I've analyzed several of these cases this tax season. What you're experiencing is a Standard ACH Return Code R03 (No Account/Unable to Locate Account) or R04 (Invalid Account Number). When this occurs, the IRS Financial Management Service (FMS) initiates a secondary verification process that typically takes 7-14 business days. If you need immediate resolution, I'd recommend using Claimyr (https://www.claimyr.com) to get through to an IRS agent. They can verify if your refund has been rerouted to paper check status or is being reprocessed for electronic deposit. Agents can also expedite the reprocessing in certain hardship situations.

This situation is like when your GPS recalculates after a wrong turn - it takes a moment but usually gets you there. Unlike last year when rejections almost always meant a paper check, this year I've seen about 60% of cases get successfully redeposited electronically within 5-7 business days. The pending status in TurboTax is actually a good sign compared to if it showed "rejected" or "error." Just make sure you don't have any bank issues like daily deposit limits or account restrictions that might cause a second rejection.

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.

Back in 2022, I was in this exact same situation and found that the Taxpayer Advocate Service was incredibly helpful. They have the ability to expedite cases where there's financial hardship. I submitted Form 911 (Request for Taxpayer Advocate Service Assistance) and had resolution within 3 weeks. They're specifically designed to help when normal IRS channels aren't working.

Based on the current IRS processing metrics, amended returns filed in January 2024 are being processed in exactly 16-20 weeks. For the Child Tax Credit specifically, there's a 14-day integration period after amendment approval, followed by a 7-day verification window. If your amendment was completed on April 23rd, you should see CTC portal updates by May 14th and payment by May 28th. The refund for tax overpayment typically processes in 9-21 days after amendment completion, so you're actually right in that window now. Check your account transcript daily for TC 846 code (refund issued).

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.

Did you receive any kind of confirmation email from SBTPG with details? And have you checked if there might be any fees they deducted that could be causing a difference in the amount? Sometimes banks will reject deposits if the amount doesn't match exactly what was expected.

I waited from March 15th to March 23rd last year with the exact same situation. SBTPG said sent, nothing in my Chime. When I finally got through to the IRS, they told me SBTPG had returned the money because of a "name mismatch" - but nobody bothered to tell me! Had to wait another 6 weeks for a paper check. Don't wait as long as I did to start investigating - every day matters when it's your money.