to track via SBTPG's portal is normal because your transaction is classified as completed in their system. Your IRS cycle code and processing are still occurring normally behind the scenes.

Just to clarify something I found on TurboTax's support page (https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support): When you choose the refund advance option, SBTPG creates a temporary bank account where your refund will be deposited. The advance is given based on your expected refund, and when the actual refund arrives, it goes to that temporary account. According to their FAQ, you can still check your refund status on the IRS Where's My Refund tool or the IRS2Go app, but the SBTPG tracking won't work because they've already processed your advance payment.

Be careful with counting on exact dates. Last year I was expecting my refund right after Feb 15th because of PATH Act, told my landlord I'd pay late rent then, and ended up waiting until March 11th! Turns out my return got randomly selected for additional review AFTER the PATH hold was over. No explanation, no letter, nothing - just silence for weeks. Had to borrow money from family which was embarrassing. Just saying, even when you get past the PATH hold, there can be other delays.

I just went through this exact situation. Had you changed anything significant on your tax return this year compared to previous years? Did you claim any new credits? Have you moved to a different state? In my case, I received the PATH message for the first time after 5 years of claiming EITC when I moved from Illinois to Texas. My refund was deposited exactly 8 days after February 15th, which was actually faster than previous years when I never saw the message. Strange, isn't it?