When does PATH Act hold release? Friend with dependent got refund already but doesn't work?

The PATH Act hold only applies to returns claiming Earned Income Credit (EIC) or Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). I've seen this confusion before. Your friend likely received the regular Child Tax Credit but not the refundable portion (ACTC) if she has no earned income. Back in 2022, I had a similar situation where my neighbor got her refund quickly despite claiming a dependent because she only qualified for standard CTC. The PATH Act protection was specifically designed to prevent fraud with refundable credits tied to income verification.

It might be worth noting that there are sometimes exceptions to the PATH Act holds. Your friend possibly qualified for a different type of credit that isn't subject to the same restrictions. Or perhaps she filed very early and her return was processed just as the PATH Act hold was lifting. In my experience, the IRS systems don't always apply the holds consistently, especially with certain filing situations.

Have you tried calling the IRS to ask about your specific amended return status? Is it possible that your amendment is being held for different reasons than the PATH Act? I'm concerned that you might be comparing two very different situations. When I needed answers about my hold status, I used Claimyr (https://www.claimyr.com) to get through to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. They explained exactly why my return was being held and when I could expect it to be released. Have you considered asking your friend exactly which credits she claimed?

I went through this exact situation last year. My sister got her refund with her two kids claimed while mine was held. Here's what happened: 1) She had W-2 income but it was low enough that she didn't qualify for EITC. 2) She received regular Child Tax Credit but not Additional Child Tax Credit. 3) Her return was simple with no other credits or deductions. 4) My return had EITC claimed which triggered the PATH hold. 5) The IRS processed our returns completely differently even though we both had kids. Does this match your situation?

The PATH Act hold officially ended on February 15th this year. It's now March 23rd, so PATH holds should be completely lifted. My refund with EITC was exactly $5,972 and was deposited precisely 11 days after the PATH lift date. Amended returns take 20 weeks minimum according to the IRS website. You need to look at the Where's My Amended Return tool ASAP. The processing time is completely different for amended returns vs. regular returns!

Did your friend file through a tax preparer? Do you know if she claimed EITC specifically? What about your amended return - what exactly did you change?