Level 5

Solved

Refund Freeze

Forum|Forum|13 days ago
September 18, 2026
12 replies
97 views

My 2025 tax return was submitted electronically on March 9, 2026. I overpaid about $15,000. and the entire overpayment was to be applied to my 2026 estimated tax. The $15,000. covered my first 2026 quarter estimated tax payment and about half of my second quarter payment. The second quarter payment was made on June 15, 2026.

On May 4, 2026, I received IRS Notice C045 which said “We couldn’t apply your 2025 Form 1040 refund as you requested because activity on your 2025 tax account may be delaying the release of the refund to your estimated tax.”

On May 18, 2026, I received IRS notice CP05. This notice said “We’re reviewing your return to verify its accuracy. We understand your tax refund is important to you and we’ll work to complete our review as quickly as possible. If you filed a 2025 tax return, you don’t need to do anything at this time.”. The letter also says that it could take up to 60 days to complete our review and if you haven’r received your refund or heard from us within 60 days call us at 800-829-1040.

I couldn’t get a real person so I called the number to make an appointment. The representative told me I have to wait 6 months. The 6 month end date continues to change. The appointment person told me to call 800-829-1040.

All the documents are in my online account including the Tax Compliance Report. The Tax Compliance Report acknowledges that my tax return was timely filed by the due date. The information in the online Transcripts is. correct.

Since I can only get thru to the phone number for an appointment, I’m going to try and schedule an appointment with them. It’s very frustrating,

Any suggestions? Thank you.

Best answer by M-MTax

1. Contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) immediately

Your best course of action is to bypass the standard IRS phone lines and contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS). They are an independent organization within the IRS built specifically to help taxpayers who are caught in systemic loops or facing administrative delays.

Why they can help: Your situation qualifies because the IRS's normal processes are failing to operate within their stated timeframes (the CP05 notice stated 60 days, but phone agents are now telling you 6 months).

How to reach them: You can call the national TAS line at 877-777-4778 or fill out IRS Form 911 (Request for Taxpayer Advocate Service Assistance) and fax/mail it to your local state office.

2. Proceed with your Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC) Appointment

Scheduling an in-person appointment at a local IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center is a strong secondary plan. If you go this route:

Bring printouts of your 2025 tax return, the C045 and CP05 notices, your 2026 estimated tax payment receipts (like the June 15 payment), and a printed copy of your Account Transcript showing the correct data.

Ask the agent to look specifically for the internal IRS freeze code (such as a Code 810 Freeze) on your account. They may be able to see exactly which department is holding it up (e.g., wage verification, identity management) and provide an overriding action or direct contact point.

3. Keep Making Your 2026 Estimated Payments

Because the $15,000 credit elect is sitting in a frozen status, the IRS system may not recognize it as an active payment for your 2026 tax year quarters.

Do not skip your upcoming 2026 estimated payments based on the remaining half of your Q2 or future Q3/Q4 amounts unless you have cash flow constraints.

If you cannot afford to double-pay, ensure you keep meticulous records showing that your March 9 filing date should have covered those quarters, protecting you from future safe-harbor underpayment penalties once the account settles.

4. Check Your "Wage and Income" Transcript

CP05 notices are frequently triggered because an employer or third party has not yet reported corresponding W-2 or 1099 data to the IRS database, creating a mismatch. Log back into your IRS online portal and view your Wage and Income Transcript for 2025. Check to see if all your income streams match exactly what you reported. If anything is missing, the IRS is likely waiting on an employer's submission.

M-MTaxAnswer

Level 15

1. Contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) immediately

Your best course of action is to bypass the standard IRS phone lines and contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS). They are an independent organization within the IRS built specifically to help taxpayers who are caught in systemic loops or facing administrative delays.

Why they can help: Your situation qualifies because the IRS's normal processes are failing to operate within their stated timeframes (the CP05 notice stated 60 days, but phone agents are now telling you 6 months).

How to reach them: You can call the national TAS line at 877-777-4778 or fill out IRS Form 911 (Request for Taxpayer Advocate Service Assistance) and fax/mail it to your local state office.

2. Proceed with your Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC) Appointment

Scheduling an in-person appointment at a local IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center is a strong secondary plan. If you go this route:

Bring printouts of your 2025 tax return, the C045 and CP05 notices, your 2026 estimated tax payment receipts (like the June 15 payment), and a printed copy of your Account Transcript showing the correct data.

Ask the agent to look specifically for the internal IRS freeze code (such as a Code 810 Freeze) on your account. They may be able to see exactly which department is holding it up (e.g., wage verification, identity management) and provide an overriding action or direct contact point.

3. Keep Making Your 2026 Estimated Payments

Because the $15,000 credit elect is sitting in a frozen status, the IRS system may not recognize it as an active payment for your 2026 tax year quarters.

Do not skip your upcoming 2026 estimated payments based on the remaining half of your Q2 or future Q3/Q4 amounts unless you have cash flow constraints.

If you cannot afford to double-pay, ensure you keep meticulous records showing that your March 9 filing date should have covered those quarters, protecting you from future safe-harbor underpayment penalties once the account settles.

4. Check Your "Wage and Income" Transcript

CP05 notices are frequently triggered because an employer or third party has not yet reported corresponding W-2 or 1099 data to the IRS database, creating a mismatch. Log back into your IRS online portal and view your Wage and Income Transcript for 2025. Check to see if all your income streams match exactly what you reported. If anything is missing, the IRS is likely waiting on an employer's submission.

M

mitchden1Author

Level 5

Thanks for your response. Earlier today, I spoke to a representative from the group that sets appointments. She suggested that I wait until Sept. 23 (180 days) and see if the freeze is removed. She told me sometimes, the system waits for the 180th day to remove it. That doesn’t make sense to me because the CP05, which I received in May, said 60 days.

In any case, since Sept. 23 is a week from yesterday, I’ll wait and see if the freeze is lifted then. If it’s not removed, the representative said they will be able to look into the problem at that time. I was also told making an appointment wouldn’t do anything more than they could do by. phone.

Everything in the transcripts match the return that was filed electronically by my accountant. With regard to making my 2026 estimated tax payments, I just made my June 15 payment. Since the 2025 overpayment was more than the first quarter estimated tax payment, I didn’t pay anything for the first quarter. The remaining overpayment didn’t cover the total second payment. My second quarter payment only covered the difference between the remaining carryover and the full second quarter estimated taxes. I paid that on June 15, 2026. My accountant told me to do that.

Depending on what happens on Sept. 23, I’ll probably contact an Advocate then.

Thanks again for your help.

N

NCperson

Level 15

the $15,000, when credited, will be credited against what was due for the 1st quater payment. Anything left over will be credited against what was due on June 15.

fanfare

Level 15

this is how it went with my return last year. I made a mistake on Line 25 Withholding- wrong amount. IRS asked me to prove Line 25 with documentation.

Revisit your 1040 Line 25, 26 for accuracy.

So far they’ve said they are reviewing (Notice 1) but haven’t asked for documentation in any specific aspect yet.(Notice 2)

M

mitchden1Author

Level 5

So far, IRS hasn’t sent me a letter questioning anything on the return. By the way, I just checked Line 25 of my 1040 and it’s correct,

N

NCperson

Level 15

personally, I would not waste the time on an appointment. You are not waiting on cash. You are waiting for the $15,000 to be credited against your 2026 estimated payments, which in time, would occur. And when it is credited, the IRS should use April 15, 2026 as the payment date.

what do you want to get out of any appointment, other than peace of mind this is being resolved. and if you walk out of any appointment with no forward progress, then what?

M

mitchden1Author

Level 5

I spoke to someone at the taxpayer advocate service and they confirmed that I have to wait 180 days before anything can be done. I was also told asking for an appointment is a waste of time in that I can accomplish the same thing on the phone. I was told to call tomorrow and they will submit a request to hopefully unfreeze the carryover. Tomorrow is the 181st day. The advocate told me It could take another 90 days.

I logged onto my IRS account and although it still shows zero dollars for Code 810 Refund Freeze, under Accounts Balance, for 2026, it says the following:

“Claim payments on your tax return

Our records show you have payments applied to your account. You must claim these payments when you file your return.”

It shows the correct amount of the 2025 overpayment that was applied to the 2026 estimated taxes.

Does this mean that the overpayment was applied correctly? If so, why is it still showing a Refund Freeze?

Thanks.

N

NCperson

Level 15

based on what you are stating, the $-0- refund for 2025 is frozen as you can see the money applied to the 2026 tax year.

I can’t state “why” it is frozen, but why do you care?

M

mitchden1Author

Level 5

Since today is the 181st day, the IRS representative sent a referral to the department that reviews tax returns. I was told it could take up to 90 days to get resolved. That means the freeze will be removed or they will request additional information.

When I file my 2026 tax return and take credit for the $15,000. carry over from 2025, I’m concerned that the IRS may not recognize the carryover for 2026.

C

CACPA

Level 1

CP05 is usually a review hold, not a bill and not an audit by itself. The painful part in your case is the credit-elect sitting behind a freeze while 2026 estimates keep marching.

What Id do while you wait out the 180-day window the agent mentioned:

Keep copies of the C045, CP05, filed 2025 return, and every 2026 estimated payment receipt.

Pull the account transcript and wage/income transcript and confirm they still match what you filed.

Do not skip later 2026 estimates assuming the frozen overpayment will cover them. If cash is tight, document why you leaned on the credit-elect so you have a story for underpayment relief later.

On or right after day 181, call the number on the notice, note the referral, and if nothing moves, Form 911 / Taxpayer Advocate is the usual next lever.

If you have clean copies of the notices, a local summarizer can turn the CP05/C045 stack into a response outline, but strip out SSNs first and verify it against the letters.

If the notice stack is getting messy (multiple letters, freeze codes, conflicting phone answers), a second look / notice help option at genuitech can be useful just to map what the freeze is actually doing and what to send next. Not a hard sell, just an option when DIY phone trees stall.

Not advice for your account. Follow the dates and addresses on your letters.