Finally Have a Trace Number with TurboTax - DD Pending for 2/24

In my experience, which is somewhat extensive, the trace number is probably the most important piece of information you could have obtained. It essentially means that your refund has been processed and is now in the financial pipeline, so to speak. The pending date they provided is generally accurate, give or take a day, depending on your financial institution. Most banks will process these overnight deposits in batches, so you might see it early morning on the 24th, or possibly the next business day if there are any processing delays. I would suggest, if possible, setting up alerts with your bank so you'll know immediately when it posts.

OMG I was in the EXACT same situation last month and it was driving me CRAZY!!! I couldn't get through to the IRS at all to confirm anything! I finally used Claimyr (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) and got through to an actual human at the IRS in like 15 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. The agent confirmed my deposit was actually scheduled and gave me the exact same info as TurboTax. I was so relieved to hear it from the IRS directly! The peace of mind was totally worth it.

Just a word of caution - I had a trace number and pending deposit date of January 29th this year, but my credit union didn't actually post the funds until February 1st. Sometimes there's a delay between when the IRS releases the funds and when your bank makes them available. I've learned not to make any immediate plans for the money until I actually see it in my account. Better to be pleasantly surprised than disappointed.

The trace number you received indicates successful Automated Clearing House (ACH) network entry. This means your refund is now in the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) system. If you want to understand exactly what's happening with your refund and get predictions based on your specific financial institution's processing patterns, I'd recommend checking out taxr.ai. I used it to analyze my transcript when I was in a similar situation, and it provided remarkably accurate predictions about when my funds would be available based on historical processing patterns for my specific bank.

I've been through this exact scenario three times now. Here's what actually happens: Once TurboTax gives you that trace number, your refund is 100% coming. The pending date they give you is when the IRS releases the funds, not necessarily when you'll see it. Last year my pending date was April 15th, and the money hit my account at 3:27 AM on April 16th. The year before that, it came exactly on the pending date. It really depends on your bank's processing schedule. Just make sure your direct deposit info was entered correctly - that's the only thing that could cause a delay at this point.

Let me break down exactly what happens with your refund at this stage: 1. IRS approves your refund 2. IRS sends funds to the Treasury 3. Treasury schedules the ACH transfer (this is where you are now) 4. Money is released on the pending date 5. If you used fees deducted from refund, it goes to TurboTax's bank first 6. They take their cut and forward the rest to you 7. Your bank receives the deposit 8. Your bank makes funds available I was shocked at how many steps there are! No wonder it takes so long. But the trace number means you're at step 3, which is great news!

Last year I got my trace number on March 5th with a pending date of March 7th. The money showed up in my account at 12:01 AM on March 7th - I literally stayed up to watch for it because I needed it for my car payment! Every bank is different though. My sister has the same pending date through Chase and didn't get hers until almost noon. I'd say once you have that trace number, you're in the home stretch. The anxiety of waiting for tax refunds is something we all go through every year!