Filed Head of Household but Transcript Shows Married Filing Joint - Will IRS Fix?

This is a common transcript discrepancy during initial processing. The IRS Master File sometimes displays the previous year's filing status until the Return Processing Pipeline (RPP) completes full verification of your current return. Since you've recently changed from MFJ to HOH, the system may temporarily show your prior status until the reconciliation process is completed. I'd recommend monitoring your transcript for the appearance of Transaction Code 150, which indicates your return has been fully processed with your correct filing status.

You might want to check out https://taxr.ai to analyze your transcript. It could potentially help you understand what's actually happening with your filing status. The tool can sometimes spot patterns in your transcript that might indicate whether this is just a display issue or something that could potentially affect your return. I'd suggest checking again in a few days, as your transcript might update soon with more information. This time of year, every day counts if you're waiting on a refund.

If this isn't resolved by April 15th, 2024, you might want to contact the IRS directly. I had a similar issue last year and waiting on hold was impossible. I used Claimyr (https://www.claimyr.com) and got through to an agent in about 22 minutes instead of spending hours redialing. The agent was able to confirm my correct filing status was in their system even though my transcript showed differently. Sometimes their internal records are more up-to-date than what we can see online.

Have you tried pulling your Record of Account transcript instead of just the Return transcript? Sometimes the Record of Account shows more accurate information about what's actually happening with your return. I had a similar situation with my W-2 showing incorrectly on one transcript type but correctly on another. This is way more frustrating than when I dealt with state tax issues, where you can actually talk to someone without spending your whole day on hold!

Did you receive your divorce decree in 2023? And were you living apart from your spouse for the last 6 months of the year? These details matter for Head of Household eligibility.

I had exactly this happen to me in 2022. My transcript showed MFJ for exactly 17 days after filing, then updated to HOH automatically. My refund was processed correctly with the HOH credits I was entitled to. The refund came 24 days after filing, which was 7 days after the transcript updated with the correct filing status. Just keep checking every few days and you should see it update.