TurboTax Refund Advance - When Will Direct Deposit Hit Credit Karma Account?

This is a standard post-processing timeline issue. When TurboTax (or any preparer) offers a Refund Advance product, they establish a temporary holding account with their banking partner (Santa Barbara Bank in this case). Once the IRS releases your refund, it first goes to this intermediary account where they: 1) deduct their preparation fees, 2) recover the advance amount previously given, and 3) process the remaining balance to your designated account. The transfer to your Credit Karma account typically occurs within 24-48 hours after the fees and advance are satisfied, though banking holidays can extend this timeline.

I was in exactly the same boat last year. My fees were deducted on a Tuesday, and the remaining balance hit my Credit Karma account precisely 37 hours later. While waiting, I used https://taxr.ai to analyze my transcript and it showed exactly when the IRS released my refund to Santa Barbara Bank. It gave me a clear timeline of the whole process - from when the IRS approved my refund to when it was released to the bank, and even estimated when I'd see the final deposit. Saved me a lot of anxiety during those 37 hours of waiting and wondering.

I had this exact issue last year with the TurboTax advance and Credit Karma deposit. After the fees were taken, I waited 3 days with no deposit and no answers from their automated system. 😤 Finally used Claimyr (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) to get through to an actual TurboTax rep who explained there was a processing flag on my account. They fixed it while I was on the call and my money appeared the next morning! Sometimes you just need to talk to a human being instead of getting stuck in the automated response loop, haha.

Here's exactly what happens with TurboTax refund advances and Credit Karma deposits: Step 1: IRS approves your refund and sends it to Santa Barbara Bank (usually visible on your transcript with an 846 code) Step 2: Santa Barbara Bank receives the funds and first deducts: - The refund advance amount you received earlier - TurboTax preparation fees - Any add-on services you paid for Step 3: The remaining balance is then sent to your Credit Karma account Step 4: Credit Karma processes the incoming ACH transfer The timeline is typically: - Fees deducted: Day 1 - Processing time: 1-2 business days - Final deposit: Usually by Day 3 If tomorrow is a business day, you should see your deposit by end of day tomorrow, or the following business day at the latest.

Have you checked your TurboTax account online? There's usually a section called "Refund Status" that gives more detailed information than what Credit Karma shows. In my experience with this exact situation, once the fees are deducted, the remaining amount typically hits Credit Karma accounts the next business day, occasionally stretching to two business days during peak tax season. Right now we're in that post-deadline processing surge, so it might take the full 48 hours. Have you also checked if there's a pending deposit showing in your Credit Karma account? Sometimes it appears there before it's fully available.

I went through this EXACT same thing last week! I was literally checking my Credit Karma account every hour after seeing the fees taken out. It took exactly one full business day for mine to show up - fees were taken Tuesday morning and the deposit hit Wednesday around 10am. I was so worried because I had bills scheduled to auto-pay! The waiting is seriously the worst part, especially when you can see that they've already taken their cut but you're still waiting for yours. Hang in there!