Just got my state refund today after waiting a month longer than federal! It's like waiting for a bus - you stand there forever and then two show up at once. Except in this case, the federal bus came on schedule and the state bus was stuck in traffic. My federal hit my account exactly 18 days after filing, but state took 47 days. The money finally arrived just in time for my quarterly estimated payment deadline, which was cutting it close!

Be careful with assuming everything is fine just because it's common this year. While it's true that many people are experiencing federal before state, here's what you should watch for: 1. First, check if your state return was actually accepted - not just submitted 2. Next, verify that your state has your correct banking information if you chose direct deposit 3. Then, review your state's tax agency website for any notices about processing delays 4. Finally, if it's been more than 8 weeks, you should definitely contact your state tax agency I've seen cases where people assumed delays were normal when actually there was an issue requiring attention. Don't just wait indefinitely.

You might want to check if you're hitting the AGI thresholds. The CTC starts phasing out at $200k for single and $400k for married filing jointly. A lot of people miss this detail... ask me how I know 😅. If your amended return pushed you over one of these thresholds, that could explain the reduction. Worth checking your AGI on line 11 of your 1040 to confirm.

I went through this exact situation last month with my amended return. The CTC was short by about $1,200 for my two kids. After calling the IRS (took 3 attempts), I discovered that when you file an amended return, sometimes the system doesn't properly apply all the qualifying child information from the amendment. In my case, they had to manually review my return and issue a supplemental payment. It took about 3 weeks after the call, but I eventually got the full amount I was entitled to.

The IRS is like a black box this time of year - information goes in but nothing comes out until they're good and ready. It's like waiting for a bus in the rain with no schedule. I'm in a similar situation but filed February 1st. Called twice and got different answers each time. The community wisdom seems to be that early filers are actually waiting longer than mid-season filers this year, which makes absolutely no sense.

You need to request your Account Transcript ASAP! The Transaction Codes will tell you exactly what's happening. Look specifically for TC 150 (return processed), TC 806 (refund amount), and TC 846 (refund issued). If you see a TC 570 (additional account action pending) or TC 971 (notice issued), that would explain the delay. PATH Act processing should be complete by now, so there might be another verification happening that the phone representative didn't have visibility into.

When I had exactly 0 communications from TurboTax last year despite paying for their premium service, I spent exactly 2 hours and 37 minutes on hold trying to reach the IRS. Used Claimyr (https://www.claimyr.com) and got connected to an agent in 18 minutes who confirmed my refund was already scheduled for deposit that same day. Saved me hours of stress and uncertainty. The agent explained that tax prep software notifications are completely separate from the actual IRS disbursement system and often fail to sync up properly.

One more thing to check. Look at your TurboTax account online, not just your email. Sometimes the notifications appear in your account message center but don't get sent as emails. Also check your spam folder. Chime typically posts deposits as soon as they receive them, regardless of the official date. If you filed with fees taken out of your refund, that can add an extra step with the third-party bank that sometimes delays things by a day.

Did your sister have any credits or deductions that might have delayed processing? Sometimes those Child Tax Credit or Earned Income Credit returns get extra scrutiny but still arrive right on time. Just curious if there's a pattern here we can help others with! 😊

I had this exact same experience last week! My DDD was 3/19, and I kept checking my bank account for the pending deposit with a trace number. Nothing showed up, then suddenly Wednesday morning - boom! Full amount in my account with no prior notification. I think it's just how some banks process the ACH transfers from Treasury. Step 1: Treasury sends payment. Step 2: Bank receives it. Step 3: Some banks show pending with trace. Step 4: Others just post it directly when received. Seems like your sister's bank is the latter type.