NY unemployment tax credit showing on IRS transcript but can't find the actual account - help?
I'm so confused about this unemployment tax credit thing. My IRS transcript says there was a "credit to my account" for my unemployment tax credit, but I have no idea what "account" they're talking about! I've been searching all over the IRS website and can't find any kind of balance or account where this money would be. Does anyone know where this money actually goes? Is it supposed to be automatically deposited somewhere? Or applied to future taxes? The transcript doesn't explain anything clearly and I feel like I'm going in circles on their website.
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Diego Mendoza
The "account" they're referring to is just your tax account with the IRS - it's not something you can log in and see a balance for. When the IRS processes your return or makes adjustments, they use internal accounting terminology. So a "credit to your account" typically means one of three things: 1. It was applied to any taxes you owed for that year 2. It was applied to other tax debts you might have (past years) 3. It was/will be issued as a refund to you Check your tax transcript and look for codes 846 (refund issued) or 826 (interest paid). If you see those after the credit was applied, it means they sent you money. If not, it was probably applied to offset taxes you owed.
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Chloe Harris
•Thank you so much! I do see code 846 further down on the transcript. So that means they already sent me the money? Would it have been part of my regular tax refund or a separate payment? I honestly can't remember if I got anything extra.
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Anastasia Popova
had the same thing happen 2 me last year. the "account" is just IRS speak. they dont mean like a bank account or anything u can see. its just their system. if u got a refund already it was probably included in that. if not maybe check ur bank statements from when u filed?
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Chloe Harris
•That makes sense, thanks. I'll have to go back through my bank statements. I got my regular refund back in March but maybe there was a separate deposit I didn't notice.
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Sean Flanagan
Hey everyone! I'm actually dealing with the EXACT same issue right now and spent HOURS on hold with the IRS yesterday only to be disconnected! So frustrating!!! I'm pretty sure the "account" is just their internal record for you. But here's my question - does anyone know how LONG it takes from when they post that credit until they actually send the money?? Mine has been sitting there for THREE WEEKS with no refund issued code!!
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Zara Shah
•The timing can vary quite a bit. In my experience working with tax clients, I've seen the unemployment tax credits process in as little as 7-10 days, but also take up to 8 weeks in some cases. The IRS is still dealing with significant backlogs from the past few years. If you need to reach the IRS directly, I'd recommend trying Claimyr (claimyr.com). They have a service that helps you get through to IRS agents without the endless hold times. You can see how it works in their demo video: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE It saved me hours when I needed to resolve a similar issue for a client last month.
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NebulaNomad
what kind of unemployment tax credit r u talking about? i didnt know we could get tax credits for unemployment in ny. is this something new for 2025?
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Diego Mendoza
•This likely refers to the NY Unemployment Benefits Tax Relief Credit that was introduced for tax year 2024 (filed in 2025). It provides a partial tax exemption on unemployment benefits at the state level, similar to what was done federally a few years ago. The exact percentage of benefits that are tax-exempt depends on your income level. The IRS and NY tax systems coordinate on this automatically.
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Luca Ferrari
I actually just went through this whole process! The "account" is just IRS internal accounting speak. They don't mean an actual account you can check online. When you see "credit to account" on your transcript, it means they've processed the adjustment for your unemployment tax credit. In my case, they applied it to my taxes first, and since there was money left over, they issued a refund. Look for code 846 on your transcript - that means they sent a payment. The date next to it is when they issued it. For what it's worth, my refund took about 3 weeks from when the credit appeared on my transcript to when I actually got the deposit in my bank account.
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Chloe Harris
•Thanks for sharing your experience! I do see code 846 with a date from a month ago. I'm going to check my bank statements to see if I got it. Maybe it came separately from my regular refund and I didn't realize what it was.
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Nia Wilson
The IRS is COMPLETELY BROKEN!!!! I've been waiting for my unemployment tax adjustment since JANUARY!!!! Every time I call they just say "it's processing" and hang up. Meanwhile they have no problem TAKING our money instantly but when they owe US something we have to wait FOREVER. Their website is completely useless and none of the "where's my refund" tools even acknowledge these adjustments exist!!!
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Anastasia Popova
•for real tho! same boat here. they took my tax payment in 2 seconds but my refund is taking foreeeever. system is rigged against regular ppl
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Zara Shah
Tax professional here. Let me clarify how this works: 1. The "account" on your transcript refers to your IRS tax account, which is their internal record of your tax history. 2. When you see "credit to account" for the unemployment tax credit, it means the adjustment has been processed. 3. To determine what happened to that credit: - Look for Transaction Code 846 (Refund Issued) - this indicates a payment sent to you - Look for Transaction Code 826 (Interest Paid) - sometimes included with refunds - Look for offset codes (700 series) - indicating the credit was applied to other tax debts 4. If there's a 846 code, check the date next to it. The IRS typically issues direct deposits within 7 days of that date or paper checks within 14 days. If you don't see any subsequent codes after the credit was applied, you may want to contact the IRS directly for clarification.
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Chloe Harris
•Thank you so much for the detailed explanation! This is super helpful. I do see code 846 with a date from last month. I need to check my bank statements to see if it came through. If I don't find it, I guess I'll need to contact the IRS.
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Anastasia Popova
has anybody else had problems with the wrong amount? my friend got his but said it was way less than it shoulda been
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Luca Ferrari
•Yes! My unemployment tax credit was about $340 less than what I calculated it should be. I spent two hours on hold with the IRS trying to figure it out and finally got someone who explained they had to adjust it based on some other deductions I had taken. Honestly I still don't fully understand their explanation but didn't want to stay on the phone any longer.
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Sean Flanagan
I'm still confused about something. My transcript shows the credit but NO CODE 846 anywhere after it!! Does that mean they're still processing it? Or did they apply it to some other tax debt I don't know about?? I swear I don't owe any back taxes!!! Is there any way to find out WHERE the money went without spending 5 hours on hold???
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Zara Shah
•If you don't see code 846 after the credit was applied, but also don't see any offset codes (700 series), then your adjustment is likely still processing. The IRS has been taking 4-10 weeks in some cases to fully process these credits. I'd recommend checking your transcript again in a week. If there's still no update, you should contact the IRS directly. Instead of waiting on hold for hours, try using Claimyr (claimyr.com) - it's a service that connects you with IRS agents much faster. I've found their service extremely helpful for exactly these kinds of situations. There's a video demo on their site (https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE) that shows how it works.
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Chloe Harris
Update: I found the deposit! It actually came separately from my regular tax refund about 3 weeks later. It was labeled as "TAX REF" on my bank statement so I didn't realize it was specifically for the unemployment tax credit. Mystery solved! Thanks everyone for your help!
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Diego Mendoza
•Great! Glad you were able to locate it. The IRS doesn't do a great job of making these things clear on the bank statement descriptions. For future reference, the "TAX REF" notation with no additional context is typically how these separate adjustments appear in bank records.
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