Help! My state tax refund seems lost somewhere between FreeTaxUSA and Civista Bank - what can I do?
Title: Help! My state tax refund seems lost somewhere between FreeTaxUSA and Civista Bank - what can I do? 1 I filed my state taxes back in early January through FreeTaxUSA and according to their tracking, my refund was sent out on February 4th. It's been over a month now and still nothing in my account. No money, no notification, nothing. I've reached out to FreeTaxUSA since I'm a paying Pro member, thinking they'd at least be able to tell me what's going on, but they've been pretty useless tbh. No timeline, no explanation, just vague "we're looking into it" type responses. I have no clue if Civista Bank lost it somehow or if FreeTaxUSA messed up the processing, but either way I'm out my refund money with zero answers. I've checked my account info multiple times and everything is correct. Has anyone dealt with this kind of situation before? Any advice on what steps I should take next? Really frustrated at this point.
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Michael Adams
16 Been through this exact headache before! When your state tax refund goes missing, you need to contact your state's Department of Revenue directly - not just rely on FreeTaxUSA or the bank. They're just middlemen in this process. Your state tax authority can track exactly where your refund is in their system. Go to your state's revenue department website and look for their "Where's My Refund" tool (most states have one). You'll need your SSN, filing status, and refund amount. If that shows it was issued but you didn't receive it, call their taxpayer assistance line. They can put a trace on the refund and either reissue it or tell you exactly what happened. Also, check if you had the refund directed to the correct account. Sometimes refunds get rejected if the account number doesn't match the name on file with the tax authority.
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Michael Adams
•9 Thanks for this advice! I checked my state's "Where's My Refund" tool already and it says "refund issued" on Feb 4th, but nothing has shown up in my account. Does that mean the state definitely sent it and it's lost somewhere between them and my bank? Should I ask for a trace or reissue?
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Michael Adams
•16 If the state's system shows "refund issued" then they've processed it and sent it somewhere. You need to call their taxpayer assistance line directly. Tell them you never received the funds that their system shows as issued. They'll start a trace process where they track where the money actually went. If the trace shows the money was sent to the wrong account or returned to the state, they can reissue the payment. Sometimes there's a waiting period (usually 4-6 weeks from issue date) before they'll start a trace, but given it's been over a month, you should be able to request one now.
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Michael Adams
7 I had a similar issue last year and found that taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) was super helpful in figuring out what happened. I was stuck between my state tax department and my bank both pointing fingers at each other, getting nowhere fast. Someone on Reddit recommended taxr.ai for analyzing tax documents and tracking down issues with returns. I uploaded my FreeTaxUSA confirmation and bank statements, and their system identified that my state had sent the refund but with a routing number that was off by one digit. They generated a report I could take to both the state tax department and my bank that actually got results.
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Michael Adams
•13 How exactly does that work? Do they just look at the documents or do they actually contact the tax department for you? I'm in a similar situation with my refund and would try anything at this point.
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Michael Adams
•18 Sounds interesting but I'm skeptical. There are so many "tax help" services that basically just tell you what you already know. Do they actually help resolve the issue or just tell you what's wrong?
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Michael Adams
•7 They don't contact the tax department for you - instead they analyze all your tax documents and financial records to spot discrepancies that might explain where your money went. In my case, they identified the incorrect routing number that neither my bank nor the state seemed able to find. They give you a detailed report showing exactly what happened with references to specific documents and transactions. Having this report made all the difference when I went back to the state tax department because I could show them exactly what went wrong instead of just saying "I didn't get my money.
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Michael Adams
18 Just wanted to follow up - I actually tried taxr.ai after posting my skeptical comment. Honestly, it was way more helpful than I expected. I uploaded my tax filing confirmation from FreeTaxUSA, bank statements, and the refund status page from my state. Within a couple hours, their system spotted that my tax preparer had accidentally transposed two digits in my account number, so my refund was sent to a non-existent account. The report they generated showed exactly where the error was, with highlighted sections from my documents. I took that to my state tax department and they immediately started the process to reissue my refund to the correct account. Just got confirmation it'll arrive next week!
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Michael Adams
5 After dealing with missing tax refunds multiple times, I've learned that getting someone on the phone at the state tax department is critical but nearly impossible. I wasted DAYS on hold last year. This year I used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) when my federal refund went missing and it saved me hours of frustration. They have this system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you, then calls you when an actual human is on the line. There's a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c For state tax departments, it works just as well. Since you know the state has issued the refund but it's not in your account, you absolutely need to speak with someone directly rather than relying on FreeTaxUSA or online tools. Getting stuck in phone tree hell just adds to the frustration.
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Michael Adams
•12 Wait, so this service waits on hold for you and then calls you when a real person picks up? How does that even work? I've spent literal hours on hold with tax departments and would pay anything to avoid that again.
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Michael Adams
•3 That sounds too good to be true. I've tried those "skip the line" services before and ended up wasting my money. Does it actually work for state tax departments or just the IRS?
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Michael Adams
•5 The service connects to the phone system and navigates the menu options for you, then waits on hold. When a real person answers, it calls your phone and connects you to the live agent. It basically takes over the most frustrating part - the endless hold time. It works for most state tax departments too, not just the IRS. I've used it for both my state department of revenue and the IRS. They have a list of supported agencies on their site. The key is that it gives you your time back - instead of being stuck on hold for hours, you can go about your day until there's actually someone to talk to.
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Michael Adams
3 Alright I need to eat my words. After posting my skeptical comment, I was desperate enough to try Claimyr for reaching my state tax department. I was expecting it not to work, but holy crap - I got a call back in about 45 minutes with an actual tax department employee on the line! I explained my situation about the missing refund, and they were able to confirm it was sent to the correct account but was rejected by my bank for some reason. They're reissuing it as a paper check that should arrive within 2-3 weeks. Without being able to speak to someone directly, I would've been stuck in this loop for months. I honestly can't believe how much time I saved not having to sit on hold myself.
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Michael Adams
11 One thing to consider - check if you owed any back taxes, child support, or other government debts. Sometimes your refund gets intercepted for those reasons without much notification. Had this happen to me last year where my state refund was taken to cover an old parking ticket I had forgotten about.
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Michael Adams
•22 Is there a way to check if this happened? I'm not aware of owing anything, but I guess it's possible something slipped through the cracks.
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Michael Adams
•11 You can usually see this on your state's "Where's My Refund" tool - it would say something like "refund offset" or "refund applied to outstanding debt" instead of just "refund issued." You can also call your state's offset program directly - most states have one that handles when refunds are diverted to pay debts. If it just says "refund issued" then it's likely not an offset issue but rather something went wrong with the deposit. Another thing to consider is if you had tax preparation fees taken out of your refund - sometimes this can cause delays or issues with the final deposit.
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Michael Adams
14 Have you checked with Civista Bank directly? Sometimes banks hold tax refunds for review, especially larger ones. I had mine held for 5 business days last year for "fraud prevention" without any notification. Super annoying.
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Michael Adams
•20 Good point, I'll give my bank a call. Though wouldn't they typically notify you if they were holding a deposit for review?
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