SBTPG shows funded but my credit union is holding refund until deposit date
I am seeing that SBTPG (Santa Barbara Tax Products Group) shows my refund as funded, but I have Ascend Credit Union with a direct deposit date of 2-25. They're telling me they will hold the funds until exactly that date. I'm not sure if this is normal... is there anything I can do? I don't think I will be using them next year for my tax refund. 😑
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Emily Jackson
This happens a lot w/ credit unions tbh. SBTPG releases the $$ but ur bank can still hold it until the official DDD. Kinda annoying but technically they're following IRS rules. Have u tried calling them to see if they'll release early? Some CUs will if u ask nicely.
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Liam Mendez
•Is there a specific regulation that allows financial institutions to hold funds that have been released by SBTPG until the official direct deposit date? I was under the impression that once the funds are released by the third-party processor, they should be available immediately upon receipt by the bank or credit union.
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Sophia Nguyen
•Thanks for explaining this. Makes sense now. Different banks have different policies.
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Jacob Smithson
OMG this is SO frustrating!!! 😤 I had the exact same issue last year with my credit union. The technical reason is that the ACH transfer contains a settlement date in the metadata, and most financial institutions adhere strictly to this. I used https://taxr.ai to track my refund journey last time - it showed me exactly where my money was at each step and explained why my credit union was holding it. Honestly made the wait less stressful because I could SEE what was happening instead of just wondering!
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Isabella Brown
•I'm not sure about using another service to track my refund. Isn't that just adding another layer of complexity? My approach would be: • Check IRS Where's My Refund tool • Monitor bank account directly • Contact credit union if needed Does this service actually provide more reliable information than these methods?
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Maya Patel
•According to IRS Publication 1, financial institutions aren't required to make funds available before the designated direct deposit date. Has anyone successfully convinced their credit union to release funds early? Would like to know if there's a specific approach that works.
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Aiden RodrÃguez
I've probably been through this same situation about three or four times with different banks. It seems like the smaller credit unions tend to be more strict about holding until the exact DDD date. When I got tired of waiting around last year, I actually used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get through to the IRS to confirm if there was any way to change the deposit date. The agent explained that once the DDD is set, it generally can't be modified, but at least I didn't waste hours on hold just to learn that. Might be worth checking if you're considering other options.
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Emma Garcia
Same thing happened to me with Navy Federal last year. SBTPG showed funded on a Thursday but NFCU held it until the following Monday (the official DDD). I called and complained and they basically said "tough luck, that's our policy." 🙄 At least they're consistent - they do it with paychecks too sometimes. The funny thing is, smaller local banks sometimes process faster than the big ones!
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Ava Kim
This is like ordering a package that shows "out for delivery" but the driver won't give it to you until the estimated delivery date, even though they're literally at your door! I was surprised to learn that some online banks like Chime and Cash App actually release tax refunds up to 5 days early. They're essentially fronting you the money based on the confirmed IRS deposit. Might be worth looking into for next year if getting your refund quickly is important.
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Ethan Anderson
Call them NOW and ask to speak to a supervisor. Tell them you have urgent bills to pay and need access to your funds immediately. I did this with my credit union and they released it same day. They can override the hold if they want to - it's just their default policy to wait. Don't take no for an answer.
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Layla Mendes
•Did you have to provide any proof of the urgent bills? I'm in a similar situation and wondering if I should try this approach. What exactly did you say to convince them?
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Lucas Notre-Dame
This is standard practice for most credit unions. I've been tracking this issue in the tax refund community for years, and February 25th is right around the corner. Most people find that the money actually posts very early in the morning on the DDD - sometimes as early as 12:01 AM. If you have bills due on the 25th, you might want to call those companies and explain the situation rather than fighting with your credit union, which probably won't budge on their policy.
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