What Is a Transaction Code on Your IRS Transcript?

Transaction codes on your IRS transcript are three-digit numbers that record every action the IRS has taken on your account — your return being processed, withholding credited, a refund scheduled, a freeze placed, an audit opened. Each line has a code, a date, and usually a dollar amount, and once you know what the common codes mean you can read your account the way the IRS reads it. This guide walks through the IRS transcript transaction codes you are most likely to see and what each one is telling you.

Get the Right Transcript First

Codes only appear on two of the IRS’s transcript types: the Tax Account Transcript and the Record of Account Transcript. The Tax Return Transcript and Wage and Income Transcript do not show them, so ordering the wrong one is the most common reason people cannot find their codes.¹

The fastest way to get either one is through the IRS Individual Online Account, which lets you view and download the transcript immediately after identity verification. You can also use Get Transcript by Mail or call 800-908-9946, with delivery in five to ten calendar days. The Tax Account Transcript is available for the current year and nine prior years online, or the current and three prior years by mail or phone. The Record of Account combines it with your return data and covers the current and three prior years.¹

The Codes That Set Up Your Account

A few codes show up on almost every transcript and establish the basic math of what you owed and what you paid.

Code 150 — Tax Return Filed. The IRS has processed your return. The date is your filing date and the dollar amount is your tax liability as filed (or as corrected during processing).
Code 806 — Withholding Credit. The total federal income tax withheld from your wages and other income during the year, pulled from your W-2s and 1099s. It applies as a credit against the liability in Code 150.
Code 768 — Earned Income Credit. Records the EITC applied to your account, another credit against the liability.

Read together, these three lines are the starting equation: total tax minus withholding and credits equals either what you still owe or what the IRS owes you back.²

The Refund Code

Code 846 is the one most people are checking for. It means the IRS has approved your refund and scheduled it for payment. The date next to Code 846 is the date the IRS sends the funds by direct deposit or paper check. With direct deposit, the money usually arrives on that date or within one to two business days, depending on your bank.²

Holds, Freezes, and Notices

If something on your return needs extra attention, your refund gets held and one of the following codes explains why.

Code 570 means the IRS has frozen your account and will not release a refund while it reviews something. Common triggers include income figures that do not match what an employer or payer reported, a compliance check, or a payment that needs verification. A 570 does not automatically require you to do anything. Many of these holds clear on their own within a few weeks once the IRS verifies the information internally.³

Code 571 releases the 570 freeze. When it appears, your refund should move back into processing.⁴

Code 971 means the IRS has sent you a notice or letter. It often shows up next to a 570 and usually explains the delay or asks you for documentation. If you see 971 but nothing has arrived, give it a week or two for mail delivery. Read the notice when it lands and respond by the stated deadline. If you don’t, the IRS can make a decision on your account without your input.²

Code 810 is a more serious freeze, usually placed by the examination division or an automated review program. Like 570, it stops any refund from going out. It is released with Code 811 when the review is finished.³

Audit Codes

Two codes signal that your return has been pulled for examination, and two more show when that examination closes.

Code 420 — Examination Indicator. Your return has been referred to the IRS examination or appeals division. This is the code that means an audit has started.
Code 424 — Examination Request. Similar to 420, referring your return for examination and creating inventory tracking in the audit division.
Code 421 — Reversed Examination Indicator. Closes out a 420 or 424.
Code 425 — Reversed Examination Request. Specifically closes out a 424.

Seeing 420 or 424 does not necessarily mean you did anything wrong. The IRS selects returns for examination for many reasons, including random sampling. When 421 or 425 appears, the audit is complete, though any adjustments the audit produced will show up as their own transaction codes on the same transcript.⁵

Amended Return Codes

Form 1040-X has its own set of tracking codes.

Code 977 — Amended Return Filed. Confirms the IRS received and recorded your amended return. It may appear before any adjustments post to your account.
Code 290 — Additional Tax Assessed. A dollar amount here means the IRS added tax to your account, either from your amended return or from its own adjustment. A 290 with a zero dollar amount is sometimes used during processing to release a freeze or move the return forward without changing the tax.
Code 291 — Tax Reduced. Your tax liability was lowered. If your amended return claimed a larger refund or cut what you owed, this is where that shows up.

Amended returns take longer than originals. A 977 with no 290 or 291 yet means the IRS knows the amendment is there but hasn’t finished working it.⁶

Penalty and Extension Codes

Penalties come in matched pairs: one code for manual entry by an employee, one for automatic system-generated assessment. The pair does not affect how much you owe — only how the entry was created.

Code 160 — Late Filing Penalty (Manual) and Code 166 — Late Filing Penalty (System Generated). The standard rate is 5 percent of the unpaid tax for each month or partial month the return is late, capped at 25 percent.
Code 170 — Estimated Tax Penalty (Manual) and Code 176 — Estimated Tax Penalty (System Generated). For underpaying quarterly estimated taxes during the year.

If you believe a penalty was applied in error, you can request abatement by calling the IRS or submitting a written explanation.⁷

Code 460 records an approved extension of time to file. The date is your new filing deadline. Filing an extension does not extend the deadline to pay: interest and late-payment penalties can still accrue on unpaid balances from the original due date.⁸

Identity Theft Markers

Identity theft situations use Code 971 paired with a three-digit action code. The action code tells you the type and status of the claim:

Action Code 501: You provided the required identity theft documentation and the case is resolved.
Action Code 504: You self-identified potential identity theft, but it had no impact on tax administration.
Action Code 506: The IRS identified the identity theft on its own and resolved it without needing documentation from you.
Action Code 522: An identity theft allegation is on file but may not yet be fully resolved. This covers situations where documentation has been received, where a taxpayer has alleged theft but not yet provided supporting documents, or where the IRS suspects theft and the case is still open.

The action codes appear as supplementary numbers next to Code 971 on the transcript. A 971 with one of these codes when you have not reported anything yourself can mean the IRS flagged suspicious activity — a duplicate return filed under your Social Security number, for example — and is working it internally.⁹¹⁰

Reading the Rest of the Line

Each code sits on a line with several other columns, and those columns carry real information.

The cycle code is an eight-digit number showing when the transaction posted to the IRS master file. The first four digits are the calendar year, the next two are the week of the year, and the last two identify the processing day or cycle type. A cycle code beginning with “2026” followed by “14” posted in the fourteenth week of 2026.

The effective date next to each entry has practical meaning that changes with the code. On a Code 846 refund, it is when the IRS sends your payment. On a penalty, it can be when interest begins accruing. On a Code 460 extension, it is your new due date.

The dollar amount at the right shows the financial impact of the entry. Positive amounts generally add to your balance due; negative amounts and credits reduce it.

Some lines also carry a Document Locator Number, a controlled tracking number the IRS assigns to every return and document it enters into its system. The DLN attached to Code 150 is the tracking number for your original return.¹¹

1
Internal Revenue Service. Transcript Types for Individuals and Ways to Order Them
2
Taxpayer Advocate Service. Decoding IRS Transcripts and the New Transcript Format Part II
3
Internal Revenue Service. IRM 21.5.10 Examination Issues
4
Internal Revenue Service. IRM 21.5.6 Freeze Codes
5
Internal Revenue Service. Section 8A Master File Codes – Transaction, MF and IDRS
6
Taxpayer Advocate Service. How to Identify the IRS Broad Penalty Relief Initiative and Other Helpful Tips for Understanding Tax Account Transcripts Part One
7
Internal Revenue Service. Section 10 – Penalty and Interest Provisions
8
Internal Revenue Service. IRM 20.1.2 Failure to File and Failure to Pay Penalties
9
Internal Revenue Service. Section 8C – Master File Codes – TC 971 Action Codes
10
Internal Revenue Service. IRM 4.10.27 Identity Theft Case Processing for Field Examiners
11
Internal Revenue Service. Section 4 – Document Locator Number