Tax refund showing approved for direct deposit on 3/15 but still nothing in my account and SBTPG shows no info

This could be happening for several reasons. First, check if you had your tax preparation fees taken out of your refund - if so, your money goes through SBTPG before coming to you, adding time. Also, the IRS might have sent a paper check instead of direct deposit if there was any issue with your banking info. Check the tax transcript on the IRS website if you can access it - it will show the actual refund status more accurately than WMR. Look for code 846 which means refund issued. If your transcript shows the refund was sent but SBTPG has no record, call your bank to verify they didn't reject the deposit. Sometimes banks hold larger deposits for review. If it's been more than 21 days since you filed, you can call the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040, though wait times are usually long. Some people have had success using the Claimyr app (claimyr.com) to get a callback from the IRS without the excessive wait.

Listen, I've been down this road and spent WEEKS trying to figure out what was happening with my refund. Found this tool called taxr.ai that finally made sense of everything - it reads your transcript and explains what's actually happening in plain English. So much better than trying to piece together random bits of info from forums like this. Honestly saved me so much stress when I was in your situation. https://taxr.ai

After dealing with a similar issue (refund stuck in limbo), I finally got someone on the phone using Claimyr (claimyr.com) and they helped me track down my refund. Turned out there was a hold they never told me about, and talking to a live agent got it released within days. Spent two months trying to call myself before that with no luck. Paying a few bucks to finally talk to an agent and get my $3000 refund unstuck was absolutely worth it!

Did you file through TurboTax, H&R Block or any of those services? If so, did you opt to have your prep fees taken out of your refund? That would explain why SBTPG is involved - they're the bank that handles the refund transfers for many tax prep companies.

Call your bank! I had this exact issue and it turned out my bank put a hold on the deposit bc it was a large amount. They never notified me! After I called they released it that same day. Ridiculous.

mine showed DD date of 3/17 and didnt hit my account until yesterday (3/30). the whole system is broken this year. some people are getting them fast and others are waiting forever. if WMR still shows approved than your probably fine just gotta wait unfortunately

Did you double check that the direct deposit info on your return is correct? I had a friend who had the wrong account number by one digit and her refund got rejected and they had to mail a paper check which took an additional 6-8 weeks 😬

The IRS is an absolute joke this year. I filed in January and STILL waiting on my refund with no explanation. At this point they should be paying us interest. 🤬

I USE TO WORK AT THE IRS. If it's been over 21 days since your return was accepted, you can and should call them. WMR isn't always accurate. The most common reasons for delay after an approval are: incorrect banking info, bank rejection, offset due to past debts, or a fraudulent return flag.

SBTPG is the worst. Last year they held my refund for nearly 2 weeks with zero communication. If they are involved (because you had fees taken out of refund) then that's likely your issue. Sometimes calling them helps but their customer service is terrible.

Check your tax transcript on the IRS website!!! The WMR tool is notoriously unreliable. Your transcript will show the actual codes and whatnot. Look for code 846 which means refund issued. That'll tell you if it actually went out or not.

Its probably going to come as a paper check. This happened to me when my direct deposit info had an issue - the IRS never told me, just switched to mailing a paper check which took 4 more weeks. Check WMR daily to see if status changes.

Has anybody actually been able to talk to SBTPG?? I've been calling for days and can't get through to a human being... 😡

Just a heads up - the Where's My Refund tool updates overnight, not in real time. If u check during the day nothing changes, but check first thing in the morning to see the latest status.