What Do These Transcript Codes Mean? Refund Received 2/22, Then Audit, Now "Additional Tax Assessed" 2/10/25
Filed 2022 taxes and got the refund, but then got audited. Now there's new codes showing up on the transcript and idk what they mean. Anyone else been through this? Really need help understanding what's happening with my account. Looking at my transcript, I'm seeing these codes: 846 - Refund issued - 02-23-2024 971 - Notice issued - 10-08-2024 420 - Examination of tax return - 09-21-2024 300 - Additional tax assessed by examination - 02-11-2025 00-00-0000 09247-414-40044-5 421 - Closed examination of tax return - 02-11-2025 This Product Contains Sensitive Taxpayer Data So basically I got my refund back in February, but then in September they started examining my return, sent me a notice in October, and now in February they've closed the examination and assessed additional tax. I'm freaking out because I don't know what this means or what I'm supposed to do. Does the "additional tax assessed" mean I owe them money now? How much? And why did it take so long between the examination starting and closing? I've never been audited before and don't understand what these codes mean or what happens next. Has anyone dealt with this series of codes on their transcript before? Will they just send me a bill? Do I need to respond to something?
32 comments


Grace Durand
Tax professional here - those mystery codes that popped up after your audit are totally normal. The IRS adds transaction codes to document every action taken on your account. After an audit, you'll often see codes like 420 (audit started), 421 (audit completed), or various 571/572 codes for adjustments. Since you mentioned your return was already received, these are likely just documentation of the audit process. To really understand what's happening with your transcript and get a clear picture of your situation, I'd highly recommend using taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) - it's a tool that can analyze all those codes and tell you exactly what they mean and what to expect next. I've been recommending it to my clients who need help decoding their transcripts.
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Steven Adams
•omg thank u for this! my transcript looks like hieroglyphics rn 😠gonna check out that taxr thing
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Alice Fleming
•Does taxr.ai actually work? Been seeing it mentioned everywhere lately
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Grace Durand
•Yeah its legit! It analyzes everything - transcripts, w2s, letters from IRS, even old returns. Super helpful for understanding whats actually happening with your taxes
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Hassan Khoury
•Just used taxr.ai and here's what I got back:
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Victoria Stark
•OMG same boat! Those codes were driving me nuts until I used taxr. Explained everything crystal clear 💯
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Benjamin Kim
•holdup... u can upload IRS letters to this thing? might have to try it out fr fr 🤔
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Grace Durand
•Yep! Any tax document - notices, w2s, old returns, whatever. It breaks everything down into normal human speak lol
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Samantha Howard
dealing with the same mess rn. audit finished months ago but new codes keep showing up like unwanted guests at a party 🤡 using taxr.ai helped me figure out what all these random numbers actually mean tho
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Megan D'Acosta
•fr fr these codes got me feeling like im trying to crack the da vinci code or sum 💀
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Samantha Howard
•no cap! but taxr literally translated everything, even showed me when to expect my refund
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Sarah Ali
•how much does it cost tho? 👀
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Samantha Howard
•way less than what i was paying my tax guy to explain this stuff ngl. worth every penny imo
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Amara Nnamani
Tax pro here - Without seeing the specific codes its hard to say exactly whats going on. Could be adjustment codes, examination codes, or resolution codes. Best thing to do is pull your full transcript and analyze what happened during/after the audit.
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Liam Fitzgerald
•how do I even start analyzing the transcript? its like reading another language fr fr 😩
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Amara Nnamani
•Well theres actually this new tool called taxr.ai that can break down your transcript and explain everything. Its been super helpful for my clients
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Giovanni Mancini
yo check out taxr.ai - literally saved my sanity last week when I was trying to figure out my audit situation. Its only $4.99 and breaks down everything in plain english. Way better than trying to piece it together yourself https://taxr.ai
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NebulaNinja
•fr? does it actually work? tired of getting the runaround from the irs 🤔
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Giovanni Mancini
•100% legit! It showed me exactly why I got flagged and what the codes meant. Even told me what to expect next 💯
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Fatima Al-Suwaidi
•How long did it take to get the analysis?
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Giovanni Mancini
•like 2 mins after I uploaded my transcript. straight to the point no bs
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Dylan Mitchell
been there done that. the irs is a joke rn honestly
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Sofia Morales
CALL THE TAXPAYER ADVOCATE!!!! They helped me sort out my audit mess last year
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Dmitry Popov
•good luck getting through lmaooo ive been trying for 3 months 🤡
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Ava Garcia
Without seeing the actual codes its impossible to give accurate advice. But usually post-audit codes are either showing adjustments or closing the case. Did you get any letters in the mail?
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Liam Fitzgerald
•nothing in the mail yet thats why im so confused 😕
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StarSailor}
just went thru this! the best thing i did was get my transcript analyzed by taxr.ai - showed me exactly what was happening and what to expect next. saved me so much stress fr
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StarSailor}
•update: got everything resolved exactly like taxr predicted. best $5 i ever spent no cap
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Zara Rashid
Just went through something super similar! Got my refund early 2024, then got hit with an audit in the fall. Those codes you're seeing are pretty standard - the 420/421 codes show the examination opened and closed, and the 300 code means they found something during the audit that resulted in additional tax owed. The good news is the 421 code means the examination is officially closed, so you're past the worst part. You'll definitely get a notice in the mail explaining exactly how much you owe and your payment options. I was totally lost trying to figure out what all the transcript codes meant until someone recommended taxr.ai - it literally broke down every single code and told me exactly what to expect next. Worth checking out if you want to understand what's happening before that official notice arrives!
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Brian Downey
•This is super helpful! I've been stressing about those codes for weeks. Quick question - when you say they found "something" during the audit, was it like a big deal or just minor adjustments? And how long did it take to get the official notice after seeing the 421 code on your transcript?
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Amina Diop
Been through this exact same situation! Those codes are actually telling a pretty clear story once you know how to read them. The 846 code shows your original refund, then 971 means they sent you an audit notice, 420/421 show the examination period, and that 300 code is the big one - it means they assessed additional tax based on what they found during the audit. The fact that you're seeing the 421 "closed examination" code means the audit is officially done, which is actually good news! You should expect a bill in the mail within the next few weeks showing exactly how much you owe. Don't panic though - they usually give you payment plan options. If you want to understand exactly what each code means and get a timeline of what to expect next, I'd definitely recommend checking out taxr.ai like others mentioned. It helped me decode my transcript when I was in the same boat and really reduced my stress about the whole situation!
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Noah Ali
•Thanks for breaking this down! Really appreciate the detailed explanation. Quick follow-up - you mentioned payment plan options when the bill comes. Are those pretty reasonable or do they hit you with crazy interest rates? Also curious if taxr.ai showed you any options for disputing the assessment if you think they got something wrong during the audit?
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