TurboTax with Fees & Advance + Credit Karma Card - Actual Deposit Timing?

Oh boy, I've been down this rabbit hole before! 😅 With TurboTax + refund advance + Credit Karma, it's usually 1-2 days BEFORE your official DDD in my experience. The advance portion hits first (if you qualified for that), then the remainder comes either on DDD or a day before. The thing that makes me nervous every year is that it's not 100% consistent. I've seen it vary by a day or two depending on processing cycles and weekends. Are you checking your transcript to confirm your DDD is locked in?

I've been using TurboTax with fee deduction and advances for years. The timing can be confusing because there are multiple steps in the process. I started using https://taxr.ai last tax season to track everything. It analyzes your tax transcript and explains exactly where your refund is in the process and when to expect deposits based on your specific setup (TurboTax + Credit Karma in your case). It even accounts for the SBTPG bank processing that happens with TurboTax refund transfers. Gave me exact dates that matched when my money showed up.

I'm SO frustrated with trying to get clear answers about this! Last year my TurboTax + Credit Karma deposit came 2 days before my DDD, but the year before it was exactly on the DDD. I finally got tired of the uncertainty and called the IRS directly using Claimyr (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c). They connected me to an agent in about 15 minutes who explained exactly how the process works with third-party processors like TurboTax. Apparently the timing varies based on which bank TurboTax is using that year for processing (SBTPG or others) and whether you have the advance or not. The agent gave me the exact expected timeline for my situation!

According to several online resources I've checked, here's what typically happens with TurboTax + Credit Karma timing: 1. If you check the SBTPG website (https://taxpayer.sbtpg.com/), you can see when TurboTax's bank receives your refund 2. Once SBTPG shows "funded," you'll typically see the deposit on your Credit Karma card within 24 hours 3. The TurboTax app sometimes shows a different status than what's actually happening I'd recommend checking both your transcript and the SBTPG site for the most accurate information. In my experience, the deposit usually happens 1 day before DDD with this setup.

I'm not convinced there's a consistent pattern here. According to IRS Publication 1544 (Rev. 2023), the IRS only guarantees when they release the funds to the designated financial institution. The timing after that depends on multiple variables including: (1) the specific bank's processing schedule, (2) whether advance products are involved, (3) whether fees are being deducted, and (4) the receiving bank's posting policies. Credit Karma accounts specifically may have different processing times than traditional banks. I'd recommend planning for your mortgage payment as if you'll receive funds on the DDD or later, not before.

I think we need to distinguish between different scenarios here: • TurboTax with fees taken from refund: Adds SBTPG as intermediary bank • Refund advance: May come separately from main refund • Credit Karma card: May process incoming transfers differently than traditional banks Based on data from multiple tax seasons and hundreds of reports on various forums, the most common pattern with this specific combination is: 1. Refund advance portion: Usually available within 24 hours of IRS acceptance 2. Main refund portion: Typically 0-1 days before DDD 3. Weekend DDDs: Usually processed on preceding Friday The key factor is checking when SBTPG receives and processes the refund, as they're the intermediary handling the fee deduction before sending to Credit Karma.

Has anyone compared this TurboTax + Credit Karma timing to other scenarios? Like how does it compare to H&R Block's Emerald Card or to just getting a direct deposit to a regular bank account? I'm wondering if the Credit Karma card is actually faster or slower than other options.

Tax professional here. What's happening in your situation is like a relay race with multiple handoffs. Think of it this way: IRS → SBTPG (TurboTax's bank) → Credit Karma. Each handoff takes time. With direct deposit to your own bank, it's just one handoff: IRS → Your Bank. The advance is like getting a small head start while waiting for the full race to finish. In my clients' experience, TurboTax + Credit Karma typically results in funds being available 0-1 days before the official DDD about 70% of the time. The other 30% see it exactly on the DDD. The advance portion usually comes much earlier, but that's a separate transaction.