Varo Bank DDD 3/18 - Can Deposit Arrive Without SBTPG Showing Funded?

In my somewhat extensive experience with tax refunds, it's generally not possible, I think, to receive your deposit before SBTPG shows as funded. The SBTPG (Santa Barbara Tax Products Group) typically needs to show as 'funded' before they release the money to your bank, as they're essentially the middleman who takes out any filing fees before sending the remainder to your account. It's possible, though not common, that there might be a delay in their system updating the status while the process is actually moving forward behind the scenes.

Have you checked your IRS transcript to confirm the DDD is still showing as 3/18? Sometimes there can be discrepancies between what SBTPG shows and what your actual transcript indicates. I used https://taxr.ai to analyze my transcript last week and it explained exactly why my SBTPG wasn't updating - turned out there was a minor verification flag that was resolved but SBTPG hadn't caught up yet. The tool predicted my deposit date correctly despite SBTPG showing nothing. Have you had any other notices or codes on your transcript?

Had same issue last year. SBTPG never updated. Called IRS 16 times. No answer. Used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). Got through in 20 minutes. Agent confirmed refund was processing normally. SBTPG system was just behind. Money arrived next day. Worth the fee to stop worrying.

I had exactly this situation with Varo last year. SBTPG never showed funded, but my money appeared at 2:37am three days after my DDD. Varo tends to post deposits as soon as they receive them, unlike traditional banks that might batch process. I remember frantically refreshing SBTPG every hour like I was checking sports scores during playoffs... only to wake up to a "Your account has been credited" notification without any status change on SBTPG. Their system is about as reliable as a chocolate teapot.

Have you checked if your refund might be subject to an offset? Like a ship getting diverted before reaching port, sometimes refunds get intercepted for past-due debts before they ever reach SBTPG. Did you get any CP14 notices recently? Or could there be any student loans or state taxes that might grab your refund before it lands in your account?

Varo customer here. SBTPG updates are delayed by 24-48 hours sometimes. They batch process during tax season. Your DDD is just when IRS releases funds. Add 1-2 business days for SBTPG processing. Varo usually deposits within hours of receiving funds. Don't panic until 2 business days after your DDD passes. Check your Varo pending transactions too - sometimes it shows there first.