IRS 'Where's My Refund' shows 'Action Required' for 2024 joint filing - letter coming in 2-3 weeks regarding Tax Topic 152

This is actually fairly common. The 'Action Required' message with Tax Topic 152 means the IRS needs to verify some information on your return. It could be for many reasons: - Identity verification (most common) - Income verification - Dependent verification - Credit eligibility verification - Missing information or forms The key is to wait for the letter - it will specifically tell you what they need and how to respond. Don't try calling until you have the letter because agents won't have specific information about your case yet. In most cases, it's not a full audit but just verification of specific items. When you get the letter, respond exactly as instructed with all requested documentation. If you do that promptly, you'll likely get your refund, though possibly adjusted. I went through this last year and used taxr.ai to help me understand exactly what was happening with my transcript. It saved me hours of research and helped me respond correctly to the IRS request.

I was in the same boat last year and was totally lost trying to figure out what was happening with my return. After hours of frustration looking at my transcript and trying to understand all the codes, I found this tool called taxr.ai that completely changed the game. It analyzed my transcript and explained everything in plain English - told me exactly what was happening, why there was a delay, and what I needed to do. So much better than trying to play detective with cryptic IRS codes! Check it out at https://taxr.ai - it's insanely good! I use it every week during tax season.

After two months of getting nowhere with my similar situation, I finally managed to speak with a real IRS agent by using the Claimyr calling app (claimyr.com). Got a call back within a couple hours and the agent explained exactly what was happening with my return and what I needed to do. Talking to an actual person solved my issue in one day when I'd been stuck for weeks. Best decision I made during this whole tax nightmare.

i had this exact same thing happen this year. turns out they just needed to verify my identity because we claimed a larger education credit than last year. entire thing took about 6 weeks from the time i got the letter to when we got our refund. dont stress too much.

the IRS is so freaking broken. they make u wait for a letter telling u what's wrong insted of just putting the info on the website. then u wait weeks, call their stupid number, sit on hold forever just to talk to someone who barley knows more than u do. THEN they tell u to fax stuff like its 1997 or some shit. ugh just thinking about it makes me mad again

It's most likely identity verification. I had the same issue and they just wanted me to verify my identity through ID.me or by calling a specific number. Pretty simple once I got the letter, but it delayed my refund by about 5 weeks total.

Do NOT ignore this. My sister got the same message last year, didnt respond to the letter in time and they adjusted her refund down by $2,800. They questioned one of her credits and because she didnt provide proof in time they just removed it. Respond AS SOON as you get the letter.

Something similar happened to me a while back. Check if your refund amount shown on Where's My Refund is the same as what you calculated when you filed. If it's different, they probably made an adjustment and are sending a letter explaining why.

The IRS is just playing games to hold onto your money longer 🙄 They did this to me and the letter arrived 3 weeks later asking for documents I'd already submitted with my return. Total waste of time.

I'm a former IRS employee. This happens when something on your return triggered a verification check. Most common causes: 1. Claiming credits you didn't claim in previous years 2. Big change in income 3. Identity theft prevention measures 4. Missing documentation 5. Math errors they caught Just wait for the letter and follow the instructions exactly. Don't send more info than asked for. Keep copies of everything.

I HATE how the irs sends letters telling you to call them but then makes it IMPOSSIBLE to actually reach anyone. Like why even bother?

I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out what was going on with my tax transcript when I got a similar message. All the transaction codes might as well have been written in another language! I tried calling but gave up after an hour on hold. Taxr.ai saved me - it explained everything in simple terms and even told me what to expect next. Cannot recommend it enough! https://taxr.ai

This happened to us this year too. Turned out we made a tiny error on our return - we typed one digit wrong on a 1099 form. The letter arrived about 2 weeks after that message appeared, and we just had to send a copy of the correct form. Refund came about 3 weeks after we responded.

Since this is your first time seeing this, just a heads up that these verification requests are becoming way more common. The IRS has increased security measures due to all the identity theft and fraud, especially with credits like the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Credit. So even if you've filed the same way for years, you might suddenly get flagged for verification.

When you get the letter DO NOT IGNORE IT even if you think it's wrong. I thought they made a mistake last year and ignored it. Ended up with my refund being adjusted down by over $1000 and had to file an appeal which took 9 months to resolve. Just. Respond. To. The. Letter.

I actually kind of panicked when this happened to me and ended up calling the IRS like 20 times before getting through. Total waste of time because they just told me to wait for the letter. When it finally came it was super simple - just needed to verify my identity online. took 5 minutes. wish I hadnt stressed so much!

get ready for a LOOOONG wait. had this happen in march, sent the requested docs in april, and still waiting in june. the irs is so backlogged its insane.

If you really need your refund quickly and can't wait, there's a Taxpayer Advocate Service that can help in hardship cases. You'll need to prove financial hardship though (like potential eviction, utility shutoff, can't afford medications, etc).

Mine was because I claimed the Recovery Rebate Credit. They just needed me to prove I didn't receive the stimulus payment. Check if you claimed any special credits this year that might need verification.

I went through this exact same situation last year! The "Action Required" status with Tax Topic 152 is actually pretty routine - it usually means they need to verify something on your return before processing your refund. In my case, it was because we had a significant change in our income compared to the previous year, which triggered their automated review system. The waiting for the letter is definitely the most frustrating part, but once you get it, the instructions are usually pretty straightforward. Mine took about 10 days to arrive (not the full 2-3 weeks they estimated), and they just needed copies of our W-2s and a signed statement confirming our filing status. One thing that really helped me was pulling my tax transcript from the IRS website to see if there were any transaction codes that might give a hint about what they're looking for. The codes can be confusing, but sometimes you can piece together what triggered the review. Don't stress too much about it - in most cases, as long as you respond promptly with the requested documentation, you'll get your full refund. It just adds a few extra weeks to the process. The key is to respond exactly as they ask and keep copies of everything you send them.