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 feel your pain, Miguel! I went through this exact same nightmare last year with multiple 60-day letters. From my experience, I'd recommend starting with the transcript analysis approach first since it's free and immediate. Download your tax transcript from the IRS website and either try to decode it yourself or use one of those AI tools people mentioned to understand what's actually flagging your return. If the transcript doesn't give you enough clarity or if you need to take action based on what you find, then consider using a callback service to actually speak with the IRS. Sometimes the transcript will show exactly what the issue is and you'll realize it's just a waiting game, but other times you might discover there's missing documentation or a specific issue that needs your attention. The key is getting some actual information instead of just staring at "still processing" for months. Once you know what's causing the delay, you can at least mentally prepare for the timeline or take action if needed. Hang in there - most people do eventually get their refunds even after these long reviews!

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!

I've been dealing with this exact situation for the past 8 months and it's absolutely maddening! Filed in January, got my first 60-day letter in March, then another in May, and just received my THIRD one last week. I'm honestly starting to think this is some kind of cruel joke at this point. What's really frustrating is that every time I try to call the IRS directly, I either get hung up on after hours of waiting or get a recording saying they're too busy to take calls. The "Where's My Refund" tool has been stuck on "still processing" since February with no additional details whatsoever. Reading through all these comments has been eye-opening though - I had no idea about downloading tax transcripts or that there were services to help get through to the IRS. I'm definitely going to try the transcript approach first since I can do that immediately. At this point I just need to know SOMETHING about what's actually happening with my return. Has anyone here dealt with THREE consecutive 60-day letters? I'm starting to wonder if there's a more serious issue with my return that I'm not aware of, or if this is just the new normal for processing times. Either way, the complete lack of communication from the IRS is unacceptable.

Three consecutive 60-day letters over 8 months is definitely excessive, but you're not alone in this frustrating experience. The IRS has been dealing with significant processing delays, and complex returns often get stuck in manual review queues that take much longer than the automated processing. At this point, I'd strongly recommend taking a multi-pronged approach. First, download your tax transcript from the IRS website immediately - after 8 months, there should be a clear trail of transaction codes showing exactly what's been happening behind the scenes. Those codes will reveal whether it's an income verification issue, credit eligibility review, or something else requiring manual intervention. If the transcript analysis doesn't provide enough clarity (or shows something that needs immediate attention), consider using one of the callback services mentioned earlier to actually speak with an IRS representative. After waiting this long, you deserve real answers, not just form letters. You might also want to contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service at this point. Eight months of delays with no meaningful communication could qualify as a hardship case, especially if you're facing financial difficulties without your refund. They have more authority to expedite cases stuck in these extended review cycles. Don't give up - even the most complicated cases eventually get resolved, but you shouldn't have to wait in complete darkness about what's actually happening with your return.

I've been following this thread closely because I'm in a similar situation - just got my second 60-day letter after filing in February. Reading everyone's experiences has been both reassuring and frustrating at the same time! What strikes me most is how many different tools and approaches people have mentioned that I never knew existed. The tax transcript analysis seems like a game-changer - I had no idea you could actually see the behind-the-scenes activity that the "Where's My Refund" tool doesn't show. It's crazy that the IRS has all this information available but doesn't make it easily accessible or understandable for taxpayers. The callback services are intriguing too, though I'm still a bit skeptical about third-party services handling IRS communications. But after reading Jasmine's follow-up about actually getting results, it's definitely tempting when you've been stuck in limbo for months. I think the most valuable takeaway from this whole thread is that these delays, while incredibly frustrating, seem to be more common than we realize and usually aren't indicators of serious problems with our returns. The lack of communication from the IRS is really the worst part - if they just provided better status updates, we wouldn't all be sitting here wondering if we made some terrible mistake or if our refunds disappeared into a black hole. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and solutions. It's good to know we're not alone in this mess!

I'm dealing with the exact same situation right now and this thread has been incredibly helpful! Just received my second 60-day letter after filing in March, and like everyone else here, the "Where's My Refund" tool has been completely useless - just stuck on "still processing" for months with zero additional information. What's really frustrating is how the IRS seems to have all this detailed information about what's happening with our returns (as evidenced by the transcript codes people are talking about), but they choose to keep us completely in the dark with these vague form letters. The anxiety of not knowing whether you made a mistake, whether you're being audited, or if it's just routine processing is honestly worse than the delay itself. I'm definitely going to try downloading my tax transcript tonight based on all the recommendations here. It's amazing that so many of us didn't even know that was an option! I'm also bookmarking those AI analysis tools people mentioned - even if I can't decode all those cryptic IRS codes myself, at least I'll have the actual data instead of just guessing what's going on. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and solutions. It's both comforting and maddening to realize how widespread this problem is, but at least now I have some concrete steps to take instead of just waiting helplessly for the next 60-day letter to arrive!

I'm going through this exact nightmare right now too! Got my third 60-day letter last month and I'm honestly at my breaking point. Filed back in January and it's now almost the end of the year with still no refund. The complete lack of real information from the IRS is just insane. Reading through all these comments has been incredibly eye-opening though. I had absolutely no idea you could download your own tax transcript or that there were services to help decode what's actually happening. I've been relying on that useless "Where's My Refund" tool this whole time, which has been stuck on "still processing" since February. The AI transcript analysis tools people mentioned sound like exactly what I need - I'm so tired of staring at those cryptic IRS codes and having no clue what they mean. And honestly, after 11 months of waiting, those callback services are starting to look worth every penny just to speak to an actual human being who can tell me what's going on. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and solutions here. It's both comforting and infuriating to know so many of us are dealing with this same bureaucratic nightmare, but at least now I have some actual steps I can take instead of just waiting helplessly for the next form letter!

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this - those 60-day letters are absolutely maddening! I went through the exact same thing last year and it nearly drove me crazy. The good news is that multiple letters like this are actually pretty common right now and usually don't indicate anything seriously wrong with your return. From my experience, the key is getting access to your actual tax transcript from the IRS website. Those cryptic transaction codes tell the real story of what's happening behind the scenes - something the "Where's My Refund" tool completely fails to show. Once I could see what was actually flagging my return (turned out to be a simple employer reporting discrepancy), the whole situation made so much more sense. The waiting is brutal, especially when you have no idea what's causing the delay. But most of these reviews are just routine verification processes that got backed up in their system. Hang in there - the vast majority of people in your situation do eventually get their refunds, even after multiple letters. You're definitely not alone in this frustrating process!

I'm going through this exact same situation right now and this entire thread has been a lifesaver! Just got my second 60-day letter this week after filing in February, and I was starting to panic thinking I'd made some terrible mistake or was being audited. The most frustrating part is exactly what everyone else mentioned - that "Where's My Refund" tool is absolutely useless. It's been saying "still processing" for 6 months now with zero additional information. Meanwhile, reading through all these comments, it's clear the IRS actually has detailed information about what's happening with our returns but just chooses not to share it in any meaningful way. I had no idea about downloading tax transcripts or any of these AI analysis tools people have mentioned. It's honestly ridiculous that we have to discover these resources through Reddit comments instead of the IRS making them easily accessible! But I'm incredibly grateful everyone shared their experiences here - at least now I have concrete steps to take instead of just waiting helplessly for another form letter. Going to download my transcript tonight and see if I can finally get some actual answers about what's causing the delay. Thanks to everyone who took the time to share their solutions and success stories. It's both comforting and maddening to know this is such a widespread problem, but at least we're not suffering through it alone!

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!