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Instead of verifying by phone, request an in-person appointment at your local Taxpayer Assistance Center. Use the IRS TAC appointment system online to schedule. This verification method is often faster than phone verification, which can take weeks for processing. The in-person verification is immediately recorded in the IRS system, potentially expediting your refund by 7-10 days compared to telephone verification.
Be extremely careful if you're getting messages about verification! My brother-in-law got a text claiming to be IRS verification that was actually a scam. Real IRS verification is only through official letters, their secure online portal, or by calling their official numbers. They never initiate contact through text or email for verification purposes. The scammers are getting really sophisticated with military families this year.
I'm one of the 2/12 filers and spent THREE DAYS trying to get through to the IRS to find out what was happening. Finally used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and got through to an agent in about 15 minutes. Turns out they needed to verify my W2 info but never sent a letter. Agent cleared it right away and my deposit hit 2 days later. Might be worth a try if you're still stuck.
When I was in this situation (waited over 2 months last year), I finally got tired of checking and called the IRS. Spent 3 days trying to get through before I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). They got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes. The agent confirmed my return was just in normal processing and nothing was flagged. Got my refund about a week later. Worth it just for the peace of mind.
Check your Return Transcript instead of Account Transcript. Sometimes one will update before the other. Also, try checking on a Tuesday morning - that's when a lot of the weekly updates happen in the IRS system.
OMG I was JUST about to post this exact same question!!! My red circle appeared yesterday morning and I'm DYING waiting for my refund to hit! Last year I got the circle on a Tuesday and had money by Thursday, but this time it's different and I'm so anxious about it! I've literally set up alerts on my banking app and check it every hour. This money is going straight to catching up on bills from when I was sick in January. The waiting is TORTURE!
Per IRS Publication 2043, the standard timeframe for direct deposit after refund approval is 1-5 business days. Weekends and holidays are excluded from this calculation. My red circle appeared on March 15, 2024, and funds were deposited on March 19, 2024. Four business days is within normal parameters and does not indicate any processing anomalies.
Omar Zaki
Pro tip: If you do end up waiting the full 10 weeks, you'll likely get interest added to your refund. Small consolation, but at least it's something. Current IRS interest rate is 7% annually, which is better than most savings accounts.
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CosmicCrusader
Did you file with a tax preparer or software? Sometimes they can provide insight on common errors that might have triggered the review. Also check if you have any past due debts that might cause an offset - that sometimes triggers additional review.
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Emma Davis
ā¢I used TurboTax like I do every year. No debts that I know of! My return is pretty simple - W2, child tax credit, nothing fancy. That's why I'm so confused about what could possibly be wrong.
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CosmicCrusader
ā¢Could be identity verification then. The IRS has been extra cautious with Child Tax Credit claims the last two years. Might be worth calling specifically about ID verification - sometimes that's handled by a different department.
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