PATH Act Warning: IRS Showing Missing Status Bars and Confirms EITC/ACTC Refunds Delayed Until Mid-February

I just checked Where's My Refund at 4:58 PM on my phone (69% battery) and got this concerning message about the PATH Act that I've never seen before. When I went to sa.www4.irs.gov/wmr/results, instead of seeing my normal refund status with the three bars (Return Received, Refund Approved, and Refund Sent), they were all missing with question marks next to each one. The system is displaying a message that says: "The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act says that if you claim the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit, the IRS cannot issue the refund before mid-February. This applies to the entire refund, even the portion not associated with these credits." Below that message, it states: "You can check the status of your refund on Where's My Refund starting in mid- to late February. The website is updated once a day and is the best way to check the status of your refund." There's also a "Helpful Information" section that says "Please read the following information related to your tax situation:" and then lists "Tax Topic 152, Refund Information" At the bottom, there's a note that says "Please Note: For refund information, please continue to check here, or IRS2GO" for updates. I'm really concerned because I've never seen my refund status display like this before with all the status bars missing and just question marks. Has anyone else encountered this PATH Act message? Does this definitely mean I won't get my refund until mid-February even though I filed early? I'm worried since this looks completely different from previous years.

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15 comments

Ravi Patel

The IRS system is showing you their standard PATH Act notification screen, which appears when you've claimed either the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). The disappearance of the typical status bars (Received, Approved, Sent) is a normal part of this process. Looking at your screenshot, this is the official IRS.gov website (as indicated by the sa.www4.irs.gov domain), and the message explicitly states that your entire refund - not just the credit portions - must be held until mid-February per the PATH Act requirements. This holding period is a fraud prevention measure implemented by the IRS. The system is directing you to Tax Topic 152, which is a standard reference for refund information, and suggests monitoring your status through either Where's My Refund or the IRS2GO app. Based on historical patterns, most taxpayers who claim these credits typically see their refunds deposited between February 15-27, assuming there are no other processing issues. The absence of the status bars during this waiting period is temporary - they'll reappear once your refund begins actively processing after the PATH Act hold period ends in mid-February. Continue checking the Where's My Refund tool daily, as the IRS updates refund status information once every 24 hours.

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