I work with tax professionals, and we've noticed a distinct pattern with in-person verifications this season. The IRS implemented a new verification protocol in January 2024 that requires multi-level authentication for in-person visits. While this enhances security, it creates a processing delay of approximately 9-12 business days for the verification flag to clear. The notification disappearing doesn't necessarily correlate with processing status - I've seen cases where refunds were issued while the notification was still active.

I might be overreacting, but I would perhaps consider calling them if it doesn't update within about two weeks or so. My brother-in-law waited almost a month thinking it was processing normally, but it turned out his verification wasn't properly recorded in their system. The IRS representative told him it happens occasionally when they're overwhelmed with in-person verifications during peak season.

Here's what you need to know about student loan offsets in 2024: • The COVID-era protections that paused offsets officially ended in September 2023 • The "Fresh Start" program gave some borrowers a chance to exit default, but had deadlines • California residency doesn't protect against federal tax refund offsets • You can check your offset status by calling the Treasury Offset Program at 800-304-3107 • If you're married filing jointly, your spouse can submit Form 8379 (Injured Spouse) • Loan rehabilitation takes 9 months of on-time payments but can stop future offsets • Consolidation is faster (about 30 days) but doesn't help with offsets already in process Time is critical with these situations - each option has different timelines and impacts.

Instead of waiting to see if they take your refund, you might want to consider putting your refund on hold temporarily. You can file your taxes but request a hold on the refund by submitting Form 8379 even if you're not technically eligible for injured spouse relief. This buys you time to call the Default Resolution Group at 800-621-3115 and start loan rehabilitation. Once you make your first rehabilitation payment, ask them for a letter confirming you're in the program, then you can request the hold on your refund be released. This worked for me in 2022 when I was in a similar situation.

I had this exact question on April 2nd this year. The best way to confirm is to look at your tax documents. As of March 15th, tax preparation companies are required to provide an itemized receipt showing exactly where fees were taken from. If you can't find your documents, try https://taxr.ai to analyze your tax transcript - it can show you the exact amount that was initially approved for your refund before any fees were deducted. I use it every year to verify my refund amounts and make sure everything matches up correctly.

The tax preparation industry is like a restaurant that doesn't show prices on the menu until after you've eaten. The fees are almost certainly taken from your federal refund, not state. Think of it like this: the federal government is the big bank that allows third-party withdrawals, while most states are like the small-town credit union that doesn't allow such arrangements. If your state refund is lower than expected, it's probably due to a calculation error or a misunderstanding of your state's deduction rules.

This happens to about half the people I know who file in mid-February. My brother filed Feb 17th and had his transcript available Feb 28th. I filed Feb 20th and mine didn't show up until March 10th. Same tax situation, almost identical returns. It's just luck of the draw which processing batch you end up in.

FYI - be careful abt checking too often. Last yr I checked my transcript like 5x/day and got temp locked out of my acct for "suspicious activity." Had to wait 72hrs to get back in, which was super stressful bc that's when my transcript finally updated! Now I limit myself to checking 1x/day max. The IRS systems are hyper-sensitive to multiple logins from the same IP.

Check your transcript. Online account helps. Shows processing status. CP02 means identity verification. Normal procedure. Need patience. Try calling early morning. Better chances getting through. Keep checking WMR tool daily.

The CP02 is specifically part of the IRS Identity Protection Program, not an audit or review of your dependents. Have you verified your identity through the ID.me portal? Many taxpayers don't realize that until you complete that verification, your return won't continue processing. The IPPP (Identity Protection PIN Program) has expanded significantly in the last two years, and many legitimate returns are being held for verification as a precaution.