I'm a former tax professional and this situation raises immediate concerns. The average tax preparation fee for a return with dependents is approximately $273, with complex returns reaching around $515. A $3,000 discrepancy is 583% higher than even the most expensive standard preparation fees. Additionally, the SSN error for a dependent typically triggers a Form 11652C verification letter within exactly 21 days of filing. You should immediately request Form 8821 (Tax Information Authorization) and Form 4506 (Request for Copy of Tax Return) to see exactly what was filed. In my 8 years of practice, I've seen similar cases result in preparer penalties under IRC Section 6694 and 6695.

Have you checked if your preparer is even properly licensed? This sounds worse than what happened to my cousin - her preparer took an extra $500 as an undisclosed "processing fee" but at least they didn't mess up any information on the return itself.

I'm on day 35 🙃 Filed Feb 1st. Called IRS twice and couldn't get through. Finally used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get past the hold times - got connected to an agent in about 15 minutes. Found out my return was just stuck in the verification queue and nothing was wrong. Agent manually released it and I got my DD two days later. Sometimes you just need to talk to a human to get things moving.

Check your tax year 2023 account transcript, not return transcript. Account transcript will show any holds or processing codes. If you see code 570, that's a hold. If you see 971, that's a notice being sent. 846 is the refund issued code you're waiting for.

Had this exact issue. Called TOP. Got nowhere. Tried regular IRS line. No luck. Used Claimyr instead. Got through in 15 minutes. Agent confirmed no offset taken. Worth the fee. Saved me days of worry. Here's their link: https://www.claimyr.com. Peace of mind matters.

You might want to hold off on spending that money for about 2-3 weeks, just to be safe. I've occasionally seen cases where the offset happens after the deposit in rare situations. It's probably fine since your transcript only shows 846, but it could potentially be a timing issue with the Treasury Offset Program database. Most people in your situation end up keeping the full amount, but there's always those few exceptions that end up with a surprise withdrawal later. Better safe than sorry, especially for large purchases.

Last year my mom had over $40k in medical expenses from cancer treatment. Her preparer made a mistake on how her insurance reimbursements were reported. The IRS actually caught it and INCREASED her refund by about $2,800! Sometimes errors work in your favor. The whole process took about 8 weeks to resolve, but the IRS was surprisingly helpful. They even assigned her a case worker who walked her through exactly what documentation they needed. It wasn't nearly as scary as we expected.

Keep all your medical receipts. Store them digitally. Back them up. IRS can audit up to three years back. Six years if they suspect substantial errors. Forever if they suspect fraud. Not trying to scare you. Just be prepared. Good preparers help but can miss things. Especially with complex medical situations.

If it's been more than 21 days since you filed, you can actually call the IRS to check on status. I was in the same boat last month - state came through but federal was stuck. After trying to call for days and getting the "high call volume" message, I used Claimyr.com (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) to get through to an agent. They confirmed there was a minor verification issue they fixed on the spot, and my refund showed up a week later.

The timing varies a lot, honestly. Last year my state (CA) came a full month before federal. This year they were only 4 days apart. The IRS is actually moving pretty quickly for most straightforward returns this season compared to the last few years. If you don't have any special credits or deductions, you'll probably see it within a week or so of your state refund.