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Sofia Morales

IRS 60-day letter arrived after refund deposit - what should I expect now?

I just got a strange notice in the mail today. It says the IRS needs an additional 60 days to provide a complete response about actions they're taking on my account. The weird part is, I already received my refund that was supposedly reviewed and accepted by the IRS back in early May! The letter is dated June 12th, but I'm confused because I thought everything was settled when my refund hit my account. I checked my transcript online and everything looks normal there too. Has anyone dealt with this situation before? What could have triggered this kind of letter AFTER my refund was processed? I'm trying not to panic, but I'd like to prepare myself for whatever might be coming next. Is this just some standard procedure or should I be concerned? The letter doesn't mention any specific issues they're looking into.

StarSailor

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This is actually pretty common and usually nothing to worry about. The IRS processing systems don't always communicate effectively between departments. What likely happened is that you submitted something (a response to a notice, an amended return, or called about an issue) that triggered a case to be opened. Then your refund was processed through the normal channels while this separate case was still pending. The 60-day letter is essentially the IRS saying "we're backed up and need more time to review whatever issue was flagged on your account." It doesn't necessarily mean there's a problem with your return or that they're going to take back your refund. My advice would be to keep the letter for your records and wait it out. If you're really concerned, you can call the number on the letter, but be prepared for long wait times and potentially limited information from the representative.

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Dmitry Ivanov

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If I were them I'd be freaking out too though. Like why would they get this AFTER the refund? Doesn't that usually mean audit or something? Would you recommend getting a tax lawyer just in case?

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StarSailor

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The timing is actually not unusual at all. The refund processing system operates independently from other IRS review functions. Getting your refund first and then receiving this letter doesn't increase your audit risk. There's absolutely no need to hire a tax lawyer at this point. These 60-day letters are often just procedural and frequently result in no further action. The IRS is required by law to respond to certain taxpayer communications within specific timeframes, and when they can't meet those deadlines, they send these letters to buy themselves more time.

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Ava Garcia

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I went through something similar last year and discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which totally saved me from hours of stress and confusion. I uploaded my IRS letter and tax documents, and it analyzed everything together to explain what was happening in plain English. It turns out my 60-day letter was related to an income verification issue that had nothing to do with my actual refund. The tool showed me exactly what could've triggered it (in my case, a reported income discrepancy that was actually just delayed reporting from one employer). It even told me which documents I should gather just in case I needed them later, which saved me from scrambling when the IRS eventually did ask for one specific form.

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Miguel Silva

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Did it actually tell you anything beyond what was in the letter though? I've been skeptical of tax AI tools since they often just restate what you already know but make it sound fancy.

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Zainab Ismail

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How does it know what might have triggered the letter? Does it connect to the IRS somehow or just makes educated guesses? Sounds useful but I'm wondering how accurate it is for these specific situations.

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Ava Garcia

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It definitely gave me information beyond what was in the letter. The letter itself was vague (just said they needed more time), but the tool cross-referenced all my tax documents and found the discrepancy between what one employer reported vs what I included on my return. It highlighted the specific numbers that didn't match up, which I never would have spotted myself. The tool doesn't connect to the IRS directly, but it uses patterns from thousands of similar cases to identify likely triggers. In my situation, it correctly predicted that I'd receive a specific follow-up letter requesting wage verification, and prepared me with exactly which documents to have ready. When that exact letter arrived three weeks later, I already had everything prepared.

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Zainab Ismail

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I actually tried taxr.ai after seeing the recommendation here and it was super helpful with my 60-day letter situation! Uploaded my docs last week when I got a similar letter and it immediately showed me that my issue was likely related to a missing 1099-K that Square had filed (from my side gig) but I hadn't included on my return. The analysis explained that the 60-day review was probably triggered by their automated matching system catching this discrepancy. Instead of panicking, I was able to start preparing an amended return right away. Yesterday I got the actual follow-up letter from the IRS mentioning exactly this issue! Having that head start made a huge difference in my stress levels and I already had my response ready to go.

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If you're trying to contact the IRS about this, good luck getting through on the phone. I spent 3 weeks trying before I finally found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). They have this service that holds your place in the IRS phone queue and calls you back when an agent is about to answer. Saved me literally hours of hold time. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was super worried about a similar letter and just needed to talk to someone at the IRS to understand what was happening. Got connected to an agent who explained my 60-day letter was just routine follow-up to a question I had asked months earlier about my withholding. Would never have known that without actually talking to someone.

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Wait so how does that actually work? Does it just dial for you over and over or something? Can't imagine the IRS would allow something like that to cut their phone lines.

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Yara Nassar

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Sounds like a scam honestly. Why would I trust some random service with my tax information just to make a phone call? And I bet they charge a fortune for something you could do yourself if you're just patient enough.

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It doesn't dial over and over - it uses a sophisticated system that holds your place in the queue just like you would if you called yourself. The IRS doesn't have any issue with it because from their perspective, it's just a regular call in their queue. When an agent is about to pick up, you get a call and are connected directly to them. Their system doesn't need any of your tax information at all. You just tell them which IRS department you need to reach, they make the call and hold your place, then connect you when an agent answers. I was skeptical at first too, but after wasting an entire day on hold and getting disconnected twice, I gave it a try and was talking to an IRS agent the same day.

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Yara Nassar

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OK I'm actually eating my words about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, my curiosity got the better of me and I tried it for my own 60-day letter situation. I had been trying to reach the IRS for over a week with no luck. Within 2 hours of using their service, I was talking to an actual human at the IRS. The agent explained that my 60-day letter was triggered by a discrepancy between my reported mortgage interest and what my lender reported. Turns out my bank had sent a corrected 1098 form after I filed, which I never received. The agent was able to tell me exactly what to do next and saved me from what would have definitely been a much bigger headache later. I'm honestly shocked at how easy the whole process was compared to my previous attempts to reach them.

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Check your transcript online at irs.gov. That's the first thing i always do when I get any IRS letter. It will show any pending actions or additional reviews on your account. It's way more detailed than the generic letters they send. Lots of people get these 60 day letters cause the IRS is still catching up from the backlog.

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Sofia Morales

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I did check my transcript but didn't see anything unusual there. Just the standard codes for return filed and refund issued. There's nothing indicating any review or audit or adjustment. That's partly why I'm confused - the transcript looks completely normal but then this letter shows up saying they need more time to respond to... something?

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That's actually a good sign! If there's nothing weird on your transcript, it probably means this is just procedural and not related to any actual issues with your return. Sometimes these letters get generated automatically by their system when something triggers a review flag, but that doesn't mean they're actually conducting a serious review. Keep checking your transcript every couple weeks though. If they do find something that requires adjustment, it will show up there before you get another letter in the mail. The transcript updates much faster than their paper mail system.

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Paolo Ricci

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i had this EXACT same thing happen last year!!! first got my refund then got that stupid letter. i ignored it completely and literally nothing ever happened. no follow up, no audit, nothing. i think its just their system being broken as usual lol

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Amina Toure

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Ignoring IRS notices is literally the worst advice possible. Even if nothing happened in your case, that doesn't mean it's the right approach for everyone. Some of these letters are precursors to serious issues that can result in penalties if ignored.

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Ethan Brown

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I'm dealing with something similar right now - got my refund in March but just received a 60-day letter last week. Based on what I've read here and my own research, it seems like these letters are often just administrative delays rather than signs of serious problems. One thing that helped ease my anxiety was calling the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) at 1-877-777-4778. They can sometimes provide more context about what might have triggered the letter without you having to wait on hold for hours with the main IRS line. The representative I spoke with explained that these letters are often generated when there's a backlog in their correspondence department, not necessarily because there's an issue with your return. Since your transcript looks normal and you already received your refund, I'd say you're probably in good shape. Just keep that letter handy in case they do follow up, but try not to stress too much about it. The IRS has been dealing with massive backlogs and staffing issues, so these procedural delays have become pretty common.

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Kylo Ren

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I just went through this exact scenario a few months ago and wanted to share what I learned. The 60-day letter after receiving your refund is actually more common than you'd think, especially with the IRS still dealing with processing backlogs. In my case, it turned out to be related to a simple data entry issue on their end - they had flagged my return for review because one of my W-2 forms had a slightly different employer name format than what was in their system (my company had changed its legal name slightly). Even though my refund processed normally, this discrepancy was sitting in a queue somewhere waiting to be resolved. The key thing that helped me was keeping detailed records of everything. I made copies of the 60-day letter, noted the date I received it, and kept checking my online transcript weekly. About 6 weeks later, I got a simple letter saying the review was complete and no further action was needed. My recommendation would be to not panic but also don't ignore it completely. Keep the letter, monitor your transcript, and if you're really concerned, the Taxpayer Advocate Service can sometimes provide more specific information about what triggered the review. Most of the time these letters are just the IRS buying themselves time to work through their backlog of cases.

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Sophia Russo

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This is really reassuring to hear! I'm in almost the exact same boat - got my refund months ago and then this confusing letter shows up. The part about the employer name format issue is interesting because I actually did have a situation where one of my employers went through a merger during the tax year, so maybe that's what flagged mine too. Did you ever find out specifically what triggered the review, or did they just send the "all clear" letter without details? I'm trying to decide if it's worth the hassle of calling them or if I should just wait it out like you did.

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