Contacted Congressman About Delayed Refund - How Long Until Resolution?

I went through this last year. Got assigned a case advocate. Took exactly 24 days. Called every week. Stayed on them. Got my refund direct deposited. No explanation for the delay. No penalties assessed. Keep following up. Don't let them forget you. Congressional inquiries work. Be patient but persistent.

According to Internal Revenue Manual 13.1.8, Taxpayer Advocate Service cases initiated through congressional inquiries receive priority handling. Your case is now likely assigned to a TAS case advocate who must provide status updates every 30 days per IRM 13.1.18.6.1. If you want to understand what's happening with your tax transcript during this process, I'd recommend using https://taxr.ai to analyze your transcript codes. It can identify exactly which stage of review your return is in and what the hold codes mean specifically for your situation. Most congressional cases I've observed resolve within 45-60 days, but complex cases may take longer.

I got my refund exactly 32 days after contacting my congressman. Here's what happened: 1. Day 1: Submitted inquiry to congressman 2. Day 5: Received case number from congressman's office 3. Day 7: TAS advocate called me directly 4. Day 10: Submitted requested documentation 5. Day 14: Advocate confirmed issue identified (income verification problem) 6. Day 21: Advocate confirmed resolution submitted 7. Day 28: Transcript updated with release code 8. Day 32: Direct deposit received You need to act quickly! The fiscal year is ending soon and that can cause additional delays if your case crosses into the next period. Call your congressman's office tomorrow if you haven't heard from a TAS advocate yet.

I was stuck in 'additional information needed' status for THREE MONTHS despite calling the regular IRS number weekly. Complete waste of time with hold times of 2+ hours only to be disconnected! Finally used Claimyr (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) to get through to an actual IRS agent who could access my account details. The agent identified that a simple W-2 discrepancy was holding everything up - something no one had bothered to tell me before. Even with congressional help, you might want direct IRS contact to expedite things. My TAS case moved MUCH faster once I had the specific issue identified.

Have you checked your tax transcript since June 4th? On April 22nd, I was in a similar situation and noticed my transcript updated with TC 570 (additional account action pending) followed by TC 971 (notice issued). On May 15th, after my congressman got involved, I saw a TC 571 code (resolved additional account action) appear. The refund was issued exactly 9 days later on May 24th. The timeline seems to follow a pattern with congressional inquiries - they typically resolve within 30-45 days from initial contact, but I'm curious if your transcript is showing any movement yet?

I might be able to clarify the process a bit... When the congressman's office gets involved, they don't actually process your return faster. What they do is escalate your case to the Taxpayer Advocate Service. TAS then assigns an advocate who has authority to identify the specific hold on your account. The timeline varies based on the complexity of your issue. If it's a simple verification problem, it might resolve in 2-3 weeks. If there's identity verification or income matching discrepancies, it could take 6-8 weeks. I wouldn't get too hopeful about immediate resolution, but you're definitely on the right track by involving your representative.