Think of tax refund direct deposits like planes arriving at an airport. Your state tax department is the departing airport (they release the funds), the ACH system is the flight path (the money in transit), and Credit Karma is the arriving airport (they receive and process the deposit). Just like flights can arrive early or on time depending on conditions, your deposit timing varies. I track this stuff obsessively. My Arizona refund last year had a DDD of 3/10 but hit my Credit Karma account on 3/9 at 10:23am. My sister's Michigan refund with the same DDD didn't arrive until exactly on 3/10. The year before, my Arizona refund was exactly on DDD. The key factor seems to be when your state actually initiates the ACH transfer - some do it 2-3 days before DDD, others just 1 day before. As for fees - in 15+ refunds across family members using Credit Karma, we've never seen a single fee or deduction.

Thanks for starting this thread - really helpful timing as I'm in a similar situation! I'm expecting my Texas state refund with a DDD of 3/10 to my Credit Karma account. This will be my second year using them for state refunds. Last year (2023), my Texas refund had a DDD of 2/28 and actually showed up on 2/27 around 2:15 PM. No fees whatsoever - the full amount I was expecting based on the state's website appeared in my account. One thing I noticed is that Credit Karma sends a push notification pretty quickly when the deposit hits, but sometimes their email notification can be delayed by several hours. So if you have the app, that's probably your best bet for knowing right away when it arrives. Also, unlike some banks that might show "pending" deposits, Credit Karma made the funds immediately available once they appeared in my account balance. I'll keep an eye on this thread to see how everyone else's deposits go this season!

Got my refund today! Had similar confusion last month. Refund showed sent. Nothing in my account. Called IRS. Started trace. Got number TR-28453901. Bank found issue within days. Wrong account number. IRS reissued payment. Whole process took 3 weeks. Trace number made all the difference. Every time I called for updates I just gave that number. No long explanations needed.

Thanks for all the detailed explanations everyone! I'm in a similar situation - my refund shows as issued on WMR but hasn't hit my account after 8 days. I've been hesitant to call the IRS because of the wait times, but reading about the trace process here makes it seem more straightforward than I expected. One question though - when you get the trace number, can you check the status online or do you have to call each time for updates? Also, has anyone noticed if certain banks are more prone to rejecting refunds? I bank with a smaller credit union and wondering if that could be part of the issue.

Have you tried checking the Tax Advocate Service? They can sometimes help if your refund is causing financial hardship. I felt so helpless waiting after my verification last year, but they were able to assist when I explained I needed the funds for emergency home repairs. You have to demonstrate actual financial hardship though, not just wanting your money faster. The process takes some paperwork but might be worth it if you're truly depending on those funds.

I went through this exact same process about a month ago! After completing ID verification through ID.me, my refund took exactly 19 days to hit my account. The frustrating part was that my transcript barely updated during those 19 days - it just showed "return processed" but no deposit date until literally the day before it arrived. My advice is to check your transcript once a week max, not daily like I was doing (it was driving me crazy). The good news is that once verification is complete, you're basically in the final stretch. Just try not to make any concrete financial plans based on a specific date because the IRS can be unpredictable even when everything looks normal.

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this during health issues! Just to clarify one thing - the "as of" date on your transcript doesn't necessarily mean that's when it was last updated. It's actually a forward-looking date that the IRS system uses for processing purposes. So seeing April 17th with zeros doesn't mean nothing has happened since then - it's just how their system displays information during processing. I was absolutely devastated when I was in your position last year, but my refund did eventually come through after about 6 weeks post-verification. Hang in there! 💕

I completely understand your frustration with the all-zeros transcript situation! I went through ID.me verification about 8 months ago and had the exact same experience. The zeros showing on your transcript is actually a good sign - it means your return was received and is being held for identity verification, which you've now completed successfully. From my experience, the transcript won't show any movement until the verification fully processes through their system, then everything updates at once. The 1.5-2 week timeframe the IRS gave you is pretty standard, though it can sometimes take a bit longer depending on their current workload. One thing that helped me during the wait was knowing that once the transcript does update, the refund usually follows within a few days if you have direct deposit set up. I know it's especially stressful when you're dealing with medical expenses, but try to hang in there - the system just moves slowly but it does work eventually. Keep checking that transcript every few days and you should see movement soon! 🤞

Based on what you're describing, I'd suggest a different approach than constantly checking WMR and transcripts. In my experience with similar situations over the past few tax seasons, the most productive thing to do is to set up Direct Deposit alerts with your bank. Last year, I had a client whose WMR never updated beyond "processing" and whose transcript remained blank except for address updates - yet their refund deposited without warning. The IRS systems don't always communicate effectively with each other or with the public-facing tools. I'd also recommend checking your state tax refund status if applicable - sometimes state refunds will process even while federal returns are still pending, which can provide some financial relief while waiting. The address update and "as of" date change are positive indicators that your return is in the system and being processed, not rejected or lost.

I'm going through almost the exact same thing! Filed about 3 weeks ago, had to verify my identity online (couldn't get an in-person appointment), and my transcript is showing the same pattern - address updated, "as of" date changed from 2/24 to 3/10, but completely blank otherwise. What's really frustrating is that my WMR has been stuck on "Your return is being processed" this entire time with no changes whatsoever. I keep refreshing it like it's going to magically update, but nothing. The one thing that's giving me some hope after reading through all these responses is that the address update seems to be a good sign that our returns are actually in the system and moving through the process, even if we can't see the progress. Has anyone noticed if there's a typical timeframe between when the "as of" date changes and when you start seeing actual codes populate on your transcript? I'm trying to manage my expectations here since I also budgeted around getting this refund soon. Thanks for posting this - it's reassuring to know I'm not the only one dealing with this limbo situation!