Can anyone explain why I have multiple 766 and 846 transcript lines on my IRS transcript?

Thanks for the explanation! So if I see these paired entries but never received multiple refunds throughout the year, should I be concerned? I only remember getting one refund.

If you only remember receiving one refund but see multiple 846 codes, there could be a few explanations. First, check if some of these might be advance payments of credits that were deposited automatically to your account - sometimes people don't notice these as "refunds" because they weren't expecting them. Second, the dates are important - sometimes the IRS will process adjustments that show up as paired 766/846 codes, but they're just accounting entries rather than actual new payments. If you're concerned, you can call the IRS to verify all payments were properly issued and received. Compare the dates and amounts to your bank statements to see if you received all the payments shown.

Does it actually explain the specific codes or just give general info? I've tried other "transcript decoders" that were basically useless.

Is this site actually secure? I'm nervous about uploading my tax transcript to some random site. How do you know they're not stealing your info?

It actually gives specific explanations for each line on your transcript, not just general definitions. It identified all my 766/846 pairs as Advance Child Tax Credit payments and even showed which children each payment was for. Much more detailed than the generic "transcript decoders" I tried before. Regarding security, I was concerned about that too initially. They use bank-level encryption, and you can actually black out your SSN and personal info before uploading if you're worried. The tool only needs to see the transaction codes and dates to provide the analysis. They have a pretty detailed privacy policy that explains how they handle your data.

Wait how does this actually work? How can they get you through when the IRS lines are always busy?

This sounds like a scam. Nobody can magically get through IRS phone lines. They're deliberately understaffed and overwhelmed.

They use an automated system that does the calling and waiting for you. Basically, their system continually calls the IRS until it gets through, then it holds your place in line. When an agent is about to pick up, you get a call to connect you. So you don't have to sit there listening to hold music for hours. I was extremely skeptical too. I thought it had to be a scam or wouldn't work as promised. But I was desperate after wasting so many hours trying to get through myself. It actually worked exactly as they described. The system called me when an agent was about to pick up, and I was talking to a real IRS representative who could access my account and explain all those transcript codes. The rep even seemed familiar with the service and didn't have any issues with me using it.

Does anyone know if the IRS keeps a record of which specific credit each 766 code represents? Like is there a way to tell which is for child tax credit vs education credit vs whatever else?

Yes, the IRS does maintain specific information about which credits each 766 code represents. On the actual transcript, there should be a description field or additional code that indicates the specific type of credit. For example, child tax credit entries often have a specific reference number or additional code. You can request a more detailed transcript directly from the IRS that shows these specifics. The Account Transcript (which is what most people look at online) shows the basic codes, but the complete transcript may provide more detail about each entry. Alternatively, when you call the IRS, an agent can look at their internal systems and tell you exactly what each credit represents.

Split refunds would typically show as multiple 846 codes, but they'd usually be on the same date or very close together. And they wouldn't necessarily have matching 766 codes for each one. What OP is describing sounds more like periodic payments or adjustments throughout the year. But good thinking - the IRS transcript system definitely doesn't make these things clear!

This is really helpful! I'm new to understanding tax transcripts and this breakdown makes so much sense. I have a similar situation on my transcript and was worried something was wrong. The monthly Advanced Child Tax Credit explanation definitely fits what I'm seeing. Quick question - if some of the 846 codes don't match up with deposits I remember receiving, should I be concerned that payments got lost or went to the wrong account?

If you see 846 codes that don't match deposits you remember receiving, definitely check a few things first. Look at your bank statements carefully - sometimes these payments come through as "IRS TREAS" or similar descriptions and might not be immediately obvious, especially if they were smaller amounts. Also check if you moved or changed bank accounts during that time period. If the IRS had old banking information on file, some payments might have been issued as paper checks to your address instead of direct deposits. You can also log into your IRS online account to see the payment trace information, which will show you exactly how each payment was issued (direct deposit vs. check) and to what account. If you still can't account for the payments after checking these things, then yes, you should contact the IRS to do a payment trace. They can verify whether the payments were successfully delivered and help resolve any issues if payments went to the wrong place.

This is exactly the kind of detailed explanation I needed! I'm dealing with a similar transcript situation and was getting overwhelmed by all the different codes. The tip about cross-referencing the dates with bank statements is brilliant - I hadn't thought to do that systematically. I'm curious though - you mentioned that some of your 766/846 pairs were from an amended return. How could you tell the difference between those and the regular child tax credit payments? Were there different amounts or dates that made it obvious, or did you have to dig deeper to figure out which was which? Also, thanks for mentioning the IRS transcript code lookup tool! I had no idea that existed and it sounds like it could save me a lot of confusion.

Great question! The amended return entries were actually pretty easy to spot once I knew what to look for. The amounts were different - my monthly child tax credit payments were consistent amounts (like $300 each month), but the amended return adjustment was a weird amount like $127 that didn't match the typical credit patterns. Also, the dates helped a lot. The child tax credit payments came monthly from July through December, but the amended return adjustment showed up several months later when the IRS finally processed my amended filing. The timing made it obvious it was unrelated to the regular monthly payments. The IRS transcript lookup tool is buried pretty deep on their website, but if you search for "transaction codes" on irs.gov you should be able to find it. It won't give you the full story like calling them would, but it's helpful for understanding what each code generally means. Just remember that the same code can represent different types of credits, so the dates and amounts are really key to figuring out the specifics!

This explanation is really helpful! I'm new to reading tax transcripts and seeing all these codes was overwhelming. The way you broke down that the 766 reduces what you owe and the 846 shows the actual payment makes perfect sense. I had similar paired entries on my transcript and was worried something was wrong with my account. Now I understand it's just the normal process for refundable credits. Thanks for mentioning the bank deposit labels too - I'll check my statements for those "CHILDCTC" entries to confirm everything matches up!