Does the IRS review or approve refunds before Feb 15th for EITC

[Ktaegel]

My return was accepted January 17th as a part of the test batch. A week ago the tracker bar disappeared and a message is displayed that says "According to the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act, the IRS cannot issue refunds before mid-February for tax returns that claim the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit. This applies to the entire refund, even the portion not associated with these credits" 

Does this mean that my refund is approved and I'm just waiting for the refund to be sent? Or do I have still have to wait the 21 days after the 15th? 

[Critter]

There is no clear answer to your question ... the IRS has no set time table for this ... simply watch the IRS site starting next Monday for a daily update on  your return. 

[Ktaegel]

Well I would have to imagine that there is an answer to it. They process all refunds on a first come first serve basis correct? But do they skip over EITC refunds? Or do they complete them and just hold sending refunds until the law allows?  If they just skip over them it seems to me like that would be an extraordinary amount of returns to review and approve in a short time. Because they do make the statement of it being usually being within 21 days still.

[Critter]

Read the IRS FAQs yourself : 

https://www.irs.gov/refunds/tax-season-refund-frequently-asked-questions

[Critter]

And they do NOT process returns FIFO ... all returns go into the "pipeline" for processing and some will slide right thru and be approved quickly.  Some will be stopped by various "filters" for various things ... some returns may be stopped by more than one.  Some filters will take longer to clear than others ... some may require human interactions and/or a letter to be responded to which can add weeks to a processing timeline.  Some will be pulled for review and/or an audit ... you never know which ones will get "lucky".  

All the PATH returns will be stopped at some point ... but no one knows where in the pipeline that is ... if it is at the beginning the returns still must be processed once the 15th has come and gone.  Maybe it is at the end and all that needs to happen is the date to come to release them.  Remember that they will have MILLIONS of PATH returns to process and that not all will be released right away ... it is basically a crap shoot so you should never count on any certain date to receive the refund and you will not be disappointed.  

[Ktaegel]

The IRS says it is in order... The "pipeline" does organize and any errors or suspicion does move your return out of the order but it's still in the first come first serve order. So if there are no errors or suspicious activity then whoever's was first is going to get processed first. Same thing if two need to be corrected then the one that was first gets corrected first. They've spoke a lot about their process. So if you're not going to know the answer or the process could you not respond to the threads? That way the people who do know won't just skip on by. More than once on multiple threads you've responded to me but not actually answered anything or chirped off inaccurate information. It's a simple question as to whether they process any returns with EITC before the law allows them to actually send money.

[Ktaegel · Accepted solution]

I found my answer. The PATH act only bars the IRS from sending the refund before the 15th. They MAY process and approve refunds before the 15th of February that claim EITC. So some will be ready to deposit funds within the first week after the 15th. But most of the later filers will have to wait until after the 15th before IRS will start to review their return.