The activity you observe
on the IRS's "Where's My Refund" website sounds perfectly
normal.
In fact, the status bars and display messages on the Where's
My Refund webpage change all of the time; and sometimes the same message is
displayed continuously, or the bars disappear.
There's absolutely no reason to
think that anything is abnormal, so please don't
worry or be concerned. If your tax return ever is
chosen for further review, or an actual audit, then the website should indicate
that, and also let you know to expect an IRS notice or letter by mail.
(You haven't observed any message like that, have you?)
Taxpayers who do have their returns
held for review, and who expect to receive an IRS notice, tell us that this
message appears clearly on the Where's My Refund website. The
behavior that you observe with the bars is more likely an indicator that your tax return is
simply moving through the processing system. It could also be that the
IRS is checking for additional information on something related to your tax
return (like matching your reported W-2 data with that separately reported to
the IRS by your employer); but we wouldn't call that a review . . . perhaps
only a small delay.
If enough time passes after filing
(21 days after e-file, or 6 weeks after paper file), and there is no new
information, at that time the IRS indicates that you can call them for
additional information, using the phone number provided on their Where's My
Refund website.
For now, the best course of action
is patience. The IRS doesn't always move as fast as taxpayers would like
(especially when waiting for a refund).
Thank you for asking
this question.
