CA Tax Return Still Processing After 10+ Days, Filed 1/18/25 While Later Filers Already Received Refunds

The FTB website shows your 2024 California tax return was received on Saturday, January 18, 2025, and is currently in the "Processing" stage of the three-phase status bar (Received → Processing → Issued). The system is functioning normally, as indicated by the standard processing message and status indicators. The timeline guidance provided by FTB specifically states to allow 1 month from your filing date for complete processing. This means you should expect processing to continue through February 18, 2025, before considering any delays unusual. The status display shows two key pieces of information: 1. Official receipt confirmation with exact date 2. Active processing notification Processing times vary significantly between returns due to several factors: - Return complexity - Need for additional verification - Random selection for review - Volume of returns being processed - Whether direct deposit or paper check is requested The fact that others who filed after you have received their refunds is not indicative of a problem with your return. Each return follows its own processing timeline based on these variables.

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in the same boat fam. filed 1/17 and still waiting 🙄

I think there overwhelmed rn. My brothers took 6 weeks last year but mine only took 2 weeks this year lol its random af

mines been processing since december... welcome to the club 🤡

Did you claim EITC or have any 1099 income? Those usually take longer to process.

I'm in a similar situation - filed CA on 1/20 and still showing "Processing" while my coworker who filed 1/25 already got her refund deposited yesterday. It's definitely frustrating when you see the inconsistency. I called the FTB customer service line (1-800-852-5711) yesterday and they basically told me the same thing - wait the full month before they can look into it further. The rep did mention that some returns get flagged for additional review even if there's nothing wrong, which can add 2-3 weeks to processing time. Might be worth calling just to confirm there are no issues with your return, but they probably won't tell you much more than what's already on the website.

I've been dealing with CA tax processing delays for years and here's what I've learned: FTB has been notoriously slow since 2020, especially in January/February. The "1 month" timeline they give is actually pretty standard now, even though it used to be 2-3 weeks pre-pandemic. Your return being stuck in processing while others filed later get theirs is unfortunately normal. It could be as simple as your return hitting a different processing queue, or your SSN ending in certain digits that get batched differently. I've seen people file the exact same day with similar returns and one gets processed in 10 days while the other takes 6 weeks. Don't stress too much about it - as long as you're seeing the "Processing" checkmark, you're in the system and moving forward. The FTB is actually pretty reliable about eventually getting refunds out, they're just slow. If you hit the 30-day mark with no movement, then definitely call.