California FTB refund stuck in 'issued' status for 3+ weeks - anyone else waiting longer than their promised 10 days?

The California FTB (Franchise Tax Board) states that refunds marked as 'issued' can take up to 10 business days to appear in your account. However, there are several reasons why it could take longer: • Bank processing delays - sometimes banks hold deposits for verification • High volume season - CA processes millions of returns during peak filing • Account verification - if this is your first time filing in CA or you had significant changes, they may be verifying your information • System delays - their system might show 'issued' before it's actually sent If it's been more than 3 weeks, I recommend calling early morning (right when they open) for better chances of reaching someone. Also check if your refund status has updated on the FTB website. Sometimes the 'Where's My Refund' tool provides more detail than the initial notification. You can also try contacting your bank to see if they have any pending deposits or rejections from the state.

I had almost the exact same issue. Spent hours trying to get through to CA FTB and researching online. Then I found this tool called taxr.ai and it was a game changer. It analyzed my refund status and explained exactly what was happening and why there was a delay. Turns out my refund was flagged for an extra verification step that FTB never notified me about! The tool helped me understand exactly what was happening and what I needed to do. So much better than trying to figure this stuff out on these forums where everyone's just guessing. https://taxr.ai saved me from weeks more of waiting and confusion.

Been there, done that. After waiting for nearly a month for my CA refund and getting nowhere with their website, I used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me a callback from a live FTB agent within an hour. The agent told me there was a verification hold that was never communicated to me! Got my refund released 2 days later. Talking to an actual human solved in minutes what I spent weeks trying to figure out on my own.

Yep, I'm at day 18 for my CA refund. Also says "issued" but nothing in my account. Tried calling like 20 times now but can never get through. This is ridiculous.

Just to offer a diff perspective - I got my CA refund 4 days after it showed as issued. But my friend is in the exact same boat as you (3+ weeks of waiting). Weirdly she filed earlier than me too. Seems like their system is just completely random this year.

I had a similar issue last year but with federal. Turned out my bank had actually rejected the deposit because the name on the refund didn't exactly match my account name (my middle initial was included on one but not the other). Might be worth checking with your bank too, not just FTB.

The whole system is a joke. They take our money instantly but then make us wait months to get our own money back 🤡

just got mine yestdy after waiting 14 business days. hang in there. also check ur spam folder sometimes they email u if theres an issue.

Have you tried the FTB online chat option? I couldn't get through on the phone either but was able to chat with an agent online who gave me more info about my delay.

This might sound strange but try checking your old addresses if you've moved recently. My friend had her refund sent to her old address even though she updated everything. The status showed 'issued' but it was actually a paper check sent to wrong address.

CA FTB has been TERRIBLE this year. I'm a tax preparer and about 40% of my clients are experiencing significant delays with their CA refunds. Many with the same 'issued but not received' problem. Something seems broken in their system.

I FINALLY received mine 27 days after it was marked as issued. Keep checking your account daily and hang in there. They're just super backed up this year.

The magical 10 business days is a lie lol. Mine took 15 business days last year and 12 this year. FTB is notorious for this.

Dealing with California's tax system is the absolute worst. Their website is from 1997, their phone system hangs up on you, and nobody can ever give you a straight answer. I've had better customer service at the DMV, and that's saying something.

hav you tryed looking at you're bank acct number on the where's my refund page? there mite be an error. i found out mine was off by one digit and thats y it was taking so long.

The same thing happened to me with my federal refund. After waiting THIRTY-TWO days with status stuck on "issued", I gave up on phone calls and used Claimyr.com to get a callback from an IRS agent. Found out they had put a random review hold on my account that wouldn't have resolved without me calling. The agent removed it on the spot and I got my refund 3 days later. Might be worth trying with CA FTB too - definitely better than waiting for months.

Welcome to the club! My CA refund took 24 days after being marked as issued. No explanation, no updates, just suddenly appeared in my account. The 10-day promise is complete BS.

I had the same problem. I started using taxr.ai and it was amazing - it actually found a weird code on my transcript that explained exactly why my refund was delayed (it was a random ID verification issue). The site explained everything clearly and told me exactly what to do. No more guessing games! Check it out: https://taxr.ai

I'm going through the exact same thing! My CA refund has been stuck at "issued" for 19 days now and I'm losing my mind. Called FTB probably 15 times and either get disconnected or the "high call volume" recording. My bank confirmed no rejected deposits on their end. What's really frustrating is seeing some people get theirs in under a week while others wait a month+ with zero explanation. The inconsistency makes it impossible to know if something's actually wrong or if we just have to wait it out. Going to try some of the suggestions here - the chat option and maybe one of those callback services since the phone system is completely useless. Thanks for posting this, at least now I know I'm not alone in this nightmare!

I'm in the exact same boat - filed early March and my CA refund has been stuck at "issued" for 21 days now. The 10 business day promise is clearly meaningless at this point. I've called FTB so many times I've memorized their hold music, but never get through to an actual human. What's really concerning is that my federal refund processed normally and hit my account in 6 days, so I know my banking info is correct. It seems like CA FTB is having major system issues this year that they're not being transparent about. I'm going to try the chat option someone mentioned and maybe look into one of those callback services. This is absolutely ridiculous - we shouldn't have to pay third parties just to get information about our own money that the state is holding hostage. Thanks for posting this thread, it's somewhat comforting to know this is a widespread issue and not just something wrong with my specific return. Hopefully we all get our refunds soon!

I'm dealing with the exact same frustrating situation! My CA refund has been stuck at "issued" for 26 days now - way beyond their promised 10 business days. Like many others here, my federal refund came through perfectly fine in under a week, so I know it's not a banking issue on my end. What's particularly maddening is the complete lack of transparency from FTB. Their phone system is essentially useless - I've called dozens of times and never gotten through to a human. The "high call volume" excuse is getting really old when it's been going on for weeks. I've verified my banking info multiple times, checked for rejected deposits, and even looked into whether there might be holds or verification issues, but I'm getting nowhere without being able to speak to someone who can actually see what's happening with my account. The inconsistency is what really gets me - seeing people who filed after me get their refunds in days while others wait over a month with identical "issued" status. There's clearly something broken in their system that they're not acknowledging publicly. Thanks for starting this thread - it's oddly comforting to know this is a widespread issue and not just something wrong with my specific situation. Hopefully we all get some resolution soon, but at this point I'm not holding my breath for CA FTB to fix whatever's broken on their end.

I'm experiencing the exact same nightmare! My CA refund has been stuck at "issued" for 20 days now and I'm starting to panic. Filed in early March, got the "issued" notification on March 28th, and here we are in mid-April with absolutely nothing. What's driving me crazy is that I can't get any actual information about what's happening. The FTB phone system is completely broken - I've tried calling at different times of day, different days of the week, and it's always the same "high call volume" recording before hanging up on me. My federal refund hit my account in 4 days, so I know my banking information is correct. I've triple-checked everything on my end and even called my bank to confirm they haven't rejected anything. The fact that so many of us are dealing with identical issues (refunds stuck at "issued" for weeks beyond the promised timeframe) suggests this is a major systemic problem that CA FTB isn't being honest about. Some kind of processing bottleneck or system failure that they're not acknowledging publicly. I'm going to try that chat option someone mentioned and maybe look into those callback services, because at this point I'm willing to pay just to talk to an actual human being who can tell me what's going on with my own money. Thanks for posting this - it's somewhat reassuring to know I'm not the only one going through this mess, even though it sucks that so many of us are stuck in the same boat!

I'm in the same frustrating boat - day 17 here with my CA refund stuck at "issued" status! Filed in mid-March and got the notification that it was issued to my bank account, but nothing has shown up. Like everyone else, my federal refund came through in less than a week, so I know my banking info is correct. What's really concerning is seeing how widespread this issue is. It's clearly not isolated cases but rather a systematic problem with FTB's processing system that they're not being transparent about. The fact that their phone system is essentially non-functional during a crisis like this is unacceptable. I've been checking my account obsessively every morning hoping it'll just appear, but at this point I'm losing faith in their 10 business day promise. Going to try the chat option and maybe look into those callback services others have mentioned - shouldn't have to pay extra just to get basic information about our own refunds, but desperate times I guess. Thanks for starting this thread OP - it's oddly comforting to know we're all suffering through this together. Hopefully CA FTB gets their act together soon because this level of dysfunction is inexcusable for a state tax agency.

I'm going through the exact same nightmare! Day 28 here with my CA refund stuck at "issued" status. Filed my return in early March, got the "approved and issued" notification on March 25th, and still absolutely nothing in my account despite their promise of 10 business days max for direct deposit. What's really infuriating is that I can't get through to anyone at FTB to get actual information. I've called probably 30+ times at different hours and days, but it's always the same "experiencing high call volumes" recording before they hang up on you. My federal refund processed normally in 5 days, so I know my banking details are correct. The worst part is the complete lack of transparency. They clearly have major systemic issues this year but won't acknowledge it publicly. Instead we're all left guessing whether something's wrong with our individual returns or if we just have to wait indefinitely with no timeline. I'm definitely going to try that chat option others mentioned - buried somewhere deep on their website apparently. Might also look into those callback services since the regular phone system is completely useless. Ridiculous that we have to pay third parties just to get basic information about our own money. Thanks for posting this thread! It's somewhat reassuring to know this is a widespread issue affecting so many of us. Hopefully CA FTB gets their act together soon because this level of dysfunction is completely unacceptable for a state tax agency.

I'm dealing with the exact same issue! My CA refund has been stuck at "issued" for 31 days now - completely blown past their 10 business day promise. Filed in early March, got the "issued" notification on March 20th, and still nothing in my account. Like everyone else here, my federal refund came through perfectly fine in 6 days, so I know it's not a banking issue. I've called FTB countless times and never gotten through to an actual human - just that useless "high call volume" recording every single time. What's really frustrating is the complete randomness of their system. Some people get refunds in days while others wait over a month with identical status. There's clearly something seriously broken on their end that they're not being transparent about. I'm going to try that buried chat option today and maybe look into one of those callback services people mentioned. Shouldn't have to pay extra just to get information about our own money, but at this point I'm desperate for answers. Thanks for posting this OP - it's oddly reassuring to know this is such a widespread problem. Hopefully we all see some movement soon because this level of dysfunction from CA FTB is absolutely unacceptable!

I'm in the exact same situation - my CA refund has been stuck at "issued" for 19 days now and it's incredibly frustrating! Filed in mid-March, got the notification it was issued on April 1st, but nothing has hit my account despite their 10 business day promise. Like many others here, my federal refund came through in just 4 days, so I know my banking info is correct. I've tried calling FTB probably 20+ times but never get past that "high call volume" recording - their phone system seems designed to prevent anyone from actually getting help. What really bothers me is seeing the complete inconsistency - some people get their refunds in under a week while others wait a month+ with zero explanation. It's clear there are major systemic issues at CA FTB that they're not being transparent about. I'm going to try that buried chat option on their website that someone mentioned, and maybe look into those callback services since the regular phone system is completely useless. It's ridiculous that we might have to pay third parties just to get basic information about our own money. Thanks for starting this thread OP - it's somewhat comforting to know this is such a widespread issue, even though it sucks that so many of us are stuck in this nightmare together. Hopefully CA FTB gets their act together soon!

I'm going through this exact same nightmare! My CA refund has been stuck at "issued" for 16 days now and I'm starting to lose my mind. Filed in mid-March, got the "issued" notification on April 3rd, and absolutely nothing in my account since then. What's really getting to me is that I can't get any real information about what's happening. I've called FTB probably 15 times at different hours and it's always the same "high call volume" recording before they disconnect. Meanwhile my federal refund hit my account in 5 days, so I know my banking details are correct. The inconsistency is what's driving me crazy - seeing some people get theirs in under a week while others wait a month+ with identical "issued" status. There's clearly something majorly broken in their system that they're not being honest about. I'm going to try that chat option someone mentioned since the phone system is completely useless. Really shouldn't have to jump through hoops just to get basic info about our own money! Thanks for posting this OP - at least now I know I'm not going insane and this really is a widespread CA FTB problem.