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.

I'm currently going through this exact same process! Filed in February, got the dreaded 60-day review notice in April, and contacted my congressman's office last week. Reading through everyone's timelines is both reassuring and nerve-wracking - sounds like there's quite a range depending on what's actually holding up your return. @Isabella Russo - that's super helpful about checking the transcript codes! I've been obsessively checking mine but wasn't sure what half the codes meant. Did you notice any pattern in how quickly the codes updated after your congressman got involved? It's frustrating that we have to jump through all these hoops just to get our own money back, but at least it sounds like congressional involvement does actually move things along. Fingers crossed we both get resolution soon!

Based on everyone's experiences here, it sounds like you're in a pretty normal timeline for congressional involvement. I went through something similar about 6 months ago - filed early, got stuck in review, waited the full 60 days, then finally contacted my representative. My case took about 5 weeks total from first congressional contact to getting my refund. The key thing I learned was that once TAS gets involved, they actually have to follow specific timelines and provide regular updates. My advocate called me every 2 weeks with status updates, which was way better than the radio silence I got from regular IRS calls. One thing that really helped was keeping detailed records of every interaction - dates, reference numbers, what was discussed. When my TAS advocate called, having all that information ready seemed to speed things up. Also, don't be afraid to follow up with your congressman's office if you don't hear anything within 2 weeks. They expect updates from TAS and can nudge things along. The military comparison made me laugh - at least deployment paperwork eventually gets processed! 😄 Hang in there, congressional involvement really does make a difference.

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now and this thread has been incredibly helpful! Filed in February, got hit with the 60-day review in March, and just contacted my congressman last week after getting nowhere with regular IRS calls. Reading through everyone's experiences, it sounds like I should expect anywhere from 3-8 weeks once TAS gets involved, depending on what's actually causing the delay. The transcript code tracking that @Isabella Russo mentioned is something I definitely need to start doing - I had no idea those codes could tell you exactly what stage your return is in. @Emily Nguyen-Smith your timeline is almost identical to mine, so I'm cautiously optimistic that I might see movement in the next few weeks. The fact that you got assigned someone so quickly after contacting your congressman is encouraging. Has anyone found it helpful to proactively gather documentation before the TAS advocate asks for it? I'm wondering if I should start organizing W-2s, receipts, etc. now rather than scrambling later when they inevitably ask for "additional information" like they seem to do with everyone. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences - it's reassuring to know there's actually a process that works, even if it takes longer than we'd like!

As someone new to this community and currently dealing with my first major tax delay, I just wanted to say how incredibly helpful this entire thread has been! I'm about 3 weeks into my own congressional inquiry process after being stuck in the dreaded "additional information needed" limbo for months. Reading through everyone's timelines and experiences has given me so much more confidence that there's actually a structured process behind all this chaos. The specific advice about transcript codes from @Isabella Russo is gold - I had no idea those codes could give you real insight into what's actually happening with your return instead of just generic "under review" messages. @Emily Nguyen-Smith, your military paperwork comparison made me laugh out loud! At least with tax refunds, we eventually get our money back instead of just more forms to fill out. 😂 I'm bookmarking this thread to reference as my case progresses. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences and creating such a supportive space for those of us navigating this frustrating process. Hopefully I'll be back in a few weeks with my own success story to add to the collection!