TurboTax 5-day Early Refund Option Failed - Anyone with 2/24 DDD Seeing Movement?

This is a common issue with tax preparation companies' refund advance/early options. Here's what's happening: 1. First, check if your return has been fully processed by the IRS. A DDD (direct deposit date) means it has been approved. 2. When fees are taken out, your refund typically goes through a third-party bank first (Santa Barbara TPG or similar). 3. The 5-day early option is never guaranteed - it's contingent on multiple factors including their internal risk assessment. 4. You can verify your status by going to the TPG website (https://taxpayer.sbtpg.com/) and entering your info. 5. Most refunds with a 2/24 DDD should start appearing between today and tomorrow, even with the early option failing.

I've been through this refund delay maze before. It's like being stuck in traffic when you can see your destination but can't reach it! When my early deposit option failed last year, I spent DAYS trying to reach TurboTax and then the IRS. Finally used Claimyr (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) to get through to an actual IRS agent who explained the whole situation. Turns out the bank partner was holding refunds for additional verification. The IRS agent was able to confirm everything was actually fine and gave me the exact timeline. Like having a GPS when you're lost instead of driving in circles!

I've tracked tax refunds for the past 4 years, and the TurboTax early option has become less reliable each season. In 2022, most people received their funds 3-4 days early as promised. In 2023, it was more like 1-2 days early. This year, I'm seeing many reports of the early option failing entirely. If your DDD is 2/24, that means the IRS has approved your refund and scheduled it for release on that date. The bank that processes TurboTax refunds (usually SBTPG) should receive it that day, then forward it to your account after taking out fees. In my experience, you should see the money by 2/26 at the latest, assuming no other issues.

I had a DDD of 2/17 with TurboTax fees taken out. The early option failed for me too, but I received my deposit exactly on 2/17 at 3:26am. The key is understanding what your transcript actually shows versus what TurboTax is telling you. I've started using taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) to analyze my transcripts because it clearly explains all the codes and gives you a more accurate timeline than TurboTax provides. For example, it showed me that my 846 code (refund issued) on 2/17 meant a guaranteed deposit that day, while TurboTax was still showing "pending" in their system.

I'm extremely frustrated with this whole TPG intermediary bank situation! I need my refund ASAP for time-sensitive expenses and explicitly paid for the expedited processing. The IRS has already approved the refund (cycle code 20240804 on my transcript), yet TurboTax's banking partner is essentially holding our money hostage while they earn interest on it. Has anyone successfully escalated this with TurboTax's Executive Resolution Team? Their standard customer service keeps giving me generic responses about "processing times vary."

Been there, done that. TBH the early refund option is basically a scam IMO. Last yr I had the same issue - DDD was 2/22, TT promised early deposit, nada happened until exactly 2/22. Called TT customer svc and they just read from a script about "banking partners" and "processing times." This yr I skipped the early option and just had my refund direct deposited - got it exactly on my DDD date. Save ur $$ next time and don't fall for the early deposit hype!