TurboTax Refund Advance Approved But No Transcript Update?

Ugh I'm in the EXACT same boat!! Filed Jan 29th, got approved for the advance, but my transcript is STILL showing nothing! I'm getting so frustrated because I need this money for car repairs and bills. I've called TurboTax twice and they just give me the generic "it's still processing" response. 😡 The approval for the advance should mean our returns are good, right?? Why is it taking so long??

IMO this is pretty normal for this time of yr. TT advance is thru their bank partner (Santa Barbara Bank usually) and has nothing to do w/ actual IRS processing. They just do a soft credit check + verify your return looks legit. The N/A transcript just means IRS hasn't fully processed ur return yet. Mine was N/A for abt 3 wks then suddenly updated w/ DDD. Hang tight - especially if u claimed EITC or ACTC, those take longer bc of PATH Act verification.

Think of the TurboTax advance like getting pre-approved for a car loan - it means your credit looks good, but doesn't mean the car is ready to drive off the lot yet. The advance is TurboTax's banking partner taking a calculated risk, not an indication that the IRS has processed anything. The transcript showing N/A is like your package tracking saying "label created" but not "in transit" yet. It's in the IRS queue, but hasn't been fully processed. This tax season is like a crowded highway during rush hour - everyone's trying to get through at once.

I've been through this exact situation twice before, and it's way more stressful than it needs to be. The transcript not updating while the advance is approved is actually pretty common compared to other filing situations I've experienced. When I couldn't stand the waiting anymore, I tried Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get through to an actual IRS agent instead of listening to the automated messages. They got me connected in about 15 minutes when I had been trying for days on my own. The agent confirmed my return was just in normal processing with no flags - gave me peace of mind that was worth the service fee.

I believe I may have figured this out after experiencing it myself. The TurboTax advance approval and IRS processing are completely separate systems. What's probably happening is: 1. Your return was accepted by the IRS (transmission successful) 2. TurboTax's bank partner approved your advance based on their criteria 3. Your return is likely in the IRS processing queue but hasn't been assigned to a processing batch yet I would suggest checking your transcript weekly rather than daily. In my experience, it might not show any updates for 3-4 weeks, then suddenly update with everything at once. Unless you receive a specific notice from the IRS, this is most likely just normal processing delays during peak season.

I'm sort of in a similar situation, I think? I was approved for the advance but only received about half of what they estimated. My transcript finally updated yesterday after about 35 days of waiting, and it looks like they might be making some adjustments to my return. Maybe check if you qualified for the full advance amount? Sometimes if there's an issue with certain credits, it could possibly delay processing, but I'm not entirely sure if that's always the case.