Oh my goodness, be VERY careful with this! My brother-in-law assumed he could still claim his kids even though his ex got the advance payments, and he ended up with a NIGHTMARE audit situation! The IRS flagged both returns and froze both refunds for almost 8 months! They had to submit their entire custody agreement, school records showing where the kids primarily lived, and even utility bills proving residence. I'm still shocked at how complicated it got! The IRS eventually sided with him since it was his year according to their agreement, but they had to pay an accountant $1,200 to help resolve everything.

I successfully navigated this exact situation on April 12th last year. My ex received all the advance payments, but according to our custody agreement, 2023 was my year to claim our daughter. I filed electronically on February 3rd with Form 8862 attached, included a copy of our custody agreement, and explicitly noted in the additional information section that advance payments had been made to the other parent. My return was accepted within 21 days, and I received the remaining portion of the Child Tax Credit (the full amount minus what was already paid in advances). Just make sure you have documentation ready if they request it!

If you're really concerned, you can try calling the IRS, but good luck getting through! I spent 3 days trying last month. Finally used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which got me connected to an agent in about 15 minutes. The agent confirmed my return was still in normal processing even though my transcript hadn't updated. Saved me a ton of stress knowing nothing was wrong.

The system updates in batches, not continuously. Your return is probably in a processing queue. I'd give it until 8 weeks from filing before getting concerned. The IRS is seriously understaffed and returns with credits take longer to process.

Have you tried calling your local Taxpayer Advocate Service? They can sometimes help if your refund is causing financial hardship - like if you need it for that house down payment you mentioned. They won't help just because you're waiting, but if you can demonstrate actual hardship (like losing your chance at a house), they might intervene. Worth a shot if you're getting close to needing those funds.

Here's exactly what happened with my returns this year: 1. Filed both state and federal on February 3rd, 2024 2. State refund received February 15th (12 days) 3. WMR showed processing until February 28th 4. Transcript updated March 1st with code 570 5. Called IRS on March 8th - told to wait 6. Transcript updated March 15th with code 571 7. Refund approved March 16th 8. Money deposited March 20th (46 days total) So in my case, state came 34 days before federal with no correlation between them.

Just to clarify something about cycle codes that might help you: The "05" cycle code doesn't necessarily mean your return will be processed faster than an "04" - it just indicates which processing day of the week your account updates on. Have you considered that your return might be taking longer because you filed during peak season this year? The IRS typically processes early February returns faster than mid-February ones, regardless of your historical cycle code pattern.

Back in 2022, I had almost the exact same experience. Filed on February 18th, usually had quick processing, but that year it took 24 days before my transcript updated. Called the IRS after 3 weeks and they said my return was selected for a "random verification" that didn't require any action from me. Got my refund exactly 9 days after the transcript finally updated. The system seems to flag more returns for verification during peak filing weeks (mid-February), so your timeline might be similar to what I experienced.

I couldn't figure out what my codes meant until I used taxr.ai to decode my transcript. It showed me exactly why I had the 570 code and what I needed to do. The site explained that my 570 was because of a discrepancy between what my employer reported and what I entered. I needed my money fast for a car repair and couldn't wait. Check it out at https://taxr.ai - it helped me understand exactly what was happening instead of guessing.

570 means hold. 971 means notice issued. Check your mailbox daily. Most 971 notices come within 7-10 days. Sometimes they get lost. You can call IRS. Ask about the notice. They can tell you what it's about. Sometimes they can resend it. Don't panic yet.