Be careful with these! My brother ignored one thinking it was junk mail, and it was like planting a tax audit time bomb. The IRS computers eventually noticed the mismatch between what Santa Barbara reported and what he filed. Six months later he got a CP2000 notice saying he owed additional tax plus interest and penalties. It was only $12 in interest income, but ignoring it cost him over $100 in the end. Dealing with the IRS is like playing chess - you have to account for every piece on the board, no matter how small.

According to the IRS website (https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc403), this is definitely a 1099-INT from a Refund Transfer product. Santa Barbara Bank & Trust (SBBT) is listed on the IRS authorized e-file providers database as a transmitter for many tax preparation companies. If you check box 2 of your previous year's 1040, there should be a code indicating you requested a refund transfer product. The bank is required by law to issue a 1099-INT for any interest over $10, though they often send them for smaller amounts too.

Here's exactly what happens after TPG shows funded: 1. TPG has received your refund from the IRS 2. They deduct any authorized fees you agreed to 3. They process the remaining amount for transfer to your bank 4. They initiate an ACH transfer to your account 5. Your bank receives and processes the incoming transfer 6. Funds become available in your account This typically takes 1-3 business days total, with most people seeing deposits within 48 hours of the funded status. The relief you'll feel when it finally arrives will be worth the wait!

Watch out for the TPG app glitches! My status showed funded for a WEEK b4 anything happened. Then randomly got $ at 2am on a Sat. Their system is buggy AF. Tbh better to just check ur bank acct instead. Also make sure ur bank doesn't have a hold policy for tax refunds - some do this for "security" or w/e but rly just want to hold ur $ longer. GL!

WARNING about prior year refund checks: • They DO NOT notify you when they mail it • Checks CAN be sent to old addresses if you moved • Mail forwarding DOESN'T always catch these government checks • Replacement checks take 6+ WEEKS if lost Make sure your address is current! Learned this the hard way when my check went to my old apartment. Such a headache getting it reissued.

I think mine took about 8 weeks from processing to mailbox, maybe a bit longer. It's hard to be sure exactly when they started processing. The check came right when I had almost given up. This was for a 2020 return I filed late last year. The amount was exactly what I expected, at least.

How long did you have to wait on hold to speak with someone? I've been trying to get through for days and can't get past the automated system.

Did they say anything about people who filed in January? I filed on January 29th and I'm still stuck on processing. Starting to get worried something's wrong with my return.

I'm a former tax professional and this situation raises immediate concerns. The average tax preparation fee for a return with dependents is approximately $273, with complex returns reaching around $515. A $3,000 discrepancy is 583% higher than even the most expensive standard preparation fees. Additionally, the SSN error for a dependent typically triggers a Form 11652C verification letter within exactly 21 days of filing. You should immediately request Form 8821 (Tax Information Authorization) and Form 4506 (Request for Copy of Tax Return) to see exactly what was filed. In my 8 years of practice, I've seen similar cases result in preparer penalties under IRC Section 6694 and 6695.

Have you checked if your preparer is even properly licensed? This sounds worse than what happened to my cousin - her preparer took an extra $500 as an undisclosed "processing fee" but at least they didn't mess up any information on the return itself.