This happened to me last month. The hold was because I claimed Child Tax Credit and they were just verifying my kids' info. The letter just asked me to confirm some information. I sent it back right away and got my refund about 2 weeks later. It's annoying but at least they're processing them eventually.

Same boat here. Filed January 20th, accepted same day, and got the same call about a hold. My letter arrived yesterday (took 16 days, not the 14 they promised 🙄). It's asking me to verify my identity through ID.me or by calling them. Hoping this speeds things up because I need this money for car repairs.

Per Internal Revenue Manual 3.30.123, paper returns go through multiple handling stages before being entered into the system. First, they're batched and numbered, then they undergo perfection review, then data transcription, and finally validation. Only after all these steps will your return appear in their system. IRS Publication 2043 specifically notes that paper returns take substantially longer to process than e-filed returns. The community consensus is to wait at least 8 weeks before becoming concerned.

I've been filing paper returns for 15+ years (my situation doesn't allow e-filing). In my experience, March filings typically show up in their system by mid-May to early June. Last year was particularly slow - I mailed on March 3rd and it didn't appear in their system until June 17th. The refund came about 10 days after that. The waiting is definitely stressful, but as long as you have proof you mailed it (certified mail receipt), you should be fine.

I'm sort of wondering if you've checked whether your state tax payment method might be different from your federal one? Sometimes they default to different methods, especially if you've moved or changed banks recently. It might be worth checking if perhaps they're sending a paper check instead of direct deposit?

I got my federal refund on March 5th. State refund arrived March 29th. That's 24 days difference. Georgia here. Last year was similar timing. Budget accordingly. State systems just move slower.

Here's what you need to know about refund processing banks in 2024: • Republic Bank & Trust - Primarily processes refunds from H&R Block and some other preparers • MetaBank - Handles refunds from TurboTax and related Intuit products • Santa Barbara TPG - Processes for TaxSlayer, TaxAct, and several others • Civista Bank - Recently added for some smaller preparation services The bank that appears is determined by your preparation method, not by your selection. If you're tracking your refund, check the Where's My Refund tool daily, as it typically updates overnight. Direct deposits still process faster than paper checks, despite sometimes appearing to come from unfamiliar banks.

Think of these banks like the mail carriers of your tax refund. You don't choose FedEx vs UPS when you order something online - the seller does. Same with tax refunds - your preparer chooses the bank, not you. I spent THREE WEEKS last year freaking out because my refund showed "pending" from some bank I'd never heard of, then disappeared completely for 2 days before finally showing up in my actual account. Why can't they make this process more transparent? It's like they deliberately want to confuse us. But yes, for 2024, those same banks are still handling the refunds, unfortunately.

I've been through this rodeo many times with dependent credits. Last year was a nightmare trying to figure out what all the codes meant. My transcript had like 15 different codes and dates that made zero sense. I stumbled across https://taxr.ai which actually explained my transcript in plain English. It showed me that my dependent verification was complete and predicted my refund date within 2 days of when it actually arrived. For international taxpayers like you, it might be especially helpful since it explains the US-specific terminology.

Oh my god I was SO WORRIED about this exact thing last year!!! I have 2 kids and got that 152 message and literally cried thinking something was wrong with my return. But it turned out to be totally normal! The IRS is just extra careful with returns that have dependents because some people try to claim kids they shouldn't. Just hang in there, I know it's stressful when you're counting on that money (I definitely was too) but it will come through! 💕