Filed for Someone on Feb 28th - No Refund Date Yet Despite Acceptance

This is happening a lot this year. Processing times are longer. Many returns are taking 6-8 weeks. It doesn't mean there's a problem. The IRS is backlogged. They're working through returns in order. Your family member's return is probably fine. Just need to wait.

I was in this exact situation last month with my brother's return. Filed February 15th and stuck on 'received' for weeks. I tried calling the IRS regular number about 20 times over three days and couldn't get through. Finally used Claimyr (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) and got connected to an agent in under 30 minutes. Turns out they needed to verify some information about his investment income. Once we cleared that up, the refund was processed within a week. Such a relief after all that waiting!

I've been tracking this issue closely. On March 15th, the IRS announced they're experiencing processing delays for returns filed after February 15th. On April 2nd, they updated their site saying most returns filed in late February should be processed by April 30th. If you don't see movement by May 1st, that's when you should consider taking additional steps.

Looking at your situation is like watching someone try to track a package that's stuck in a distribution center - you know it's moving through the system but can't see the progress. I was in the same boat last month and found https://taxr.ai incredibly helpful. It's like having an x-ray machine for your tax transcript. Once the transcript became available, it showed me exactly which processing stage the return was in and predicted the refund date with surprising accuracy. Took the guesswork out of the whole waiting game.

Is anyone else skeptical about these tax tools? The IRS already provides free transcript access. Why pay for something that basically reads the same information you can get yourself?

The difference is in the interpretation of transcript codes and cycle dates. The IRS provides raw data through transcripts, but understanding the Transaction Codes (TC), Processing Codes, and refund timing based on cycle dates requires specialized knowledge. Most taxpayers don't know that a TC 570 followed by a TC 571 indicates a temporary hold that's been released, or that your cycle date determines which day of the week your refund updates. These tools analyze patterns across thousands of returns to provide accurate predictions the IRS won't give you.

According to the IRS Operations Dashboard at IRS.gov/operations, they're currently processing returns received through early March. The TaxProForums.com discussion from yesterday confirms many tax professionals are seeing 45-60 day processing times for returns with any investments or self-employment income. If your family member has either of those, that might explain the delay.

I had a client whose return was filed February 26th this year with significant investment income. Per Internal Revenue Manual 21.4.1, returns with Schedule D transactions require additional verification during peak processing periods. His return finally processed on April 12th after 45 days. If your family member reported stock sales or dividend income, this is likely causing the delay as the IRS matches those against Forms 1099-B and 1099-DIV from financial institutions.