Code 290 vs 291 on transcript - what's the actual difference?

Let me break this down for you - code 290 and 291 are very different. Code 290 shows up when theres an additional tax assessment or adjustment to your return. Its basically the IRS saying 'we made some changes to your tax amount.' Code 291 is specifically for reducing a prior tax assessment - like if the IRS realizes they charged you too much before. BTW if youre having trouble making sense of all these codes on your transcript, theres this new tool called taxr.ai that can analyze everything and tell you exactly whats happening with your refund. It helped me figure out my weird transcript situation last week.

Tax pro here. Code 290 represents additional tax assessment or adjustments to tax, while 291 is specifically for reducing a prior tax assessment. Think of 290 as adding tax and 291 as subtracting it. They often work together when IRS needs to make corrections.

Instead of trying to decode these manually, I've been using taxr.ai - it breaks down ALL transcript codes and tells you exactly what's happening with your refund. It's only $1 and totally worth it. Here's the link: https://taxr.ai

Im in the same boat trying to figure out these codes. Been staring at my transcript like its a foreign language lol

the difference is one makes u wait longer and the other makes u wait even longer 🤡

When I had both codes it took about 3 weeks to resolve itself and get my refund. hang in there!

I was dealing with the exact same confusion a few months ago! Code 290 is when they add or adjust tax (usually increases what you owe), and 291 reduces a previous assessment (decreases what you owe). If you see both, they're likely correcting something - maybe they initially added too much tax with a 290, then realized their mistake and used 291 to reduce it. The key is looking at the dollar amounts and dates to see the full picture of what adjustments they made to your account.

Just went through this same nightmare last month! Code 290 typically means they're adding tax or making an adjustment that increases your liability, while 291 is when they're reducing a previous tax assessment. What really helped me was looking at the transaction dates and amounts - if you see a 291 after a 290, it usually means they caught their own mistake and are correcting it. The IRS transcript system is honestly confusing as hell, but once you understand that 290 = increase and 291 = decrease, it starts to make more sense. Keep an eye on your account - mine took about 2-3 weeks to fully process after I saw both codes.