What Does Code 846 Mean on a Tax Transcript: Refund Date and Amount

On an IRS tax account transcript, Code 846 means the IRS has certified a refund for issuance for that tax period. The entry shows the refund amount and the date the transaction posted to the Master File. It is a major milestone, but not an absolute guarantee the money will land: rejected deposits, cancelled checks, or offsets can still change what actually reaches you.¹

Once posted, the 846 entry stays on the transcript as a permanent marker of the refund event for that year. Later actions, such as interest adjustments or a cancellation, can appear as separate transactions after it.²

What the Amount, Date, and Cycle Code Tell You

The dollar figure on the 846 line is the refund the IRS is releasing. If the government owed you interest, that interest is usually posted separately as Code 776, and the 846 amount reflects the combined total.³ Interest paid by the government is generally taxable and is reported on Form 1099-INT.

The date on the 846 line is the date the refund transaction posted. It is not necessarily the day a check is mailed or a deposit hits your account; the IRS tracks the actual transmission of funds in a separate field.¹

The Cycle Code near the entry is an eight-digit number formatted YYYYCCDD, identifying the year, the processing cycle, and the day of the week the transaction reached the Master File.¹

When to Expect the Money

Refunds are paid by direct deposit or paper check, with the Bureau of the Fiscal Service handling check issuance and cancellation.⁴ Direct deposits are generally faster than paper checks, though your bank’s funds-availability policy can hold the money for another 48 to 72 hours. Paper checks go to your address of record, so a recent move can delay delivery.

If the refund does not show up, you can start a formal trace after these waiting periods:⁵

Direct deposit: at least 5 calendar days after the issuance date, and check with your bank first.
Paper check to a domestic address: at least 4 weeks.
Paper check to a foreign address: at least 9 weeks.

Why the Refund Can Still Change or Not Arrive

The Bureau of the Fiscal Service can offset a refund to pay certain debts after the IRS certifies it but before the payment goes out, so the amount deposited or mailed is sometimes lower than what the 846 line shows.¹

A few other codes on the same transcript help explain delays or adjustments:

Code 570 is a hold that prevents the release of a refund while a pending issue or additional liability is resolved.⁶
Code 971 means a notice or letter was issued about the account, with an action code identifying which notice.⁷
Code 841 appears when a refund is cancelled or a credit is returned, which often happens with a rejected direct deposit (for example, a wrong routing number or a closed account) or an undeliverable paper check. The IRS will generally reissue the refund by another method once the funds come back.⁸

If your transcript shows an 846 with no later 570, 841, or offset activity, the refund is on its way through the payment system, and the date on the line is your best anchor for when to start counting toward a trace.