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E-filed 2024 taxes on January 15th but transcript shows "No tax return filed" 6+ weeks later - Should I be concerned?

I e-filed my taxes on January 15th and my 30-day processing window ended on February 15th. I called the IRS yesterday to verify my status and they confirmed that I've passed the normal processing timeframe. I checked my transcript today and there's literally nothing there. Here's exactly what my transcript shows: Internal Revenue Service United States Department of the Treasury This Product Contains Sensitive Taxpayer Data Request Date: 03-04-2025 Response Date: 03-04-2025 Account Transcript FORM NUMBER: 1040 TAX PERIOD: Dec. 31, 2024 TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER: [redacted] ANY MINUS SIGN SHOWN BELOW SIGNIFIES A CREDIT AMOUNT ACCOUNT BALANCE: 0.00 ACCRUED INTEREST: 0.00 AS OF: Mar. 04, 2025 ACCRUED PENALTY: 0.00 AS OF: Mar. 04, 2025 ACCOUNT BALANCE PLUS ACCRUALS (this is not a payoff amount): 0.00 INFORMATION FROM THE RETURN OR AS ADJUSTED EXEMPTIONS: 00 FILING STATUS: Head of Household ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME: TAXABLE INCOME: TAX PER RETURN: SE TAXABLE INCOME TAXPAYER: SE TAXABLE INCOME SPOUSE: TOTAL SELF EMPLOYMENT TAX: RETURN NOT PRESENT FOR THIS ACCOUNT TRANSACTIONS CODE EXPLANATION OF TRANSACTION CYCLE DATE AMOUNT No tax return filed This Product Contains Sensitive Taxpayer Data It literally says "No tax return filed" and "Return not present for this account." My account balance shows $0.00. I filed as Head of Household, and it's been well over a month now. The IRS representative confirmed I'm past the normal processing window when I called. Should I be worried about this? Does anyone know if I should contact them again or just keep waiting? This is really frustrating since I e-filed in mid-January and we're now in March. Has anyone else experienced this where their transcript shows absolutely nothing despite filing 6+ weeks ago?

Andre Dubois

Based on your transcript, it appears the IRS doesn't have any record of receiving your return yet. The transcript shows "No tax return filed" and "Return not present for this account" which means either: 1. Your return is still in the processing queue and hasn't been entered into their system yet 2. There was an issue with your e-filed return and it may have been rejected 3. There could be a delay in updating their systems Since you verified with the IRS that they received your return, it's likely just stuck in processing. The IRS is experiencing significant backlogs this year. I recommend: - Check your e-file confirmation from when you submitted - Call the IRS again and specifically ask if your return was accepted or if there are any issues - If you used a tax preparer, contact them to verify the return was properly transmitted Don't panic yet, but it's good you're being proactive in following up.

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Carmen Flores

Thank you for the detailed response! I do have my acceptance email from my tax software, so I know it was at least initially accepted. I'll give them a call again tomorrow.

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26d

CyberSamurai

This happened 2 me last year. My return was stuck for 7 weeks before it showed up in the system. The IRS is just slow AF sometimes

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25d

Zoe Alexopoulos

I had this EXACT problem. I was freaking out. Called IRS 4 times before finally getting someone helpful. Turns out there was an ID verification issue they never told me about.

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22d

Jamal Carter

You should try using taxr.ai - it saved me so much time figuring out my transcript issues. I was in a similar situation last month where my return wasn't showing up and I was going crazy trying to decode what was happening. This tool actually explained everything and saved me from hours of research and stress. It analyzed my transcript and told me exactly what was happening with my return and what codes to watch for. Definitely check it out: https://taxr.ai

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Mei Liu

Sounds interesting. How exactly does it work? Does it just read your transcript or does it do more?

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25d

Jamal Carter

It's honestly a game changer! It reads your transcript AND explains everything in plain English. It shows all the important dates, tells you if there are delays, explains all those confusing codes, and even gives you a timeline of when to expect your refund. I was completely lost before using it - now I actually understand what's happening with my taxes!

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23d

Liam O'Donnell

do they need all your personal info? seems sketchy tbh

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Jamal Carter

I was skeptical at first too but it's legit amazing. You just upload your transcript that you already downloaded from the IRS site and it analyzes it. Saved me from pulling my hair out trying to understand all those codes and dates. Literally the best tool I found during this whole tax nightmare!

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21d

Amara Nwosu

After three weeks of getting absolutely nowhere with the IRS website and waiting on hold forever, I found this app called Claimyr that got me through to an actual human at the IRS in like 20 minutes (claimyr.com). The agent was able to tell me my return was flagged for manual review because of an income verification issue, which is why nothing was showing up on my transcript. Talking to the agent directly got everything sorted and my refund was released a week later. Honestly, it was worth every penny to finally get answers instead of staring at that useless "return not present" message.

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AstroExplorer

Does this actually work? I've been trying to get through for weeks...

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24d

Amara Nwosu

100% worked for me. I was super skeptical but was desperate after trying to call myself for like 2 weeks straight. Got connected to an agent who could actually see my file and explain what was happening instead of just guessing based on the website status 🙌

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21d

Giovanni Moretti

sounds like an ad lol

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Amara Nwosu

lol I get why it sounds that way, but when youve spent hours listening to that stupid IRS hold music only to get disconnected, you get pretty excited when something finally works. It was literally the only way I got my issue resolved so I tell everyone about it now 😂

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21d

Fatima Al-Farsi

Just tried it and it actually worked! After spending 5 hours on hold yesterday and getting nowhere, I got through to someone in less than 30 mins. They told me my return was missing a form which is why it wasn't processing. Thanks for the tip!

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21d

Dylan Cooper

This happened to me last filing season. I efiled in january and my transcript showed exactly what yours does now. Turns out I needed to verify identity but they never sent me a letter. Had to call like 5 times. Check if you need to do ID verification on the irs website!

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Sofia Perez

the absolute STATE of our tax system 🤡 imagine any private company trying to get away with this level of service. "oh yeah we definitely got your payment but we have no record of it and cant tell you when we'll process it just trust us bro" smh

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Dmitry Smirnov

For real. And then they penalize YOU if you're a day late with anything 🙄

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22d

ElectricDreamer

right??!! Imagine if we told them "oh I'll pay my taxes whenever I get around to it maybe in 3-4 months" 💀

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21d

Ava Johnson

Did you claim EIC or Child Tax Credit? Those returns automatically take longer to process and sometimes don't show up in the system until they're approved. I'm in the same boat, filed Jan 19 with both credits and my transcript still shows nothing.

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Carmen Flores

Yes! I did claim head of household with a dependent and EIC. That makes me feel better that I'm not alone. How long have you been waiting now?

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21d

Ava Johnson

Going on 6 weeks now. IRS said it could take up to 8 weeks for EIC claims because they verify everything. So frustrating but it sounds like we're in the normal timeframe unfortunately

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Miguel Diaz

try checking your account transcript instead of the return transcript. sometimes that will show pending deposits even when the return transcript is blank

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Zainab Ahmed

If that transcript is from today (March 3rd) and you filed January 15th, that's definitely concerning. I'd call them back ASAP. Did you get a confirmation number when you e-filed? You should bring that up when you call them.

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Carmen Flores

Yes I have the confirmation from my tax software. I'll definitely mention that when I call. Thanks!

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21d

Connor Byrne

The IRS "Where's My Refund" tool is useless too most of the time. I used taxr.ai to finally figure out what was happening with my return when it was stuck for weeks. It explained every code on my transcript and told me exactly what stage my return was in. https://taxr.ai saved me a ton of confusion

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Yara Abboud

I second this! where's my refund just showed the first bar for 2 months while taxr showed me exactly what was happening behind the scenes. worth it

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PixelPioneer

when you called, did you talk to an actual tax account specialist or just the frontline person? the frontline folks have VERY limited access to your account details. you need to ask to speak with an account management representative who can actually see the details of your return.

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Carmen Flores

I don't think I talked to an account specialist. They just looked up my info and said it was still processing. I'll definitely ask for that when I call back!

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PixelPioneer

yeah the first level reps literally just read the same info you can see online. total waste of time. gotta get to level 2 support to actually find anything out

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Keisha Williams

Dude I feel your pain! Same situation here - filed on January 20th and my transcript is still blank. Called last week and they said there's a "random review" on my account but couldn't tell me how long it would take. This system is such a joke.

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Paolo Rizzo

check your mail CAREFULLY - i had a similar situation and turns out they sent me a letter requesting additional info but it looked like junk mail so i almost threw it away. they won't process your return until you respond to these notices.

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Carmen Flores

Oh that's a good point! I'll double check all my mail. Thanks!

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21d

Amina Sy

After wasting hours on hold with the IRS trying to figure out why my transcript was empty weeks after filing, I stumbled across Claimyr (claimyr.com). It got me through to an actual IRS agent who could see my complete file. Turns out my return was selected for review because of an education credit I claimed, which is why nothing was showing up in the system yet. Just having that information made me feel 1000x better than being in the dark.

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Oliver Fischer

I just looked at their site. Do they just help you skip the IRS phone line or what?

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21d

Amina Sy

Yeah basically they navigate the phone system and wait on hold for you, then call you when they get an agent. Saved me like 3 hours of hold time lol. Talking to an actual IRS person who could see my full file made all the difference - the website and automated system just don't show the full picture.

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21d

Natasha Ivanova

Your return is probably still in the processing queue, especially if you claimed any credits. The IRS is particularly slow this year. I filed on Jan 21 and didn't see anything on my transcript until Feb 28! Just keep checking the transcript every few days.

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NebulaNomad

are you SURE you actually filed? like did you get a confirmation email or number? I thought I filed but realized I had just completed everything but never hit the final submit button 🤦‍♀️

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Carmen Flores

Yes definitely filed! Got confirmation email from tax software and the IRS accepted it - just hasn't been processed yet 😩

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21d

Javier Garcia

I got so fed up with trying to decode my transcript and figure out what was happening with my refund that I tried taxr.ai after seeing it recommended here. Game changer! It explained everything in normal human language and gave me a timeline of what to expect. Saved me from calling the IRS for the 5th time. Worth checking out: https://taxr.ai

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