My expected refund date is 2/09 but the IRS says that I shouldn't expect the refund till mid February, is 2/09 considered mid February?

[SweetieJean · Accepted solution]

No. TT refund dates are just estimates.

The IRS reminds taxpayers that, by law, the IRS cannot issue refunds claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) before mid-February. While the IRS will process those returns when received, it cannot issue related refunds before mid-February. The IRS expects the earliest EITC/ACTC related refunds to be available in taxpayer bank accounts or on debit cards starting on Feb. 27, 2018, if they chose direct deposit and there are no other issues with the tax return. 

[SweetieJean]

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/to-help-taxpayers-irs-clarifies-some-common-early-filing-season-myths">...>
The IRS is supposed to make more info available on Feb 17.
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p2043en.pdf">https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p2043en.pdf</a>