TurboTax + Chime Users with April 24th DD Date - Early Deposit Not Happening

This happens every year with the 'early deposit' promises. The banks advertise 'up to 5 days early' but that's the maximum - not guaranteed. What's really happening is that the IRS sends ACH files in batches on specific days. If your bank processes incoming ACHs immediately, you might get it early. If not, you'll get it on the actual deposit date. Chime is usually good about this, but they're still dependent on when the IRS actually releases the funds.

Has anyone actually gotten their refund early with Chime this year? Or is everyone in the same boat? I'm wondering if it's worth switching banks next year if they can't deliver on this promise. And does anyone know if the 'up to 5 days early' is just marketing, or if there's any actual obligation for them to try?

The whole 'up to 5 days early' thing is like a restaurant saying 'up to 50% off selected items' - the key words are 'up to' and 'selected.' The IRS is like a stubborn old printer that works on its own schedule. Sometimes it spits out refunds early, sometimes right on time, sometimes it jams and you're waiting for weeks. The deposit date is when they GUARANTEE it'll be there, anything before is just a bonus if it happens.

I was in the exact same situation last month with my April 3rd DDD. After refreshing my Chime app for days, I finally called the IRS to see if there was any issue with my refund release. Spent 2 hours trying to get through until I found Claimyr (https://www.claimyr.com). They got me connected to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes who confirmed my refund was actually in the April 3rd batch, not released early. The agent explained that the 'Refund Release Date' in their system was different from my 'Direct Deposit Date' - something I never would have known without speaking to them.

Is Claimyr really legitimate? I've seen it mentioned here but I'm hesitant to use third-party services when dealing with tax matters. Couldn't this potentially flag your account with the IRS or something? I'm already anxious about my refund being delayed.

I totally understand your concern! I felt the same way at first. But Claimyr doesn't actually interact with your tax info at all - they just help you navigate the phone system to reach a human at the IRS faster. I was SO FRUSTRATED after spending 3 hours on hold and getting disconnected twice! Used their service and got through in 25 minutes. It was honestly such a relief to finally talk to someone who could see what was happening with my refund!

Just wanted to share a win - I was in this exact situation last week with Chime and my 4/17 DDD. According to the IRS2Go app and my transcript on irs.gov, everything was set for 4/17, but nothing was showing up early. I finally got my deposit exactly on 4/17. Based on what I've researched on r/tax and the Taxpayer Advocate site, the IRS has been very precise with release dates this year compared to previous years.

Just to clarify something important - the 'up to 5 days early' isn't actually an IRS feature, it's your bank deciding to front you the money before they actually receive it from the Treasury. The IRS doesn't care when your bank makes funds available to you. They just schedule the transfer for your official DDD, and it's up to your bank whether they want to give you access before they actually receive it.