Unexpected delay in IRS Refund

Michael T. · Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 5

Problem: My IRS direct deposit of refund is going to be a week later than
indicated on the IRS website.

DETAILS
--------------
In the past I have used either TurboTax or CompleteTax to e-file my Federal
taxes as a California resident.

I could always depend on the IRS e-File Refund Cycle Chart to determine when
my refund would be direct deposited into my checking account.

This is the chart at
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p2043.pdf

In my case I e-filed using exTaxReturn and was notified by them that the IRS
received my return on January 18th. So according to the aforementioned
refund chart my direct deposit should be 'sent' on February 1st.

This is the way it has always worked - at least for the last 4-5 years.

But today I received e-mail from Santa Barbara Bank & Trust that they are
processing my tax return direct deposit and that it would not be deposited
until February 8th. Ugh! This is a full week later than what I expected.

Has anyone else noticed that you can no longer depend on the IRS e-File
Refund Cycle Chart?

Archived from group: us>taxes

Paul Thomas, CPA · Joined: 25 Aug 2007 Posts: 3094

"Michael T." wrote
> Problem: My IRS direct deposit of refund is going to
> be a week later than indicated on the IRS website.

And the world still turns.

> In my case I e-filed using exTaxReturn and was
> notified by them that the IRS received my return
> on January 18th. So according to the aforementioned refund chart my direct
> deposit should be 'sent' on
> February 1st.
>
> This is the way it has always worked - at least
> for the last 4-5 years.
>
> But today I received e-mail from
> Santa Barbara Bank & Trust
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A Refund Anticipation Lender

> that they are processing my tax return direct deposit
> and that it would not be deposited until February 8th.
> Ugh! This is a full week later than what I expected.

Are you asking for a RAL on your expected refund?

If so, the hold up is with the RAL lender, more likely than with the IRS.

If not, then why is SBB&T involved?

--
Paul A. Thomas, CPA
Athens, Georgia

>
> Has anyone else noticed that you can no longer depend on the IRS e-File
> Refund Cycle Chart?
>
>
>

Michael T. · Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 5

"Paul Thomas, CPA" wrote:
>
> "Michael T." wrote:
>>
>> But today I received e-mail from
>> Santa Barbara Bank & Trust
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> A Refund Anticipation Lender
>

According to their website that is indeed one of their services.

>
> Are you asking for a RAL on your expected refund?
>

I am not.

FYI, I pulled up my refund deposit from last year and the entity that made
the direct deposit was:
"Us Treasury 220 Tax Refund 020207 Last Name, First Name"

>
> If not, then why is SBB&T involved?
>

Bingo!

That is exactly what I am wondering. Thank you for distilling it to the
threshold question.

Their website ( https://cisc.sbbtral.com/who_we_are.aspx ) states the
following:

"SBBT has grown to be well known nationally as one of today's top providers
of bank products for the e-filing industry. SBBT provides Above & Beyond
Customer Support to tax professionals."

They also claim the following:
"SBBT receives funding from the IRS on a weekly basis according to the IRS
published funding cycle. Funding is scheduled to be received each Friday."

Paul Thomas, CPA · Joined: 25 Aug 2007 Posts: 3094

"Michael T." wrote
> "Paul Thomas, CPA" wrote:
>>
>> "Michael T." wrote:
>>>
>>> But today I received e-mail from
>>> Santa Barbara Bank & Trust
>> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>> A Refund Anticipation Lender
>>
>
> According to their website that is indeed one of their services.
>
>>
>> Are you asking for a RAL on your expected refund?
>>
>
> I am not.
>
> FYI, I pulled up my refund deposit from last year and the entity that made
> the direct deposit was:
> "Us Treasury 220 Tax Refund 020207 Last Name, First Name"
>
>>
>> If not, then why is SBB&T involved?
>>
>
> Bingo!
>
> That is exactly what I am wondering. Thank you for distilling it to the
> threshold question.
>
> Their website ( https://cisc.sbbtral.com/who_we_are.aspx ) states the
> following:
>
> "SBBT has grown to be well known nationally as one of today's top
> providers of bank products for the e-filing industry. SBBT provides Above
> & Beyond Customer Support to tax professionals."
>
> They also claim the following:
> "SBBT receives funding from the IRS on a weekly basis according to the IRS
> published funding cycle. Funding is scheduled to be received each Friday."

If you don't have any other banking relationship with that bank (if they are
a bank), then it's possible that Turbo Tax is deducting some fees from your
refund? And that is how they can get it. You're not getting a RAL, but to
pay for the software (or add-on services) you have to have the refund
directed through SBB&T so TT can take their cut.

Either way, you're at the mercy of SBB&T here - not the IRS.

Consider ditching that software in the future.

--
Paul A. Thomas, CPA
Athens, Georgia

Michael T. · Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 5

"Paul Thomas, CPA" wrote:
>
> "Michael T." wrote
>>>
>>> If not, then why is SBB&T involved?
>>>
>>
>> Bingo!
>>
>> That is exactly what I am wondering. Thank you for distilling it to the
>> threshold question.
>>
>
> If you don't have any other banking relationship with that bank (if they
> are a bank), then it's possible that Turbo Tax is deducting some fees from
> your refund? And that is how they can get it. You're not getting a RAL,
> but to pay for the software (or add-on services) you have to have the
> refund directed through SBB&T so TT can take their cut.
>
> Either way, you're at the mercy of SBB&T here - not the IRS.
>
> Consider ditching that software in the future.
>
> --
> Paul A. Thomas, CPA
> Athens, Georgia
>

Ah ha, the old 'hidden fees' trick. I must have overlooked something while
filing as the IRS website list this service as free below a certain income
level.
******************
ezTaxReturn.com: Free federal tax preparation and e-file if your adjusted
gross income is $54,000 or less and you live in: AL, AZ, CA, GA, IL, LA, MA,
MI, MS, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, VA or WI.
******************

I just sent them e-mail to find out why SBB&T is involved. I'll post back if
it is different than what you said about "deducting fees from my refund."

Note 1: For the record I did not use Turbo Tax. It was actually
ezTaxReturn.com.
Note 2: My income was much lower (about 1/2) what it usually is due to a
layoff in July.

Michael T. · Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 5

"Paul Thomas, CPA" wrote:
>
> If you don't have any other banking relationship with that bank (if they
> are a bank), then it's possible that ezTaxReturn.com is deducting some
> fees from your refund? And that is how they can get it. You're not
> getting a RAL, but to pay for the software (or add-on services) you have
> to have the refund directed through SBB&T so ezTaxReturn.com can take
> their cut.
>
> --
> Paul A. Thomas, CPA
> Athens, Georgia
>

Your spot on Paul.

Please ignore my other posts as SBB&T was not involved for _my_ direct
deposit. But rather for a _different_ return I filed for a friend in which a
fee was involved.

I used the same e-mail address for both filings. Since the e-mail from SBB&T
did not contain any personal info (e.g. my name) I mistakenly assumed it was
for _my_ direct deposit. Yet another one of those senior moments.

By the way I should note that this service is not free for incomes <= $54K
unless you access the ezTaxReturn.com website from the link on the IRS
webpage.

itsooga · Joined: 28 Jan 2008 Posts: 1

I have an unexpected delay and I talk to the IRS who basically told me that
they were bombarded during the first cycle and had to push some of the
refunds to the next cycle. That, of course, causes a trickle down effect
I guess. I was scheduled for Jan 25 but Santa Barbara says Feb 1, the IRS
says Feb 8. Santa Barbara says IRS is playing it safe.

--
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More information at http://www.talkabouttaxes.com/faq.html

mlthal · Joined: 01 Feb 2008 Posts: 1

"itsooga" wrote in message @localhost.talkabouttaxes.com...
>I have an unexpected delay and I talk to the IRS who basically told me that
> they were bombarded during the first cycle and had to push some of the
> refunds to the next cycle. That, of course, causes a trickle down effect
> I guess. I was scheduled for Jan 25 but Santa Barbara says Feb 1, the IRS
> says Feb 8. Santa Barbara says IRS is playing it safe.
>

Just to complete this thread for anyone that stumbles upon it.

My experience for direct deposit accurately reflected the
IRS e-File Refund Cycle Chart at
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p2043.pdf

***************************
If electronic online filing transmitted and accepted by 11:00 am between
Jan 17 and Jan 24 2008

Direct Deposit Sent on
Feb 1, 2008

***************************
I e-filed online from California using exTaxReturn on Wednesday Jan 23rd.
It was accepted by the IRS on 1/25/2008 at 9:51 AM EST.
Direct deposit was made to my checking account on Feb 1st.

Note: I requested the fees to be deducted from my refund.
This resulted in the IRS sending my refund to Santa Barbara Savings & Loan,
who executed the direct deposit within 24 hours of receiving it from the
IRS.

Bottom line, despite my paranoia all went well - and as expected.

Michael T. · Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 5

"Michael T." wrote:
>
> Please ignore my other posts as SBB&T was not involved for _my_ direct
> deposit. But rather for a _different_ return I filed for a friend in which
> a fee was involved.
>
> I used the same e-mail address for both filings. Since the e-mail from
> SBB&T did not contain any personal info (e.g. my name) I mistakenly
> assumed it was for _my_ direct deposit. Yet another one of those senior
> moments.
>
> By the way I should note that this service is not free for incomes <= $54K
> unless you access the ezTaxReturn.com website from the link on the IRS
> webpage.

Just to complete this thread for anyone that stumbles upon it.

My experience for direct deposit accurately reflected the IRS e-File Refund
Cycle Chart at
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p2043.pdf

***************************
If electronic online filing transmitted and accepted by 11:00 am between
Jan 17 and Jan 24 2008

Direct Deposit Sent on
Feb 1, 2008
***************************

I e-filed online from California using exTaxReturn on Wednesday Jan 23rd.
It was accepted by the IRS on 1/25/2008 at 9:51 AM EST.
Direct deposit was made to my checking account on Feb 1st.

Note: I requested the fees to be deducted from my refund.
This resulted in the IRS sending my refund to Santa Barbara Bank & Trust
(SBBT), who executed the direct deposit within 24 hours of receiving it from
the IRS.

Bottom line, despite my paranoia all went well - and as indicated by the IRS
and SBBT. In fact their _estimates_ were actually later the what actually
occurred. For example, the IRS estimated direct deposit on Feb 5th and SBBT
estimated Feb 8th even though the actual date was Feb 1st.

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