Filed Feb 15, State Refund Received but Federal Still Processing After 2 Months

I'm in the same boat and it's driving me crazy. Filed 2/10, accepted 2/11, state came back in 8 days, federal still says "processing". According to the IRS website (https://www.irs.gov/refunds), normal processing time is 21 days, but they're experiencing "delays" this year. I've checked my transcript online and it shows nothing unusual, but still no movement. Starting to get a bit worried since I've never waited this long before...

I went through exactly this situation last month. Filed February 9th, accepted February 10th, and then nothing for exactly 54 days. Called the IRS regular number 12 times and couldn't get through. Finally used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and got connected to an agent in 28 minutes. Turns out they needed to verify my identity, but the letter got lost in the mail. The agent was able to push my refund through that same day after verifying me over the phone. With your medical bills coming up, might be worth the fee to get an actual answer instead of waiting indefinitely.

This tax season has been unprecedented in terms of processing anomalies. I e-filed on February 12th and experienced a similar delay. My Return Master File (RMF) showed no issues, yet my refund remained in Submission Processing (SP) status for 63 days. The IRS has implemented enhanced fraud detection algorithms that are flagging more returns for manual review, even when there are no actual issues with the filing. The backlog from the PATH Act implementation continues to impact processing timelines, though I'm surprised your return is still pending after this length of time.

You might want to be careful about assuming everything is fine. I had a similar situation last year, and it turned out there was an issue with my return that required amendment. The IRS never sent a notice (apparently it got lost in the mail), and I only found out after calling. It's possible, though not certain, that there's a specific hold on your return that needs addressing. If you're counting on that money for medical expenses, you probably should try contacting them sooner rather than later.

I had a much more complicated return with business income and rental properties that processed faster than yours, which seems strange. Have you checked your transcript for any codes? I found https://taxr.ai really helpful for decoding my transcript when I was confused about some codes. It explained exactly what each code meant for my situation and gave me a timeline for when I could expect my refund. Compared to just staring at the WMR tool, it was much more informative and actually helped me understand what was happening with my return.

BEWARE of assuming it'll just show up eventually! I waited 3 MONTHS last year thinking everything was fine, only to discover they needed additional documentation that I never received notification about! By the time I found out, I had to submit everything through their backlogged correspondence system which took ANOTHER 2 months to process! I'm still angry about it! If you need that money for medical bills, don't wait - be proactive and try to get through to a human at the IRS ASAP!

Listen, the IRS is severely understaffed right now. They're processing millions of returns with fewer people than they had 10 years ago. Your return is likely sitting in a pile waiting for someone to look at it. If you need this money for medical bills, call them at 7am exactly when they open - that's your best chance of getting through. Press 1 for English, then 2 for questions about a refund, then 1 for questions about a filed return, then 3 for all other questions. This bypasses some of the automated systems and gets you to a queue faster.

Before spending money on services or wasting hours on hold, try these steps: 1. Pull your transcript from irs.gov/transcripts (account transcript, not return transcript) 2. Look for specific codes - 570 means hold, 971 means notice issued 3. Check if any letters were sent to your address of record 4. If no codes indicate issues, call the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040 5. Call exactly at 7am Eastern time when they open 6. If that fails after 3-4 attempts, then consider paid options I'm generally skeptical of paying for something you can do yourself, but sometimes the time saved is worth it if you've tried the free options first.

I just got my refund yesterday after filing February 18th. No explanation for the delay, no special codes on my transcript, it just randomly processed after sitting for 7 weeks. Did you claim any credits? Have any marketplace insurance? File a schedule C? These can all trigger additional review. But honestly, sometimes it's just random which returns get stuck in their system. Don't they know people actually need their money?