This situation is actually more common than you'd think. Unlike the old stimulus payments, the current CTC system handles new dependents differently than existing ones. When I worked at a tax prep office, we saw this exact scenario dozens of times - direct deposit for established dependents, paper checks for newly added ones. The IRS does this as an anti-fraud measure. What's concerning is that if your ex incorrectly received the first payment, you might need to address that separately. The current payment likely only addresses your 2023 child, not correcting the misdirected payment for your older child.

Has anyone actually received their check yet? The IRS payment system is like a black box - information goes in but you never know what will come out or when. I'm curious if the actual check amounts match what people were expecting for their CTC.

I'm not sure if this is relevant, but do you happen to know if Navy Federal treats these deposits differently based on account type? I have a checking account with them and was wondering if maybe savings accounts might process differently or if business accounts have different timelines?

My Navy Federal DDD was March 8th last year, and SBTPG took their fees on March 6th at 10:23am. The deposit showed as pending in my Navy Fed account on March 7th around 3pm, and was fully available on March 8th at 12:01am. The exact same pattern happened for my wife's return which had a DDD of February 22nd this year - fees taken, then pending deposit about 24 hours later. You're right on track for a normal timeline.

OMG the verification process is SO MUCH FASTER if you check your transcript directly instead of WMR! The transcript database updates overnight (usually Tuesday-Thursday between 12am-6am EST), while WMR often lags 24-48 hours behind. I was literally refreshing my transcript hourly after verification and caught my DDD a full two days before WMR updated! Try checking your transcript around 3am - that's when the overnight batch processing typically completes.

Compared to mail verification, which can take 6-8 weeks, online verification is much faster. My sister verified by mail in early February and still hasn't seen movement, while I verified online around the same time as you and got my DDD after 7 business days. Just be careful about checking too frequently - the "Where's My Refund" tool can lock you out after too many attempts in 24 hours. I'd suggest checking transcripts once daily in the morning and WMR no more than once every 24 hours.

Have you considered checking your state refund status as well? Sometimes your state refund will process even while federal is held for verification. I speak cautiously about this, but many people don't realize the two systems are separate. My federal was held for 6 weeks after verification last year, but my state processed normally and I received it within 2 weeks.

FWIW, the community wisdom on this is pretty clear: the 9wk timeline is the IRS's CYA estimate. Most ppl see movement way before that. ID verify adds ~3-4wks to processing on avg. If u filed w/ dependents or EITC/CTC, add another week or so. The real trick is checking transcripts not WMR. WMR is notoriously slow to update. Transcript will show codes 570/571 when things are moving again. Hang in there!

I've been around this sub long enough to see the NetSpend timing question come up every tax season. Here's what I've gathered from hundreds of posts: about 60% get it a day early, 30% get it on the exact DDD, and about 10% experience a delay of some kind. I had NetSpend for years and personally always got mine early, but there's always those outlier cases where something weird happens. Just prepare yourself mentally for the actual date on your transcript, and if it comes early, consider it a bonus!

Have you tried checking the NetSpend Facebook page? According to their customer service posts on there, they release Treasury deposits as soon as they receive them, which is often before the official date. The IRS Direct Deposit info page (https://www.irs.gov/refunds/direct-deposit-limits) also mentions that while they provide a specific date, your financial institution determines exactly when funds become available. Might be worth giving NetSpend a call directly.