When i do my tax through turbo tax, does the money go to turbo tax account first and pass through to me or is it a direct deposit to my account?

[mesquitebean]

It depends on what method you choose for your refund, AND on whether or not you pay the TurboTax product fees upfront.

If you pay the fees upfront with credit/debit card, you can choose for your tax refund to go directly from the IRS to your bank account in a direct deposit.   Or you can have it direct deposit to a prepaid debit card, such as the Turbo Prepaid Visa Card, which is offered as a refund choice.

If you choose to pay the fees out of your Federal refund, the funds first go from the IRS to an intermediary bank where the fees are subtracted. Then that intermediary bank sends the rest on to your bank account in a second direct deposit.  That method also has a 39.99 service fee (44.99 for California filers).

So you'll save money to pay the fees upfront by credit/debit card and have it go directly from the IRS to your bank account (or prepaid debit card.)   That also avoids the chance of any problem hanging it up and delaying it at the intermediary bank, too.

[mesquitebean]

@nghueyjeen123 I added some additional info above. If you were emailed the original answer, please return to the forum to see the full info.

[nghueyjeen123]

Hi, I chose direct deposit. i checked with the IRS website and they told me that they sent the money on April 4th but i have yet to receive it

[mesquitebean]

How did you pay your product fees?   Did you have any TurboTax fees that you chose to pay out of the Federal refund?  

If so, the funds go first from the IRS to a temporary account at an intermediary bank where the fees are subtracted.   Then that intermediary bank sends the rest of the funds on to your bank (or card.)   If you used that method to pay fees, we can tell you how to check on the funds at the level of the intermediary company.

[nghueyjeen123]

I think the produce fees are paid out of refund. How should i check the with intermediary company

[mesquitebean]

Watch for my additional answer on this page.   You can log into your temporary account at the intermediary, or can you their automated 24-hour phone for info on your refund.  During the weekdays they have phone support during the day.

[nghueyjeen123]

Thanks for your response. Do federal and state tax refund come separately? i reside in NY. How should i check the refund status?

[mesquitebean]

Yes, the Federal and State tax refunds come separately.   Only the Federal refund goes through the intermediary bank.  The State tax refund goes directly from the State tax agency to you.

To check the Federal refund status:
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.irs.gov/Refunds">http://www.irs.gov/Refunds</a>

To check the New York State refund status:
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2896795-how-do-i-track-my-new-york-tax-refund">https://ttlc.intuit...>

[mesquitebean]

If you chose to pay your TurboTax fees out of your Federal refund, your funds will first go from the IRS to a temporary account at an intermediary bank--either Civista Bank of Sandusky, Ohio, or Green Dot Bank.  At the intermediary bank the fees are subtracted, then the rest of your funds are sent on to your bank (or prepaid debit card) in a second deposit.  The company that handles that is SBTPG (Santa Barbara Tax Products Group.)

Less commonly there can be delays at the intermediary bank, and additional ID info, etc. might be required.

If for any reason the second deposit fails (the one that is actually to your bank or card), it will bounce back to SBTPG's bank who will issue you a paper check in the mail.

Once the IRS has released your funds, you can log in to your temporary account at SBTPG to see the status of your funds.

To log in, choose the taxpayer portal at:
https://www.sbtpg.com/

SBTPG has a phone contact page at the following link. It also shows their business hours.  Even when they are closed, you may be able to get info with their 24-hour automated phone, or you can log in as above.

https://help.sbtpg.com/hc/en-us/articles/230084587-Contact-Information