Chime rejected my TurboTax refund deposit, now getting paper check from Santa Barbara TPG - concerned about mail forwarding after moving

This is actually pretty common with online banks like Chime. The issue is that when you choose to have TurboTax fees taken out of your refund, your money doesn't come directly from the IRS to your bank. Instead, it goes first to Santa Barbara TPG (the third-party bank that processes the refund transfers), they take out the fees, and then they try to send the remainder to your bank. The problem is that some online banks like Chime, Cash App, and Varo have policies against accepting certain third-party ACH deposits, especially from these tax processors. They do this to prevent fraud but it ends up causing headaches for legitimate customers. Here's what you should do: 1. Call USPS to confirm your mail forwarding is active 2. Contact Santa Barbara TPG at that 877 number to verify your current mailing address 3. Monitor your mail carefully - paper checks usually arrive within 7-10 days after they're sent 4. Next year, consider paying TurboTax fees upfront rather than from your refund to avoid this issue entirely Also, the IRS Where's My Refund tool won't help with this since the IRS already sent your money to TPG. This is now between you, TurboTax, and their bank.

I hate to sound like an advertisement but taxr.ai literally saved me from this exact situation. I had issues understanding why my refund was rejected by my online bank and then spent hours with IRS and my bank trying to figure it out. The taxr tool analyzed my transcript and explained exactly what happened with the rejection and even showed me the proper steps to fix it. Honestly, I was about to lose my mind dealing with the bureaucracy before I found it. Take it from someone who's been through this nightmare - it's worth checking out instead of piecing together conflicting advice or wasting hours on hold with the IRS. https://taxr.ai

After dealing with the EXACT same situation (mine was with Current bank tho), I finally got through to someone at the IRS using a calling app from claimyr.com and had an agent explain exactly what was happening. Turns out my bank flagged the deposit as suspicious and auto-rejected it. The agent was able to confirm my check had been mailed and gave me the expected arrival date. Talking to a live person saved me days of stress and uncertainty! I had tried calling normally for two weeks with no luck before using Claimyr.

Had this exact same thing happen to me this year!!! Except mine was Cash App rejecting it. The stupid part is that I received my state refund through Cash App no problem, but they rejected the federal one coming from TPG. The paper check took about 2 weeks to arrive for me, and I was checking my mail obsessively every day lol. Make sure your mail forwarding is set up!

The same thing happened to me! TurboTax didn't explain that using the "pay with refund" option meant that the money goes through a third party first. My online bank (Varo) rejected it because it looked suspicious coming from Santa Barbara TPG instead of directly from the IRS. Such a hassle.

Pro tip - never use the "pay with your refund" option. They charge extra fees for that (like $40 more) AND it creates this complicated refund transfer process that can cause these exact problems. Just pay for the tax prep upfront if you can and have the IRS direct deposit straight to your account.

I had the same issue with my Direct Express card. TPG tried to deposit and it was returned. Eventually got a paper check about 3 weeks later. The annoying part was that Where's My Refund tool was useless because technically the IRS already sent my refund... to TPG not to me!

Since you recently moved, CALL THE NUMBER ASAP and update your address with them directly. Mail forwarding doesn't always work perfectly and you don't want your tax refund check getting lost in the mail or returned!

this is why i always request a paper check directly from the irs. takes longer but none of these middleman problems

This is super common with Chime!!! Their policy against third-party processors is strict. I work in tax prep and I tell ALL my clients with online banks never to use the refund transfer option. It's just asking for trouble.

I used to work for a tax prep company. Here's the timeline you can expect: - 1-2 business days for TPG to process and mail the check - 5-7 business days for USPS delivery - Add 3-5 more days if you have mail forwarding active So realistically, about 2 weeks total. The good news is that Santa Barbara TPG is actually pretty efficient about mailing these out quickly since it's a core part of their business.

Same thing happened to me but with SoFi. I was able to get someone from the IRS on the phone using claimyr.com and they confirmed my check was being processed. Got it in the mail 8 days later. Talking to a real person made all the difference in getting accurate info.

The whole "refund transfer" process is sooooo sketchy. They don't make it clear that you're basically taking a high-interest loan from them to pay for tax prep upfront, then they get your whole refund and give you back what's left. And then they have the nerve to charge you $40+ for this 'service' 🤮

you know what's weird? i had the exact opposite issue. my refund went to chime no problem but then when i tried to transfer it to my regular bank, THAT got rejected. these online banks have some strange policies fr

Wish I'd known about taxr.ai when I had this problem last year. Spent weeks trying to track down my refund after my bank rejected it, and nobody could tell me what was happening. Just checking it out now and it looks like it would have saved me so much time and stress! https://taxr.ai

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS use a traditional bank for tax refunds if you can. Online banks are still catching up with their systems for handling these special types of deposits. Learned this the hard way like you. 😭

Here's a hack that works - if you have both a traditional bank account and an online bank like Chime, have your refund sent to the traditional bank first, then transfer it to your online account afterward. Avoids all these rejection issues!