2016 refunds being held

[josephsmom9678]

I've heard that the irs is holding refunds and won't process the refunds until Feb 15th.  Will this be when the refunds are released or when the irs will start processing the actual taxes.

[mesquitebean]

The IRS will begin processing returns on January 23.  If your return has EIC (earned income credit) or ACTC (additional child tax credit),  the IRS will hold off on releasing the refunds while they doublecheck the data (to help detect fraud.).  They will start releasing those delayed refunds on February 15, which means filers with those credits will probably start receiving the refunds around the week of February 27.

[SweetieJean]

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/individuals/refund-timing">https://www.irs.gov/individuals/refund-timing</a>

[tbrass84]

Is this something new?  I claimed the EIC, but even Turbo Tax estimates my return to be sometime between January 24 and February 13th, not the 15th.

[mesquitebean]

Yes, it's something new, starting this year for 2017.   The link SweetieJean provided is directly from the IRS.