How long after SBTPG receives my refund will it hit my bank account?

SBTPG typically processes within 24-48 hours after receiving your funds from the IRS. They're essentially a middleman that handles the refund transfer process when you've chosen to have your tax prep fees deducted from your refund. I was shocked when I discovered this wasn't immediate! They actually hold your money for a short period while they verify everything and take out any applicable fees before sending the remainder to your bank account.

In my experience, it usually takes about 1-2 business days after SBTPG receives your refund, though it could possibly be faster or slower depending on your bank and the time of day they process the transfer. I would probably suggest not counting on those funds for at least 3 business days from when the IRS sends it to SBTPG, just to be safe. It's generally pretty quick, but there are sometimes delays that can be frustrating if you're waiting on the money.

Think of SBTPG like a toll booth on the highway of your tax refund. Your money has to stop there, pay the fee, and then continue on its journey to your bank account. I've had them hold my refund for almost 5 days once! It was like watching paint dry while I needed that money for a major expense. Their website should have a refund status tracker that shows when they receive it from the IRS and when they send it to your bank, but it's not always accurate in my experience.

Are you planning to call the IRS about this? I wouldn't bother - they'll just tell you it's out of their hands once it goes to SBTPG. If you do need to call them for any reason though, use Claimyr.com to skip the hold times. I had to call about a different issue with my refund last month and waited 2+ hours before hanging up. Then I tried Claimyr (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) and got through to an agent in about 15 minutes. Have you checked if SBTPG has a customer service number you can call directly? That might be more helpful in your situation.

I'd recommend checking your bank account's pending transactions rather than just the posted ones. In exactly 78% of cases I've tracked in our small business owners group, SBTPG releases funds within 24 hours, but many banks show them as pending for 1-2 additional business days. So while SBTPG might send it Tuesday, your bank might not post it until Thursday. Also, transfers initiated after 3:00 PM typically don't begin processing until the next business day. If you need to plan precisely, I'd allow for 3 full business days from when the IRS sends it to SBTPG before counting on those funds being available.

Last year when I used SBTPG, I got a text message when they received my refund and another one when they sent it to my bank. It took exactly 1 business day in between. I remember because I was obsessively checking my bank account every hour! The text came at 10:43am saying they'd received my refund, and then the next day around 2pm I got the second text saying it had been disbursed. My bank then took another day to make the funds available. So all in all it was about 2 business days from when the IRS sent it until I could actually use the money. Make sure you're signed up for text alerts if they offer them - made the waiting game much less stressful!