IRS Account Transcript Shows "Return Not Present" 3 Weeks After Filing - Zeros in All Fields

I filed my taxes on January 31st and just checked my transcript. My account transcript from the IRS is showing everything as zeros and I'm concerned. I'm looking at my account transcript right now and here's exactly what it shows: ANY MINUS SIGN SHOWN BELOW SIGNIFIES A CREDIT AMOUNT ACCOUNT BALANCE: $0.00 ACCRUED INTEREST: $0.00 AS OF: Feb. 24, 2025 ACCRUED PENALTY: $0.00 AS OF: Feb. 24, 2025 ACCOUNT BALANCE PLUS ACCRUALS (this is not a payoff amount): $0.00 Under "INFORMATION FROM THE RETURN OR AS ADJUSTED" section, all the important fields are blank: EXEMPTIONS: 00 FILING STATUS: Head of Household ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME: [blank] TAXABLE INCOME: [blank] TAX PER RETURN: [blank] SE TAXABLE INCOME TAXPAYER: [blank] SE TAXABLE INCOME SPOUSE: [blank] TOTAL SELF EMPLOYMENT TAX: [blank] At the bottom it specifically states "RETURN NOT PRESENT FOR THIS ACCOUNT" and under TRANSACTIONS it shows: CODE | EXPLANATION OF TRANSACTION | CYCLE | DATE | AMOUNT No tax return filed This is from the Internal Revenue Service, United States Department of the Treasury. The transcript even says "This Product Contains Sensitive Taxpayer Data" at the bottom. Is this normal? Should I be worried that my return isn't showing up in their system yet? I definitely filed on January 31st but this transcript makes it look like they have no record of my return at all. It's been almost a month now and I'm getting anxious because I was expecting a refund. Does this mean my return was lost or rejected? How long should I wait before contacting the IRS directly?

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17 comments

Emma Garcia

•10M

The IRS transcript shows a completely blank account status, which is typical for a recently filed return that hasn't been processed yet. All financial fields display $0.00, including the account balance, accrued interest, and penalties. The only populated fields are your filing status (Head of Household) and exemptions (00), which appear to be placeholder information. The key indicator here is the "RETURN NOT PRESENT FOR THIS ACCOUNT" message and "No tax return filed" under transactions. This doesn't mean your return is lost - it simply indicates your January 31st filing hasn't been entered into the IRS master file system yet. The IRS typically takes 2-3 weeks to process electronically filed returns and have them appear in their transcript system. The blank fields under "Information from the Return or as Adjusted" section (including Adjusted Gross Income, Taxable Income, and Tax Per Return) are normal at this stage - these will populate once your return is processed. The February 24, 2025 date shown for accruals is a standard future date the IRS uses for tracking purposes. Continue monitoring your transcript over the next few weeks. You should see these fields populate and the "RETURN NOT PRESENT" message disappear once your return is processed.

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Jayden Reed

•3M

Don't panic! This is totally normal for returns filed at the end of January. The "Return Not Present" message doesn't mean your return was lost or rejected - it just means the IRS hasn't processed it into their system yet. During peak filing season (Jan-April), the IRS can take 3-4 weeks or even longer to process returns, especially with the volume they're dealing with right now. Your return is likely sitting in their processing queue. If you filed electronically, you should have received a confirmation email with an acknowledgment that it was successfully transmitted. That's your proof it made it to them. If you're really concerned, you can use the "Where's My Refund" tool on IRS.gov - it updates more frequently than transcripts and will show if there are any issues with your return. I'd give it another week before calling the IRS directly. Their phone lines are swamped right now and you'll probably just get told the same thing - to wait for processing to complete.

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