Category: Taxes and Retirement

If the IRS sent you a letter saying it needs "an additional 60 days" to review your tax return, you're not alone — and unfortunately, that letter often isn't the last one. Many filers get two or three of these notices back to back, each one extending the wait for…

New York's state refund process runs on its own timeline, separate from your federal refund — and the two systems don't share status information, so a fast federal refund doesn't tell you anything about when your state refund will arrive. How Long Does a NY State Refund Take? The NY…

A notice or letter from the IRS can sound intimidating, but there are many reasons you might get one. Not every notice is bad news, and that's a common misconception — one that makes opening the envelope more stressful than it needs to be. IRS notices and letters tell you…

Transaction codes are used on IRS tax transcripts and WMR/IRS2Go to show current and historical information on your return processing, reasons for delays, when a refund will be paid, or why it was lower than expected. There are dozens of codes, but Code 846, Refund Issued, is the one you…

A lot of filers feel a sense of dread the moment they get an IRS notice or letter asking for more information, action, or warning of a possible audit. The real question underneath that dread is almost always about timing: how long will this delay my refund, and how long…

You check the mail expecting your refund status to improve, and instead find an IRS envelope with "CP05" printed across the top. Deep breath: a CP05 is one of the more benign letters the IRS sends. It means your refund is being held while the agency verifies your return —…

Tax codes, topics, and notices are used across the IRS to explain what's happening with a filer's return, why processing is delayed or under further review, when a refund will be paid, or why it was lower than expected. There are dozens of tax codes and notices — many are…

Many tax filers are again seeing the message below on the IRS' Where is My Refund (WMR) page or IRS2Go app days after their return is filed and accepted by the IRS, including after PATH restrictions have lifted. Unfortunately this message just seems to create more frustration and confusion for…

Transaction codes and tax topics are used across IRS refund status applications — WMR or IRS2Go — and account transcripts, to show filers what's happening with their tax return, why it's delayed, when a refund will be paid, or why it was lower than expected. You'll generally see Transaction Code…

With millions of tax filers anxiously waiting for their refund — often the largest single payment they receive all year — it's not uncommon to hear frustration with the IRS systems designed to provide updates on tax processing and refund payments. The official Where's My Refund (WMR) site and IRS2Go…

Many tax filers feel a rush of relief when they see the refund approved and sent status on WMR/IRS2Go, or code 846 (refund issued) on their tax transcript. That relief can turn into frustration when an additional status message about a past-due obligation shows their estimated refund on the transcript…

The IRS processes tax returns based on a standard set of guidelines and instructions, codified into tax codes used across its internal systems to process returns, manage discrepancies, and eventually pay refunds. These codes are simplified into tax topics for filers, providing insight into what's happening with a return, why…

Your IRS tax transcript is one of the most useful documents you can pull when you're waiting on a refund — especially once Where's My Refund (WMR) and IRS2Go stop giving you anything beyond a generic status bar. The catch is that transcripts are dense: rows of three-digit codes, dollar…