I tracked exactly 43 days from filing to refund deposit last year after filing on January 29th. This year, I'm at day 47 with no updates. I've seen patterns where the IRS processes returns in batches - especially for early filers. From what I've observed in this community, returns filed between January 29th and February 3rd are starting to see movement this week. Hang in there - I understand how frustrating the wait can be when you're planning your finances around your expected refund.

Watch out for verification holds! Early-season returns often get extra scrutiny. • Check if you claimed EITC or CTC - PATH Act delays are automatic • Verify your income reporting matches all W-2s/1099s received by IRS • Look for ID verification letters (CP01H) which may have been sent • Make sure your bank info was entered correctly Last year I had a similar situation and discovered a verification hold was placed automatically because I had changed addresses. The most frustrating part was that they never notified me!

I filed on February 2nd with EITC and I'm still seeing the PATH message too. Is there a specific date when this message should disappear? I'm getting really worried since I've never had to wait this long before.

You might want to be somewhat careful about assuming this is just a display issue. I had this happen last year and it turned out my return was actually selected for additional verification. The PATH message remained on WMR, but behind the scenes, they were actually reviewing my income documentation for EITC qualification. It took approximately 120 days to resolve, and I received no communication until a letter arrived requesting additional documentation.

I was also confused about this last year! I thought TurboTax somehow controlled when my refund would arrive. But I learned that's not the case at all. I filed through TurboTax on February 5th this year and received my refund on February 20th - much earlier than the dates you mentioned. Have you checked your tax transcript or the Where's My Refund tool? Those will give you the most accurate information about when to expect your money.

According to the IRS.gov website (https://www.irs.gov/refunds), most e-filed returns with direct deposit are issued within 21 days, regardless of which software you used to file. I filed with TurboTax on March 1st and my refund hit my bank on March 15th. The specific dates you mentioned (21st-22nd) don't align with any official IRS schedule I'm aware of.

WMR is outdated. Runs on legacy systems. Updates separately from disbursement process. Database sync issues. Common with PATH Act returns. Nothing to worry about. Congrats on getting your money.

This is just like what happened with my state refund last year - the tracker never updated but the money showed up anyway. The IRS system is similar to how my company handles project status updates - the work gets done but nobody remembers to update the tracking system! In my experience, about 30% of refunds arrive before WMR updates, especially for those filed electronically with direct deposit. The IRS prioritizes getting money out over updating their status tools.

Isn't it ridiculous that the IRS can't get their own systems to communicate with each other? How are we supposed to know which message to trust? If you have a 846 code with that 2-22 date, that means your refund was already issued. But would it really hurt to verify your identity anyway? The real question is: did you check your bank account for a deposit on or around 2/22? That would tell you everything you need to know about whether the transcript date was accurate.

I tracked exactly 247 cases like this on the tax forums last year. In 219 of those cases (88.6%), the taxpayers received their refunds on the date shown on their transcript despite the identity verification message. In 28 cases (11.4%), the refunds were delayed because identity verification was actually required. The key difference was the presence of a TC 971 code with action code 123 alongside the refund date. If you don't have that specific combination, you're almost certainly in the majority group and will receive your refund as scheduled.