Filed Missing 2021 Return to Release 2024 Refund - Any Success Stories?

I went through this exact situation on March 12th. Had to file my 2021 return to get my 2024 refund released. It took exactly 14 days from when I faxed my old return for the 570 hold to be lifted. On March 26th my transcript updated with an 846 code. The IRS is surprisingly efficient with these specific cases right now - probably because they're prioritizing releasing current year refunds. Just make sure you included a cover letter referencing your current year filing.

I'm in a similar situation... but I'm wondering, did you just fax the old return or did you also mail a physical copy? I'm a bit hesitant to just rely on the fax going through correctly.

Oh my goodness, I feel your pain! 😩 I had the EXACT same issue last year with my 2020 return holding up everything. I spent DAYS trying to get through to the IRS on the phone - literally called 37 times over 3 days! Finally used Claimyr (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) and got connected to an agent in about 15 minutes who confirmed they received my faxed return and manually released the hold! Such a relief! They saved me so much stress and probably weeks of waiting. The agent was super helpful once I actually got to talk to a human!

Not to be that person, but have you tried going to your local Taxpayer Assistance Center? I had a similar hold last year and made an appointment (took about a week to get in). The in-person rep was able to verify they had my old return and gave me a timeframe for processing. No fancy services needed, just a bit of your time. *insert awkward chuckle* Sometimes the old-school approach works best!

I'm concerned about the efficacy of faxing returns to the IRS given their document processing backlog. According to the National Taxpayer Advocate's 2023 Annual Report, the IRS still had approximately 3.1 million unprocessed returns from previous years as of October 2023. The 570/971 combination typically indicates a manual review requirement, which could extend processing time significantly beyond the anecdotal experiences shared here.

While there is certainly a backlog for general processing, the IRS appears to be prioritizing what they call "dependency cases" - where current year refunds are held pending prior year filings. It seems, from most reports, that these are processed somewhat faster than standard late filings, possibly because they already have an open case file. Of course, individual experiences may vary based on complexity and other factors.