Interest Payment Appeared on Transcript Yesterday, Gone Today - What Happened?

This is likely due to the IRS's Integrated Data Retrieval System (IDRS) performing its weekly processing cycle. Interest calculations are frequently provisional entries that appear temporarily during processing phases. The IRS often conducts transcript adjustments during their master file updates, which typically happen overnight Wednesday into Thursday. What you're seeing is probably the system initially calculating potential interest, then removing it upon verification that your specific situation doesn't qualify under IRC Section 6611 parameters. This happens regularly and is frustrating as hell when you think you're getting money that suddenly disappears.

What was the exact amount of interest shown? Was it exactly $43.21 by any chance? I ask because there was a documented IRS system glitch on July 1st that incorrectly applied a standard interest calculation to approximately 14,752 accounts. The timestamp on when you viewed it could be significant - was it between 2:00-6:00pm EST yesterday?

I've actually encountered this exact situation! The interest initially appeared as $86.42 at approximately 3:15pm yesterday. I'm actually relieved it disappeared because I was worried it meant my return was being audited or flagged for review. I'm not expecting any interest payments since my refund was processed within the standard 21-day window. I'm so glad I'm not the only one who noticed this - I was starting to think I was imagining things!

Have you tried calling the IRS about this? Of course you haven't, because who has 3-4 hours to waste on hold, right? When I had a similar transcript mystery last month, I used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to connect with an IRS agent in about 20 minutes. Turns out what I was seeing was just a processing anomaly during their weekly update cycle. The agent explained that interest calculations sometimes appear temporarily during processing. Isn't it better to get a definitive answer than to keep checking your transcript every hour hoping for answers?

Have you checked if there were any other changes to your transcript besides the interest disappearing? Sometimes when the IRS makes adjustments, multiple elements change simultaneously. Was this for tax year 2023 or an older return?

The IRS transcript system is like a restaurant kitchen - sometimes you see things being prepared that aren't actually part of your final meal. What you witnessed was likely the IRS system testing calculations before finalizing them. Think of it as the chef tasting the sauce before deciding it needs more seasoning. These phantom entries happen more frequently than people realize, especially around quarterly interest adjustment periods. The good news is that if you legitimately qualify for interest, it will reappear and stick around.