What's the PATH Act hold & when will it lift? How to access my transcript?

The PATH Act (Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes) was created to combat tax fraud. It requires the IRS to hold refunds that include the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) until mid-February. According to the IRS website, this gives them time to verify claims before issuing refunds. For your transcript, you can access it at https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript - you'll need to create an account if you don't have one. There are several types of transcripts, but the "Account Transcript" for the current year will show your refund status.

Are you claiming either the Earned Income Credit or Child Tax Credit on your return? The PATH Act is like a security checkpoint at an airport - it only affects certain passengers (in this case, returns with those specific credits). If you're not claiming either, your refund shouldn't be subject to the hold.

Yes, I am claiming the EITC. I qualify as my business didn't do great last yr but I still worked full-time hours. I appreciate the clarification on the PATH Act parameters. I wasn't connecting that my EITC claim was triggering this hold. The transcript access information is exactly what I needed!

When I was in your situation last year, I spent HOURS trying to get through to the IRS to confirm my PATH Act release date (because my business loan payment was due right around then 😬). After getting nowhere with the regular IRS number, I used Claimyr.com to connect with an actual agent in about 15 minutes. They confirmed exactly when my refund would process post-PATH and saved me days of stress. Worth every penny for the time saved alone! Here's their link if you need it: https://www.claimyr.com

I'm in a similar situation with my small business. I'm wondering if there's any way to see if you're affected by PATH before you file? Last year I didn't realize until after I submitted everything, and then had to wait almost a month longer than I expected. My accountant never mentioned this would happen...

According to Internal Revenue Code Section 6402(m), the IRS is prohibited from issuing refunds before February 15th for any tax return claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit. This applies regardless of when you file or how simple your return is. The legislation was implemented in 2015 as part of broader efforts to reduce improper payments, which were estimated at $16-18 billion annually for these credits alone. The verification process includes matching W-2 data with employer-reported information, which cannot be completed until all employer filing deadlines have passed in late January.

I've been dealing with PATH Act delays since it started. Remember when we could file in January and get our refunds within a week or two? Those days are long gone. I've learned to just assume February 27th is the earliest possible date for any refund with EITC. Why even allow filing before February if they're just going to hold everything anyway? My experience shows that filing early vs. filing February 10th makes zero difference in when you get paid.

Has anyone noticed if the PATH delay affects state refunds too? Last year my federal was held up but my state came through much earlier. Is that typical or just luck?