Filed 1/24 Accepted 1/30 - Still on PATH Message?

The PATH Act delays are hitting hard this year! 🙃 You're definitely not alone - I filed Jan 22nd and just got my refund yesterday. The system seems particularly backed up this season, probably because they're still catching up from the staffing issues last year. I'd start getting a little worried if nothing changes by next week... that's when you might want to consider calling the IRS to make sure nothing's flagged on your return.

Did you claim the Earned Income Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit? Those are typically what trigger the PATH Act delays. Also, have you checked your transcript to see if there are any codes that might explain the delay?

I've been checking the IRS2Go app daily and reading through the r/IRS threads, and it seems like a lot of early filers are still stuck. When I finally got frustrated enough to call the IRS, I spent 3 hours on hold before giving up. Then I found https://claimyr.com which got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 30 minutes. The agent confirmed my return was just in normal processing with no issues flagged. Sometimes you just need that peace of mind to know nothing's wrong, you know?

I was in your exact position last year! Filed January 25th, accepted January 28th, and then NOTHING until March 18th. I was checking WMR obsessively every morning. The funny thing is, my refund randomly appeared in my bank account on March 20th without WMR ever updating past the first bar. My transcript updated about a week before the deposit hit though, so that was the better indicator. This year I filed February 2nd and got my refund on February 28th, so it seems pretty random.

Have you checked your transcript online? That's usually more informative than WMR. If you're seeing any codes like 570/971, you might want to understand what they mean. I used https://taxr.ai to analyze my transcript last week when I was confused about some weird codes. It explained everything in plain English and gave me an estimated deposit date that turned out to be spot on. As a small business owner myself, I know how frustrating it is when you're counting on that money for equipment purchases.

I'm in almost the identical situation. Filed 1/22, accepted 1/28, still nothing. Meanwhile my sister who filed on 2/15 already got her refund last week. The processing order seems completely random this year compared to previous tax seasons when it was more first-come-first-served. I've noticed that people with simple W-2 only returns seem to be getting processed faster than those of us with any kind of business income or deductions, even if we filed earlier.