IRS Says DDD of 2/24 But TurboTax Just Updated to 'Tomorrow' - What's Going On?

This is, unfortunately, pretty common. The IRS gives a DDD (Direct Deposit Date), but then it's somewhat dependent on your bank's processing times. Most major banks *should* make funds available on the actual DDD, but some might take an extra day or two, especially if it's a weekend or holiday. TurboTax is probably just covering themselves by saying 'tomorrow' since they know some banks might not process same-day.

What bank do you use? This reminds me of last year when I had a similar situation with Chase. The IRS said 2/15 but I didn't get it until 2/17. And the year before with BoA, they held it for a day too. Time is really of the essence here - if you need that money ASAP, you might want to call your bank directly!

Per IRS Publication 5027, the IRS is only responsible for transmitting the payment - not ensuring it reaches your account on the exact DDD. Treasury Regulation §301.6402-2 further clarifies that the payment is considered made when the IRS directs it to your account. If you're getting nowhere with your bank or need immediate answers, I've used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to reach an actual IRS agent without waiting hours. They got me through to verify my banking info when my refund was stuck in limbo. According to the IRS's own procedures, they can trace the payment after 5 business days for direct deposits.

Just to clarify something important here - TurboTax doesn't actually handle your refund at all. They're just passing along information they're getting from the IRS system. I've seen this many times where TurboTax will send these automated updates based on IRS status changes. The actual money moves from Treasury → your bank, not through TurboTax at all. So their "tomorrow" message is just their interpretation of the IRS data.

I'm not entirely convinced TurboTax knows what they're talking about here. In my experience, these tax prep companies often send automated messages that don't accurately reflect what's actually happening with your refund. It seems like they might be hedging their bets rather than providing factual information. I would be cautious about relying on their timeline.

While I understand the skepticism, TurboTax actually uses the IRS's Refund Status API to generate these notifications. The SBTPG (Santa Barbara Tax Products Group) - TurboTax's banking partner - often receives the ACH file from Treasury before it hits your personal bank. This can create a situation where they know it's been released but hasn't completed the full ACH transfer process. The implications here are that your refund is definitely on the way, but final posting time depends on your bank's ACH processing schedule.

I went through this exact scenario last month! My DDD was 1/27, TurboTax sent me that same "tomorrow" email on 1/27, and the money hit my account at 3am on 1/28. The ACH transfer protocol typically processes overnight batches, so what's happening is the IRS initiated the EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) on your DDD, but it's now in the interbank settlement process. I was so relieved when it finally showed up - I'd been checking my account every hour like a madman!