Has anyone had success with reasonable cause abatement specifically for medical issues? I'm curious how detailed the medical documentation needs to be. Do they want actual medical records or just a doctor's letter?

Based on my experience helping clients with penalty abatements, your strategy of trying first-time abatement first is solid. You can absolutely submit a second Form 843 for reasonable cause if the FTA is denied - there's no restriction on multiple attempts using different abatement theories. One thing to consider: since you have both a potential FTA qualification AND a strong reasonable cause argument (medical situation), you might want to mention both briefly on your initial Form 843. In section 4, you could state something like "Requesting first-time penalty abatement as I have no penalties in the prior three years. Additionally, I experienced a serious knee injury requiring surgery that significantly limited my mobility during the filing period." This way, if the IRS agent reviewing your case sees any issue with your FTA eligibility, they can immediately consider your reasonable cause without requiring a second submission. The medical documentation you mentioned would only be needed if they specifically request it or if you end up filing a dedicated reasonable cause request later. The only real downside to your sequential approach is time - but given that you have a legitimate reasonable cause backup, there's no harm in trying the simpler FTA route first.

I filed 3/25 and my transcript updated this morning with a DDD of 4/8, so that'll be 14 days total. I claimed EIC too, so I was surprised it moved so quickly. I think they're catching up on the backlog from earlier in the season.

Filed 3/29 here and still showing "received" on WMR. Reading through everyone's experiences, it sounds like there's really no rhyme or reason to the timing this year! Some getting it in 8 days, others taking the full 21. I have a pretty straightforward return - just W-2 and standard deduction, no kids or credits - so hopefully I'll be on the faster side. Thanks for sharing your timelines everyone, it helps to know I'm not the only one obsessively checking every morning!

wait we're supposed to check our transcripts? where do you even do that lol

This is such a relief to hear! I've been seeing so many horror stories about 971 codes that I automatically assumed the worst when mine appeared yesterday. Thanks for sharing the positive outcome - gives me hope that mine might just be a routine adjustment too. Did you get any indication on your transcript about what caused the increase?

i filed in january and STILL havent gotten my refund AT ALL. consider yourself lucky youre at least getting a check 😭😭😭

I feel your stress! I went through this exact same situation with my Chime account last year. The direct deposit failed and I was panicking about my bills too. From my experience and what I've seen others post, you're looking at about 10-14 days from the mail date in most cases, though it can take up to 4 weeks officially. Since your check was mailed March 9th, I'd expect it by around March 19-23rd if things go normally. The USPS Informed Delivery suggestion is solid - it'll give you peace of mind to see it coming. Try not to stress too much, the IRS is pretty reliable with mailing checks even if their timelines suck. Hang in there!

IMPORTANT: If your DDD is 3/24 and that's a Sunday, be aware that ACH transfers don't process on weekends! Your refund will most likely appear Monday 3/25. The IRS Refund Processing Schedule indicates weekend DDDs roll to the next business day. Check your transcript for code 846 with the exact date to confirm!

I'm also with BoA and waiting on a 3/24 DDD! Based on what everyone's sharing here, it sounds like we're definitely waiting until the actual date. I've been checking obsessively too, but I'm going to try to be patient and just check Monday morning. One thing I noticed is that my transcript shows the 846 code with 20240324, so that seems to confirm the exact date. Has anyone else noticed if BoA sends a mobile notification when the deposit hits, or do you have to check the app manually? Trying to figure out if I'll know right away or need to keep checking throughout Monday morning.