Why file early if the irs is going to hold your refund because you have earned income tax credit

[CatinaT1]

Due to PATH Act, the IRS holds refunds for EITC/ACTC customers until March 3.  You should still receive your refund 5 days early. This date is calculated based on 5 days prior to when the IRS releases your refund.

Here is more information on the 5 Day Early option: 5 Days Early

Please note: If your federal refund is deposited into your selected bank account less than 5 days before the IRS refund settlement date (the date it would have arrived if sent from the IRS directly), then you will not pay the 5 Days Early 

[xmasbaby0]

"Why file early?" is a good question----filing early is often not the best plan.   As you have discovered, if you are getting EIC or additional CTC your refund is going to be held anyway.   And all the while it is being held, if you discover that you missed entering a W-2, forgot to enter a dependent, etc. etc. etc. your return is sitting in the IRS system where you cannot do one thing to change it until they finish processing it.   If you wait awhile and take your time to prepare your return and file later like in mid-February, there is a better chance that you will have all of the documents you needed and that you would not have rushed to file and made mistakes. And....it is ofter those "early" returns that end up under review and getting identity verification requests that delay your refund even more.   We see a lot of posts from distressed users who file at the first possible moment and then end up waiting months for their refunds.

[Dog231]

I filled early due to my w2 being the same and I never had an issue with earned income tax credit until now I didn’t even know I had it until I got a email from turbo tax saying that I do. And my federal tax return was accepted on January17th and it’s February 13th so should I get my refund February 14 or 15th cause I need my money now like now 

[xmasbaby0]

@Dog231 If you are getting EIC the IRS has to hold your refund until the middle of February.   Do not expect your refund before early March.

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/irs-tax-return/what-is-the-path-act-and-how-may-it-impact-your-...

[Thepgbgs]

Do they pick and choose when to follow the law on this? The past two years I got my taxes back before the 15th and I earned an eitc. Though 2022 and this year I didn't receive them till March.

[Qedwards001]

Mines was the same, they accepted my return on January 17th and its now February 14th🤦🏽‍♀️

[bigcrock]

Filing early gets you put at the top of the list and to get your refund at the earliest date. Yes waiting and making sure you have everything you need is a good solution. But some people don't like to wait but on the other hand still have to wait on IRS to process 

[izzy2352]

After reading your answer I am very disturbed. I started getting promotional offers from TurboTax back in December encouraging me to file early and also get a promotional price to file early. So I ended up submitting my tax returns on January 17th. Which is 10 days before they are supposed to be accepting returns. However my returns were accepted on January 19th. I read your answer and see that people that file early often get to wait the longest for identity verification Etc. I feel like I have been taking advantage of by filing early and now my taxes may end up being held up or even worse I may get audited. That's what I'm getting from your answer. I am very disappointed in TurboTax right now

[Justaquestion]

Get a tax advocate if you have irs issues 

yes turbo tax is janky but it’s easy 

[Kesha77]

I filed early as well on the 17th of January, I received these codes on my transcript 570/0.00 and 971/0.00 different dates and according to my research. The 570 was because of the path act that didn't go into effect until the 17th or 18th which in turn puts a hold because I passed the initial time frame of 21 days. I also received code 971 with these combined codes it means I passed the initial process and just waiting on a refund release date hopefully this helps. Just check your transcript.

[Lm86]

I paid the $25 to get my refund 5 days early. I filed on 1/29. TT states it takes 21 days to receive a direct deposit tax return normally. So with me paying money to receive my taxes 5 days early, they should’ve hit my account yesterday.

I’ve checked the IRS app daily since 2/3. As of yesterday the IRS app was still saying just “refund received” it didn’t say it had been “approved” yet. That’s NEVER happened in my 6 years of filing w/ TT. It normally takes the IRS about 48 hours to approve a federal refund.

this morning when I woke up, my IRS app is now saying due to the PATH act, that if I received additional EIC (I didn’t) or the Child Tax Credit (I did) that they cannot issue a refund before mid-Feb. it’s Feb 15th today. That is mid-Feb. Why did TT not say that this would happen before allowing me to pay extra to receive my taxes 5 days early?

Due to the political climate here, idk why I get the feeling we may not be getting our taxes back?

[Lm86]

I don’t understand this though. In my 6 years of filing with TT I’ve always had a kid. I get the child tax credit not sure about “additional” child tax credit. This is the first year the IRS app has said anything about “due to the PATH act those that receive EIC or CTC have to wait til mid February. that what the IRS app said when I woke up this morning.

that’s never happened. I always get mine back within 21 days. I did pay the extra money to TT to receive my taxes 5 days early this year. Are you saying this is the reason they’re holding my taxes?

[xmasbaby0]

@Lm86 If you have amounts on line 27 or line 28 of your Form 1040 you are subject to PATH and your refund is held.

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/irs-tax-return/what-is-the-path-act-and-how-may-it-impact-your-...

[Kesha77]

This year is a little different and I as well been with TurboTax for several years. I also paid the 5 days early fee but that's only 5 days before the IRS release our funds. And if not then we will be refunded our money. This year the child's tax credit anything involving a credit seem to be taking longer than last year as they predicted almost all early filers will have their refunds by March 3rd. It seems like a new policy maybe coming into play as we do have a new administration coming in. We all are just use to getting our money bye mid Feb especially if we filed early. It will be okay just time and patience. Mines gone anyways to bills...😁