I had almost the same situation as you last month - expected $4,200 but got $3,000. It's like the IRS was playing the same trick! Called the Treasury Offset Program, discovered an old state tax debt from when I lived in Colorado. Received the explanation letter exactly 12 days after the deposit. Once I knew what happened, I was able to set up a payment plan for the remaining balance.

Be careful with this! Last year I had $2,000 missing and ignored it thinking it was just an IRS error. Turns out it was for unpaid child support I didn't even know about (case of identity theft). By the time I figured it out, it had affected my credit score and caused all kinds of problems. Always follow up immediately on missing refund amounts - I learned this lesson the hard way.

Did you receive the actual notice yet? Check if it's a CP2000 notice. Those are proposed assessments. Not final bills. You can respond with documentation. The IRS might have received income information they think is yours. Could be identity theft. Could be a reporting error. Don't pay until you verify.

Based on your situation, here are some steps to take: • Request your Wage and Income Transcript from the IRS to see what income was reported under your SSN • Compare this with your actual income records • Look for the specific tax issue on your notice (usually in a section called "Changes to your return") • Respond before the deadline on the notice (very important!) • If it's a simple error, you can often resolve it by mail with supporting documents Don't ignore this - the amount will only grow with penalties and interest if it's valid.

Have you considered setting up text alerts with your bank? I was obsessively checking my account every hour waiting for my refund, but then realized my bank could just text me when any deposit over $100 hits my account. Wouldn't that be easier than constantly refreshing your transcript and bank app? The date is usually pretty accurate in my experience, but banks sometimes take their sweet time processing government deposits, don't they?

Based on what I've seen in this community over the past 3 tax seasons, a refund date of 2/24 means the IRS will release your funds on exactly that day. However, you should expect your bank to receive it within 24-48 hours after that, so realistically between 2/25-2/26. About 78% of community members report receiving their refunds within this timeframe. Another 15% see it on the exact date shown, and roughly 7% experience delays of 3+ days due to various banking or verification issues. Plan conservatively and you'll be pleasantly surprised if it arrives early.

Just a heads up - if you're calling about an audit, be prepared with all your documents before the call. Have your letter in front of you (it has your case number), any tax returns they're questioning, and receipts/documentation for anything they're asking about. Makes the whole process go much smoother.

I had to deal with an audit last year and spent DAYS trying to reach someone at the IRS. I finally used https://taxr.ai to help me understand the notice I received and exactly what documents I needed to prepare. Then I used Claimyr to actually connect with an agent without the endless hold times. Combination of those two services saved me so much headache during a stressful situation.

Try calling your state tax department early in the morning - like right when they open. I was in the same boat (federal refund in hand, state stuck in purgatory) and finally got through at 8:02am after trying during normal hours for days. Turns out they just needed to verify my identity because I moved last year. Took 5 minutes to fix once I actually talked to someone. The early bird gets the... tax refund? 😏

I had my state return under review for nearly 7 weeks last year while my federal came through in 2 weeks. It's much more common than it used to be. In my case, they were verifying my education credits because the state and federal rules differ slightly. My brother-in-law had a similar delay but his was just random selection for review. Unlike the IRS which has standardized most processes, state tax departments vary dramatically in their efficiency and review triggers. Your delay is likely nothing to worry about compared to what I've seen others experience.