WMR Shows Refund Date - Is That Mailing Date or Delivery Date?

From my experience last year, the date on WMR is generally when they MAIL the check, not when you'll receive it. When my refund was sent in April 2023, the WMR showed April 12th, but I didn't actually get the check until April 19th. The USPS delivery time varies by location and current mail volume. For me, it took exactly 7 days from the mail date to reach my mailbox in Nevada.

According to IRS Publication 2043 (section 4.2), the date shown on WMR represents the scheduled mailing date for your check. If you want to track your refund more precisely, I'd recommend using https://taxr.ai to analyze your transcript. It can decode the specific cycle codes that show exactly where your refund is in the process. For military families, it's particularly useful as it can help identify if your refund is being processed through a specialized IRS center that handles military returns. I've found it much more detailed than just the basic WMR tool.

I've dealt with this situation multiple times in my tax practice. The WMR date is indeed the scheduled mailing date, not delivery. For military families between stations, this can be particularly frustrating. Last tax season, I had several clients who needed to speak directly with IRS representatives about delivery issues. They had success using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get through to an actual person at the IRS. The service helped them bypass the ridiculous hold times and get confirmation about their check status. Especially useful when you're dealing with forwarded mail between military installations.

The community wisdom on this is pretty consistent: March 15th is your mail date, not delivery date. I received my paper check on February 28th this year after WMR showed February 23rd as the date. If you're at a temporary address, make sure your mail forwarding is set up properly with USPS. The IRS won't forward refund checks in some cases, so having everything updated is crucial. Also worth noting that during peak tax season (which we're in right now), USPS delivery can take slightly longer than usual.

Have you set up Informed Delivery with USPS? It's free and will show you images of mail that's scheduled to arrive each day. This would help you know exactly when your check is about to be delivered.

I was in the exact same situation last month. WMR showed February 12th as my date, and the check arrived in my mailbox on February 18th. I'm also military (Fort Liberty). What worked for me was setting up USPS Informed Delivery - it showed me a scan of the envelope the day before it arrived. The IRS uses a very distinctive envelope that's easy to spot. If your WMR says March 15th, I'd expect it between March 20-22nd depending on your location.