IRS letter requesting additional 60 days to review my account - what does this mean for my refund?

This is actually fairly common right now and doesn't necessarily mean you're being audited. The IRS has been dealing with massive backlogs since the pandemic, and while they've improved, they're still catching up on processing returns. These 60-day letters (typically CP05 notices) usually mean they're reviewing elements of your return before issuing your refund. They're verifying information like income, withholding, credits claimed, etc. It's more of a verification process than an audit in most cases. The frustrating part is they often need more than the initial 60 days, which is why you received a second letter. Unfortunately, there's little you can do to speed up the process, but you should eventually receive either your refund or a specific request for more information if there's an issue they find.

I went through EXACTLY the same thing earlier this year! Those 60-day letters drove me crazy. After getting nowhere with the "Where's My Refund" tool and waiting on hold with the IRS for hours, I found this service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that analyzed my tax transcript and explained what was really happening with my return. It turns out there was a discrepancy between what my employer reported and what I entered on my W-2, so my return got flagged for review. Nothing major, but the site explained exactly what the holdup was and gave me a timeline prediction that ended up being spot on. It gave me peace of mind knowing what was actually happening instead of just waiting in the dark.

Update: I took the advice about taxr.ai from my earlier comment and WOW - wish I'd known about this months ago! I downloaded my transcript from the IRS (had to create an account but that was pretty easy) and uploaded it to the site. Within minutes I could see EXACTLY why my refund was delayed. Turns out I had a math error on my return related to the Recovery Rebate Credit, which triggered the review. The site explained all those weird codes on my transcript and showed me that the IRS had already made the correction and was processing my adjusted refund. The timeline showed I should expect my refund in about 2 weeks - so much better than just wondering what the heck is going on!

After dealing with SEVEN of these 60-day letters over 10 months (not exaggerating), I finally got desperate enough to try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to actually speak with the IRS. If you've tried calling the IRS, you know it's basically impossible - they hang up on you after hours on hold. This service actually calls the IRS for you and then connects you once they get through to a human. I was super skeptical but you can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. I finally got to speak to an actual IRS agent who explained that my return had been flagged because of an income verification issue, but that it was being resolved. They gave me a specific timeframe for when the review would be completed.

I need to eat my words from my skeptical comment above. After another week of getting nowhere with the IRS myself, I broke down and tried Claimyr. Within 2 hours I was actually TALKING to a real IRS person! After 4 months of getting absolutely nowhere! The agent told me my return had been flagged because I'd received an economic impact payment that wasn't properly reconciled on my return. They were able to see exactly where my return was in the process and told me it had actually been resolved 3 days ago and my refund would be deposited next week. Never would have known this without actually speaking to someone. Worth every penny just for the peace of mind.

Those 60-day letters are THE WORST. I got three of them last year. What helped me was calling the Taxpayer Advocate Service. They're an independent organization within the IRS designed to help taxpayers. If you've experienced a significant hardship because of the delay (like you can't pay bills without your refund), they might be able to help move things along.

Has anyone had their review result in a smaller refund than expected? I'm in the same boat with the 60-day letters and starting to worry they're going to adjust my refund down because of some mistake I made.

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! Got my second 60-day letter last week and I'm honestly losing my mind. Filed in February and still nothing. The worst part is that "Where's My Refund" tool just keeps saying "still processing" with no actual information. I've been debating whether to try calling the IRS but everyone says the wait times are insane. Reading through these comments, it sounds like there are some tools that might help figure out what's actually going on. Has anyone tried multiple approaches (like both the transcript analysis AND calling through a service) or is one usually enough? At this point I just want to know SOMETHING about what's happening with my return. The uncertainty is killing me more than the delay itself.

I'm in a similar situation and just wanted to share what finally helped me get answers. After months of those dreaded 60-day letters, I found that the key was actually understanding what those cryptic codes on my tax transcript meant. Like others mentioned, you can download your own transcript from the IRS website (irs.gov - look for "Get Transcript Online"). The transcript shows all the behind-the-scenes activity on your account that the "Where's My Refund" tool doesn't reveal. Those transaction codes and dates tell the real story of what's happening with your return. What really opened my eyes was realizing that most of these reviews aren't about catching fraud or major errors - they're often triggered by simple discrepancies like employer reporting differences, missing forms, or even just routine verification checks. The IRS computer systems flag returns automatically, and then it takes human reviewers forever to work through the backlog. The most frustrating part is that sometimes the issue has already been resolved internally, but you won't know until you either get lucky enough to reach someone by phone or learn to read those transcript codes yourself. Don't lose hope - most people do eventually get their refunds, even after multiple letters!

Those 60-day letters are absolutely the worst! I went through the exact same thing earlier this year - got THREE of them between March and August. The complete lack of real information is what made it so stressful. Like everyone else here, I was stuck with that useless "Where's My Refund" tool showing "still processing" for months. What finally gave me peace of mind was downloading my tax transcript from the IRS website (irs.gov - look for "Get Transcript Online"). You have to create an account, but once you see those transaction codes, you'll finally understand what's actually happening behind the scenes. In my case, it was just a routine income verification that had been flagged automatically - nothing scary like I'd been imagining! The transcript shows WAY more detail than that generic "still processing" message. You can see dates, transaction codes, and the actual progress of your return through their system. It's honestly frustrating that the IRS makes this information so hard to find when it would eliminate so much anxiety for taxpayers. Hang in there - the vast majority of these cases are just routine reviews that got backed up in their system. Once you can see what's actually flagging your return, you'll probably find it's much less dramatic than all the worst-case scenarios your mind has been creating!