Have you considered requesting a hardship refund? If your refund has already been offset, you can still potentially get some or all of it back by submitting a hardship request directly to the Department of Education. You'll need to provide financial documentation showing that the offset creates significant hardship. The process takes about 30-45 days, but I've seen people successfully recover their refunds this way when they truly need the funds for essential expenses.

I filed on February 15th, 2024 and saw my refund was approved on February 28th. Then on March 2nd, I got a letter saying $2,750 of my $3,200 refund was being offset for student loans. Called the Treasury Offset Program on March 3rd and they confirmed the Department of Education had submitted the offset request on January 10th. The remaining $450 was deposited on March 5th. So yes, they're definitely offsetting this year.

I filed my SBGT return on January 29th, 2024 and didn't get my refund until March 11th. Exactly 42 days of waiting! The IRS never explained why, but my transcript showed a random verification hold on February 16th. If you claimed the home office deduction or business mileage, those seem to trigger extra scrutiny this year. Just be prepared for a longer wait than what TurboTax estimates.

SBGT returns are subject to different processing protocols than standard W-2 returns. The Discriminant Function System (DIF) scoring algorithm applies heightened scrutiny to Schedule C filings, particularly those with home office deductions, vehicle expenses, or business losses. While standard returns typically process in 14-21 days, self-employed returns average 28-35 days in the current processing environment. The transcript will display TC 150 when initially processed, followed by potential review codes like 420 or 570 if selected for additional verification.

I went through this exact process last month. It's like being stuck in airport security - you've shown your ID but you're still waiting to be cleared to proceed to your gate. My online verification failed too, so I called on February 12th. The system didn't update until February 26th - exactly 10 business days later. Then my refund was deposited 8 days after that. The IRS agent told me they're dealing with increased security measures this year, which is adding about 20% more time to the verification process compared to previous years.

The community wisdom on this is pretty consistent - most people are seeing 7-14 business days from phone verification to account update, though I've seen some possibly get through faster. It's important to note that the IRS doesn't count weekends in their processing timelines, so that Wednesday verification probably won't show movement until at least next Friday. If you're budgeting around this refund, you might want to plan for it arriving in about 3 weeks from verification, just to be safe. That's been the average timeframe reported in most of the threads here.

Be somewhat cautious about counting on that May timeline. I had a similar situation last year with a special tax credit, and while they initially said April processing, mine wasn't actually completed until mid-June. The IRS tends to give somewhat optimistic estimates, in my experience. You might want to budget as if you won't see the money until June, just to be on the safe side.

Have you checked if your transcript shows any TC 570/971 combo codes? Those specific codes would indicate whether there's an actual review happening or just the standard hold for student loan forgiveness processing. There's a significant difference between general ERS processing and an actual examination.

Call the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040. I did that when my transcript wasn't updating. The agent told me my return was selected for review but nothing was wrong. My transcript updated three days later. Sometimes you just need to talk to a human.

Filed March 29. Transcript updated April 7. Refund deposited April 11. No issues. No contact needed. System works. Just slow. Early filers get faster service. April filers wait longer. Peak season now. Patience required.