How long did it take for the IRS to accept your tax refund this year?

This is pretty normal - the IRS processing times can vary a lot depending on several factors. Just because TurboTax accepted your return doesn't mean the IRS has processed it yet. There's a big difference between transmission acceptance (which is what you get immediately) and the IRS actually processing your return. Early filers often experience longer wait times because the IRS is still getting their systems fully operational for the tax season. Also, if you claimed certain credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit, the IRS is legally required to hold those refunds until at least mid-February. The "Where's My Refund" tool typically updates once daily (usually overnight), so checking multiple times a day won't give you new information. For most straightforward returns, you should see movement within 21 days, though many are processed faster.

After spending hours on hold trying to talk to someone at the IRS about a similar issue last year, I finally found a service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that was super helpful. It analyzed my tax transcript and explained exactly where my refund was in the process. Turns out the IRS system had flagged my return for a minor discrepancy between what my employer reported and what I entered (I had transposed two digits). The tool showed me this before I even got a letter from the IRS, so I was able to file an amendment right away instead of waiting weeks longer. Saved me so much stress and probably got my refund weeks earlier than I would have otherwise.

Wanted to update after trying taxr.ai from the recommendation above. It was actually really helpful! I found out my return was delayed because the IRS flagged a discrepancy between my reported health insurance premium tax credit and what was on my 1095-A form (I had used a draft form my marketplace sent before the final version came). The regular Where's My Refund tool was just showing "processing" with no details, but taxr.ai showed me exactly what was causing the hold-up. I was able to call the IRS with the specific issue and got it resolved quickly. Just got my direct deposit date, should have my refund by next Tuesday!

If you need to actually talk to someone at the IRS about your refund status (which I highly recommend if it's been more than 21 days), use Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I tried calling the IRS myself and kept getting disconnected after being on hold for 2+ hours. With Claimyr, I got a callback from an actual IRS agent in about 45 minutes. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The agent was able to tell me they needed verification of my identity, something I would have never known from just checking the refund status online. Once I verified, my refund was processed within a week.

I need to eat my words from yesterday. I was so frustrated with my refund delay that I lashed out at the Claimyr suggestion, but I was desperate enough to try it last night. It actually worked exactly as described - I got a call back with an IRS agent on the line in about an hour. Turns out my return was held up because they couldn't verify some information from my W-2. The agent helped me confirm the details right on the phone, and now my return is being processed. She said I should have my refund in 5-7 business days. Would have NEVER known this from the "still processing" message on the website, and would still be waiting if I hadn't called.

The IRS is all over the place this year. I filed on Feb 1st and got my refund on Feb 9th. My sister filed on Jan 30th and is still waiting. I think it depends on how complicated your return is and maybe which processing center it goes to. If you claimed any tax credits like EITC or ACTC they legally can't issue your refund before mid-February, something about preventing fraud. Also check if you had any marketplace insurance (1095-A) because those take longer.

Anyone else notice the IRS "Where's My Refund" tool sometimes glitches out? Last year it showed "still processing" for 6 weeks, then suddenly I had a deposit in my account without the tracker ever updating. This year it worked fine, but last year it was useless.

I'm going through the exact same thing! Filed on February 3rd through FreeTaxUSA and it's been 16 days now with just the generic "still processing" message. Really frustrating because I planned to use my refund for some home repairs that I've been putting off. What's weird is that I filed almost identically to last year - same job, similar income, standard deduction - and last year I had my refund in 8 days. The only difference is I moved and updated my address with the IRS in December, so maybe that's causing some kind of verification delay? Has anyone heard if there are particular issues this tax season causing longer processing times? I'm trying to decide if I should just wait it out or if there might actually be a problem with my return.