IRS Where's My Refund Tool Displaying Error 428 - Service Currently Unavailable
I've been trying to check my refund status through the IRS's Where's My Refund tool on sa.www4.irs.gov since this morning at 8:52, but I keep getting an error. The website clearly shows it's "An official website of the United States Government" with the "Here's how you know" verification text and the IRS logo at the top. When I navigate through Home / Refunds / Refund Status / Results, instead of being able to enter my information, I'm getting error code 428 with this message: "We are sorry Where's My Refund is currently unavailable. Please try Where's My Refund again later." The form I'm supposed to see says "Get Refund Status" and has fields to "Please enter your Social Security Number, Tax Year, your Filing Status, and the Refund Amount as shown on your tax return." It even notes that "All fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required." But I can't even get to that point to enter any information. I filed my taxes months ago and I'm getting really concerned that I can't check on my refund status. Has anyone else encountered this error code 428? Does it mean there's an issue with my refund specifically, or is it just a general website problem? I've tried on mobile (shows 5G with 100% battery in the status bar) and on my computer, but keep getting the same error.
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Vanessa Chang
The error code 428 you're seeing on the official IRS.gov website indicates a temporary system outage affecting the Where's My Refund (WMR) tool. The screenshot shows you're attempting to access the Refund Status Results page at 8:52, but the system is preventing access to the input form where you'd normally enter your Social Security Number, Tax Year, Filing Status, and Refund Amount. This isn't an issue with your specific refund or tax return - it's a system-wide technical problem. The "428" error code specifically indicates the WMR service is temporarily down, rather than any problems with your personal information or filing status. While waiting for the system to come back online, you have two alternatives: 1. Access your tax transcript directly through IRS.gov, which often provides more detailed information than WMR 2. Try again in a few hours when the system maintenance or technical issues have likely been resolved The fact that you're accessing this through sa.www4.irs.gov confirms you're on the correct official government website, so there's no need to worry about security concerns with the site itself.
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Madison King
•how do u even get to the transcripts? the whole site seems broken rn 😤
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Vanessa Chang
•Go to IRS.gov > Get Transcript Online. You'll need to create an ID.me account if you haven't already.
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Julian Paolo
Ya'll need to check out taxr.ai - its only $1 and it reads your transcript way better than trying to decode it yourself. Been using it for weeks now and its actually helpful unlike WMR which is always down 🙄
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Ella Knight
•fr? how does it work? better than just looking at transcripts myself?
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Julian Paolo
•100% better! It analyzes everything and tells you exactly whats happening with your refund and when to expect it. Best dollar I ever spent fr fr
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Ella Knight
•just tried it and OMG where has this been all my life?! finally know wtf is going on with my refund 💯
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William Schwarz
same here. been trying since 6am 🤦♀️
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Lauren Johnson
lmao classic IRS... their systems are from like 1985 what do we expect
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Jade Santiago
•fr their computers probably running on windows 95 💀
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Caleb Stone
yep getting the same error. this happened last year too around this time
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Daniel Price
Its back up now! Try again
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Noah Irving
•still down for me :
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Daniel Price
•might be regional then. hang in there!
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Amina Diallo
Same issue here! Been trying since early morning and keep getting that 428 error. Really frustrating when you just want to check on your refund status. Thanks for confirming it's a system-wide problem and not just me. I'll try the transcript option that @Vanessa Chang mentioned while waiting for WMR to come back online.
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Jake Sinclair
•@Amina Diallo glad to know I m'not going crazy! Been refreshing every hour hoping it ll'magically work again. Definitely going to check out those transcripts too - never knew that was an option before this thread
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Kelsey Chin
Been dealing with this same 428 error since around 7 AM this morning! Super annoying especially since I'm expecting my refund soon. At least now I know it's not just my internet or something wrong on my end. Going to try accessing my transcript like others suggested - never really used that feature before but sounds like it might actually give me more info than the basic WMR tool anyway. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences, makes me feel less alone in this frustration!
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Tyler Murphy
•@Kelsey Chin I m'in the exact same boat! Started getting the 428 error around the same time this morning and was starting to worry something was wrong with my return. This thread has been super helpful - didn t'even know transcripts were a thing until reading through all these comments. Definitely going to set up that ID.me account and check it out. Thanks for sharing, it really does help to know we re'all dealing with the same system issues!
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