Federal EITC Refund Still Pending After March 3 PATH Act Hold Date - State Refund Received Feb 7

I got my state refund on Friday, Feb 07. Since the state refund was received first, these funds were applied to the payments listed below. Any remaining payments will be made once my federal refund is received. But my federal refund is still stuck in pending status. The IRS app shows it's being held because of the PATH Act since I claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit. The IRS expected these refunds to be available in taxpayer bank accounts or debit cards by March 3rd, but I'm getting worried. My anticipated federal refund is showing as pending with no delivery date. I keep checking the H&R Block app but it just shows "Federal refund pending" with no timeline. According to H&R Block's details: "The PATH Act is a federal tax law that required the IRS to hold your entire refund if you claimed either the Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit. The IRS expected these refunds to be available in taxpayer bank accounts, or debit cards, by March 3rd. These were approximate timeframes provided to H&R Block by the IRS and it does not guarantee a specific date that your return will be processed. Many factors can impact the timing of your refund and the processing of your return may take longer." What's frustrating is they also note that "many factors can impact the timing of your refund and the processing of your return may take longer." The state refund came through first, and those funds were applied to some pending payments, but I have to wait for the federal refund for any remaining payments. I keep checking www.irs.gov/refunds for updates but no change. The H&R Block app also says I can check my refund status there but nothing has updated. When I log into the app, it shows a "More Details" option which just explains the PATH Act again but doesn't give me any actual timeline. The app shows "Copyright © 2025 HRB Digital LLC. All Rights Reserved" at the bottom, along with "See TERMS OF USE and PRIVACY POLICY at HRBLOCK.COM" and "hrb.tax" but none of that helps me figure out when I'll get my money. Anyone else dealing with this PATH Act delay? Starting to get anxious about when the federal portion will actually show up.

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16 comments

Isabella Santos

The OCR shows your state refund was received on February 7th and is already being applied to your pending payments, which is a normal sequence. Your federal refund is still pending due to the PATH Act requirements for EITC and ACTC claims. While the IRS provided an estimated date of March 3rd for these refunds, the H&R Block system explicitly notes this is just an approximate timeframe, not a guaranteed deposit date. What's important to understand is that the system is working as designed - the state and federal processes are separate, and the federal delay is a deliberate security measure. The documentation shows H&R Block received this timeline directly from the IRS, but they're being transparent that processing times can vary based on multiple factors. You can continue monitoring your federal refund status at www.irs.gov/refunds as mentioned in the OCR. Any remaining payments that couldn't be covered by your state refund will automatically be processed once your federal refund arrives. This staged payment approach is built into their system to ensure proper allocation of funds as they become available.

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