Which IRS Transcript Shows Your Refund Date: Code 846

The transcript that shows your refund date is the Tax Account Transcript. Look for Transaction Code 846, labeled “Refund Issued,” near the bottom of the transcript. The date printed next to TC 846 is the date the IRS transmitted your refund to your bank or mailed a check.¹

One caveat before you go pulling transcripts: the IRS itself says ordering a transcript will not help you predict when a refund will arrive. The “Where’s My Refund?” tool is the agency’s recommended tracker for a refund that is still pending.² The transcript becomes useful once processing is done. When TC 846 posts, it confirms the exact date funds were released.

Why the Tax Account Transcript Is the Right One

The IRS offers five free transcript types, and only two record what happened after you filed: the Tax Account Transcript and the Record of Account Transcript (which combines the Tax Account Transcript with the Tax Return Transcript).³ The Tax Return Transcript shows only what you filed on Form 1040; it will not tell you when the IRS sent your money.

If refund information is all you need, the Tax Account Transcript is the most direct choice. It is available online for the current tax year and the nine prior years.³

How to Pull Your Tax Account Transcript

You have three options.

Online

Sign in to your Individual Online Account at IRS.gov. The IRS uses ID.me for identity verification, so you will need a photo of a government-issued ID (driver’s license, state ID, or passport) and your Social Security Number or ITIN.⁴ If you already have an ID.me account from another government agency, you can sign in without re-verifying.⁵ Once you are in, you can view, print, or download the transcript on the spot.⁶

By Phone

Call the automated transcript line at 800-908-9946 to have one mailed to the address on file. This method covers the current year and three prior years, and delivery takes five to ten calendar days.⁶

By Mail

Submit Form 4506-T (Request for Transcript of Tax Return) if you cannot use the online or phone options. This route covers every transcript type and reaches back to older tax years the other methods do not.⁷

Reading Transaction Code 846

Once you have the transcript, scan the transaction list for the line marked “Refund Issued.” That line will show TC 846, a date, and a dollar amount. The date is when the IRS released the payment; the amount is what it sent.¹

For direct deposits, your bank may post the funds on that date or within one to two business days afterward, depending on how quickly it processes incoming transfers. Paper checks arrive on the usual mail timeline from that date forward.

If the dollar amount next to TC 846 is smaller than the refund you claimed on your return, other codes on the transcript will explain the difference. Those are covered further down.

Codes That Show Up Before TC 846

Seeing plenty of activity on your transcript but no TC 846 yet usually means the IRS is still moving your return through processing. Common earlier entries include:

TC 150 (Tax Return Filed): the IRS has logged your return and recorded the initial tax due.¹
TC 806 (Tax Withheld): credit for federal withholding from your W-2s and 1099s.¹
TC 768 (Earned Income Credit): the EITC amount applied to your account.¹
TC 766 (Refundable Credit): other refundable credits, such as the Additional Child Tax Credit or the American Opportunity Tax Credit.⁸

Once total credits and withholding exceed the tax owed and nothing is flagged for review, the system generates TC 846 automatically.¹

Codes That Mean Your Refund Is On Hold

If TC 846 has not appeared and your refund is taking longer than expected, one of these codes usually explains why. Some are routine, but each signals that the IRS has paused payment until a condition clears.

TC 570 (Additional Account Action Pending): processing has paused. Your return may need additional review, or the IRS may be waiting for information such as identity verification.⁹
TC 971 (Notice Issued): the IRS has mailed you a letter. The notice itself will spell out what, if anything, you need to do.⁹
TC 810 (Refund Freeze): the refund is frozen, usually because the return is being reviewed by the Examination division or the Automated Questionable Credit program. TC 811 posts when the freeze lifts.¹⁰
TC 420 (Examination Indicator): the return has been referred to Examination or Appeals for possible audit. It does not guarantee an audit will follow.⁸

TC 570 paired with TC 971 most often means the IRS wants you to respond to the notice before it will release the refund. If more than 30 days have passed since the cycle date on a TC 810 and you have heard nothing, call 800-829-1040 to ask about the status.¹⁰

When TC 846 Shows a Smaller Amount Than Expected

Two situations account for most reductions.

Treasury Offset Program

If you owe a federal agency debt, past-due child support, or certain state debts, the Bureau of the Fiscal Service can redirect part or all of your refund before the IRS sends the remainder. This appears on the transcript as TC 898. The entry shows the offset amount but does not name the agency that took the money.¹¹ To find out which agency claimed the funds, call the Treasury Offset Program at 800-304-3107.¹²

Applied to a Prior-Year Tax Balance

If you owe taxes from another year, the IRS can apply your current refund to that balance without routing it through Treasury Offset. You will get a CP49 notice explaining that all or part of your refund went to a prior-year tax debt.¹³

TC 846 Posted, but the Money Never Arrived

If the date next to TC 846 has passed and nothing hit your account or mailbox, the IRS treats this as a missing refund. You can start a refund trace through any of these channels:¹⁴

The Where’s My Refund tool at IRS.gov.
The automated phone line at 800-829-1954.
A live representative at 800-829-1040.
Form 3911 (Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund). Joint filers must use a representative or Form 3911, because the automated systems cannot start a trace on a joint return.

If a paper check was never cashed, the IRS will cancel it and reissue payment. If someone else cashed the check, the Bureau of the Fiscal Service will send you a claim package with a copy of the cashed check, and that review can take up to six weeks.¹⁴

A rejected direct deposit shows up as TC 841, which means the refund bounced back to the IRS. This usually happens when the account number was wrong or the account had been closed. After TC 841 posts, expect the IRS to reissue the refund as a paper check to the address on file within four to six weeks.¹⁵

Interest If the IRS Was Late

If the IRS takes longer than 45 days after your filing deadline (or 45 days after you filed, if you filed late) to issue a refund, it owes you interest on the delay.¹⁶ You do not have to ask for it. The IRS calculates and adds it automatically, and it appears on the transcript as TC 776 alongside the TC 846 refund entry.¹⁵ The interest is taxable income, and if it is $10 or more, you will get a Form 1099-INT for the year the interest was paid.

1
Taxpayer Advocate Service. Decoding IRS Transcripts and the New Transcript Format: Part II
2
Internal Revenue Service. Online Account and Tax Transcripts Can Help Taxpayers File a Complete and Accurate Tax Return
3
Internal Revenue Service. Transcript Types for Individuals and Ways to Order Them
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Internal Revenue Service. New Identity Verification Process to Access Certain IRS Online Tools and Services
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Internal Revenue Service. How to Register for IRS Online Self-Help Tools
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Internal Revenue Service. Get Your Tax Records and Transcripts
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Internal Revenue Service. Request for Transcript of Tax Return
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Internal Revenue Service. Section 8A – Master File Codes
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Taxpayer Advocate Service. Identity Verification and Your Tax Return
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Internal Revenue Service. 21.5.10 Examination Issues
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Internal Revenue Service. Section 5 – Debtor Master File
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Bureau of the Fiscal Service. Treasury Offset Program – Contact Us
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Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your CP49 Notice
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Internal Revenue Service. Refund Inquiries
15
Internal Revenue Service. 21.4.3 Returned Refunds/Releases
16
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 6611 – Interest on Overpayments