Employee Retention Tax Credit - Has anyone actually received their refund check lately?

15 Thanks for the info! Do you know if there's any way to check the status of my claim online? I tried looking on the IRS website but couldn't find anything specific to ERTC claims. Also, is it normal that they only sent a letter about one quarter when we applied for 3 quarters total?

8 Unfortunately, there's no online portal specifically for tracking ERTC claims like there is for regular tax refunds. The IRS handles these manually which contributes to the delays. It's completely normal to receive notices for individual quarters separately. The IRS typically processes each quarter's claim independently, so you'll likely receive similar notices for your other quarters before getting the actual refund. Many businesses report getting these notices spaced out over several weeks before finally receiving their payment.

13 How exactly does this work? Do you have to upload all your tax documents or something? I'm getting desperate for information but nervous about sharing my business tax info with random websites.

17 I've heard mixed things about ERTC processors in general. How do you know this service is legit and not just another way to extract fees from desperate business owners? My accountant warned me about so many ERTC scams lately.

11 You just upload your IRS transcript which you can download directly from the IRS website. It's only reading the codes and patterns that already exist in your transcript - it doesn't modify anything or submit anything on your behalf. It just translates all that IRS jargon into plain English so you can actually understand what's happening. The service doesn't process ERTC claims at all - it's just for businesses who already submitted their legitimate claims and want to understand their status. There's a huge difference between the sketchy "ERTC processors" that popped up everywhere and this tool which just analyzes documents you already have. I was skeptical too until my accountant actually recommended it.

7 Wait, how does this even work? The IRS phone system is completely broken - I've tried calling 30+ times and never get through. Are you saying this service somehow gets you past all that?

5 This sounds too good to be true. I've literally spent HOURS on hold with the IRS only to get disconnected. If this actually works, why isn't everyone using it? There must be a catch.

21 It basically waits on hold for you in the IRS phone queue. When a human IRS agent picks up, you get an immediate call connecting you to them. It uses their automated system to navigate the phone tree and wait through the hold times so you don't have to. The reason everyone doesn't use it is probably because most people don't know it exists. I found out about it from my brother-in-law who used it for a different tax issue. There's no magic - they're just using technology to solve the hold time problem. You still talk directly to regular IRS agents and have a normal conversation once you're connected.

3 I see a bunch of codes on my transcript but have no idea what any of them mean. Is there a guide somewhere that explains what all these TC codes are for ERTC specifically? My accountant doesn't seem to know either.

9 The IRS doesn't publish a specific guide for ERTC-related transcript codes, but generally TC 291 shows adjustments to the tax amount on your employment returns. For ERTC specifically, you'd typically see a TC 291 followed by TC 766 (credit applied) and eventually TC 846 (refund issued). The cycle date is that 8-digit number that appears next to the code - the first 4 digits represent the year and the last 4 represent which IRS processing cycle it was entered in. If your most recent codes have very recent cycle dates, it shows active processing.

2 I had to provide additional documentation too, but my claim wasn't rejected. They just needed more specific evidence about how our business was impacted by government orders. We sent in copies of the county shutdown orders that affected us and explanations of how that reduced our business activity. Claim was approved about 6 weeks after we sent that in.

You're definitely not alone in feeling lost with those transcript codes! I was in the exact same position - filed around the same time as you and was completely clueless about what my transcript was telling me. From what I've learned reading through this thread, the key codes to look for are TC 291 (adjustments), TC 766 (credit applied), and TC 846 (refund issued). If you're not seeing any TC 291 codes yet, your claim might still be in the initial review queue. The fact that others who filed in early 2023 are starting to see movement is encouraging though. I'd definitely recommend trying the transcript analysis tool people mentioned - it sounds like it takes all the guesswork out of interpreting those codes. And if you haven't received any correspondence at all yet, it might be worth using that IRS callback service to check if there are any issues holding up your claim that you're not aware of.

Thanks for sharing your timeline, Saleem! This is exactly the kind of real-world data point those of us still waiting need to hear. 18 months is a long time, but at least there's a predictable pattern emerging. I'm curious - did you ever use any of the tools mentioned in this thread (like the transcript analyzer or IRS callback service) during your wait, or did you just stick it out? Also, when you say they processed all quarters in one lump sum, was there any interest included for the delay, or just the original credit amounts? Your timeline actually gives me hope since I filed around the same time. If they're truly processing chronologically, maybe I'll see that credit application letter soon!