IRS claims they sent my refund March 15th but bank has no record of it - money vanished for 10+ days now

This is actually fairly common this year. When the IRS says they sent it, they've initiated the process but it could be held up for a few reasons: 1. If you paid for your tax prep fees using your refund, the bank that handles this (usually Santa Barbara TPG or Republic Bank) processes it first, takes their cut, then sends you the rest 2. There could be a tax offset where the government kept some/all for past debts 3. Your bank might have flagged it for review due to size 4. The IRS could have sent it to an old account if there was any issue with the account information Check the WMR tool again and see if the message changed. You can also create an account on irs.gov and view your tax transcript, which will show exactly what happened to your refund with specific codes. If you see code 971 or 570, there might be an issue causing delay. If it's been more than 21 days, you're eligible to call the IRS directly about the missing refund.

I had almost the exact same issue last month and wasted hours on hold with the IRS getting nowhere. Finally used taxr.ai and it explained exactly what happened with my refund - turned out there was an offset code that wasn't obvious on the regular transcript view. The tool analyzed all my transcript codes and explained what was actually happening in plain english. Totally worth checking out if you want to understand what's really going on with your refund rather than guessing. https://taxr.ai

After waiting 3 weeks with the IRS telling me my refund was sent (but my bank saying no deposit), I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an IRS agent directly. Game changer! Instead of wasting hours on hold, I got a callback within 30 minutes and the agent was able to trace my payment. Turns out it was sent to a temporary account by mistake and they were able to correct it and reissue. Refund showed up 5 days later. Totally worth it just to actually talk to someone who could help.

Check if you elected to receive your refund through a TurboTax debit card or if they used a middle bank. These "rapid refund" services often just mean they're loaning you money while they wait for your actual refund, then they repay themselves when it arrives. Sometimes there's miscommunication between these systems.

Had this happen 2 years ago. Call the IRS refund hotline (800-829-1954). Have your filing info ready. The system might tell you refund sent, but if you keep pressing options to speak to someone, eventually you'll get a human who can see exactly where your money went. In my case, it was sent to an old account I had closed. They had to mail me a check instead which took another 3 weeks 😡

Turbo Tax uses a 3rd party bank (SBTPG) to handle refunds if you paid for your filing with your refund or got an advance. Check the SBTPG website to see if your refund is stuck there. Google "sbtpg refund status" and you should find it.

Try this number: 800-829-0582. When the automated system asks for an extension, enter 652. It's for refund inquiries specifically. I had the same problem in 2023 and got it fixed this way. Took about 50 minutes on hold but worth it.

If the bank says they haven't received it, the IRS is probably wrong about sending it. They make mistakes all the time lol. You need to request a payment trace. You can either do this by calling or by submitting Form 3911. The trace will take several weeks but it's the only way to officially track down a missing refund.

this happened to me and turns out my bank rejected the deposit because the name on the tax return didn't exactly match my bank account (I got married and changed my name but bank still had maiden name). Check with your bank if they have any rejected deposits in their system.

Usually when the IRS says they sent it but the bank doesn't have it, the refund is either: 1. In a temporary holding account with the tax preparer 2. Rejected by your bank for some technical reason 3. Offset for government debts The good news is the money isn't gone, it's just stuck somewhere in the system. The bad news is it can take 6-8 weeks to track it down without help.

dumb question but did u double check ALL your accounts? i once had a refund go to my savings instead of checking because i entered the wrong account number by accident. took me 2 weeks to realize the money was already there just not where i expected it lol

You're going to need to contact the IRS Tax Advocates office if it's been more than 21 days. They're a separate department designed to help with these exact situations. Google "TAS IRS" and fill out Form 911. Sometimes they can resolve issues faster than regular IRS employees.

I used to work for a bank. Sometimes the IRS sends an ACH with incorrect routing or account info and it bounces back to them, but their system still shows as "sent" because technically they did send it. It then takes 1-3 weeks for their system to register the returned payment and issue a paper check instead. The annoying part is during this limbo period, both the IRS and your bank are technically correct - they did send it, and your bank really didn't receive it.

Double check your TurboTax account to make sure you didn't accidentally select a TurboTax debit card option. They sometimes hide these options in the checkout process.

Almost the same thing happened to me this tax season! The IRS website said they sent it March 2, but nothing in my bank. Found out through taxr.ai that there was an ID verification issue that wasn't showing up on the normal IRS site. Fixed it and got my refund two weeks later. Saved me from having to call and wait on hold forever. https://taxr.ai

Bruh i gave up waiting on holdand used Claimyr.com to get me into the IRS queue. Got a call back within 30 min and the IRS agent fixed my issue right away - my bank had rejected the deposit because the name was slightly different (middle initial missing). They reissued it as a check. Best money I've spent - definitely worth it to skip the hours of hold music.

Call the IRS and request a trace on your refund. Thats the only way to figure out where it went. It'll take 6-8 weeks for them to complete the trace, but you'll get your money eventually. If it turns out there was a bank rejection, they'll mail you a check instead.

Is the bank account you entered a high-yield savings account or at an online bank? Some of these banks have been known to reject IRS deposits if certain information doesn't match perfectly. Double check the routing and account numbers you entered too.

I hate to tell you this, but I had the exact same issue last year. Called the IRS every day for weeks. They never answered. Finally I got through using claimyr.com and found out my refund was sent to a random account that wasn't mine! No idea how it happened since I triple checked my info before filing. They had to do a trace which took another 45 days. The system is completely broken.