IRS Transcript Codes

846 Tax Code on Your IRS Transcript: What Refund Issued Means and When You Get Paid

By Angeline Balsitis, EA · Reviewed by Melissa Ly, Chief Tax Officer · Published November 20, 2025 · Updated September 6, 2026 · Editorial Standards

You pulled up your account transcript and a new line finally posted: 846 Refund Issued, a date, a dollar amount. Then the second look. The date is next week, or the amount is not what your return said. Both have a specific, checkable explanation, and this page walks through each one in the order people actually ask.

The image below shows exactly where the 846 line sits on a real account transcript and how to read the date and amount beside it. Two other numbers on that same page, your cycle code and the codes directly above 846, answer most of the questions people bring to this code.

What "refund issued" (code 846) means on an IRS transcript

Code 846 is the transaction the IRS posts when it has finished processing your return, approved the refund amount, and sent it. Every hold on the account had to clear first. An accepted e-file, a "still processing" bar, even credits posting to the account commit the IRS to nothing; 846 is the only transcript code that means money is actually moving.

That is also how the IRS treats it internally. Its own procedures manual instructs employees, "Do not provide any refund information, unless there is a TC 846 present" (Internal Revenue Manual 21.4.1). If the IRS will not discuss a refund until 846 posts, that line is the one to trust over every other status.

If your transcript earlier showed a code 570 hold or a code 810 freeze, an 846 means those were formally released. You will see a 571 or 811 line above it. If you claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit, the PATH Act held the 846 until mid-February no matter how early you filed.

Here is how the lines you are most likely to see around an 846 fit together. The annotated transcript image on this page shows where each one sits.

“You should receive your refund check within 4 weeks from the date we issue it. You can confirm this date and your refund status in the refund tracker or in your online account”

— Refunds (IRS.gov)

How long after code 846 refund issued does the money arrive

The delivery method on your return controls the timeline more than the 846 date does. On the 846 date the IRS transmits a direct deposit to the banking system or prints a check. From that point the delay is in delivery, not at the IRS.

A direct deposit typically shows up between the 846 date and about five business days later. The exact day is your bank's, not the IRS's: some banks post the deposit the same day it is released, others hold it to the settlement date. A paper check is on a different clock because it travels by mail. The IRS's published window is 4 weeks from the issue date.

IRS code 846 with a future date

An 846 dated next week, or even ten days out, is not an error and not a sign of a review. The IRS schedules refund releases in batches, and the transcript posts the release date ahead of time. Until that date arrives, nothing is owed to you yet and no trace can be started. When the date lands on a weekend or a federal holiday, expect the deposit on the next business day or a little after.

Two things to check while you wait. First, that the amount on the 846 line matches line 35a of your Form 1040. If it does not, the section on a smaller 846 below explains the codes that took the difference. Second, that the bank account and routing number on your return are right. A wrong or closed account turns a direct deposit into a mailed check and adds weeks.

Code 846 posted but no refund: what to do

A missing refund after 846 follows a predictable sequence, and each stage has its own fix.

1. Release day. On the 846 date the IRS sends the direct deposit or mails the check. Calling the IRS before the delivery window closes gets you the same date you are already looking at.
2. The deposit bounces. If the account number was wrong, closed, or not in your name, the bank returns the money. A code 841 may post and the IRS reissues a paper check to your address on file, usually with a CP53 notice. That adds weeks, but the money is not lost.
3. The check is missing. After 4 weeks, request a refund trace. Single filers can often start one by phone at 800-829-1040; on a joint return the IRS asks for Form 3911, Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund. If the check was cashed by someone else, the trace becomes a claim with the Bureau of the Fiscal Service.
4. The check sits uncashed. A Treasury check that is never cashed can expire. The IRS sends a CP32A notice and you can request a replacement, so the money does not disappear. But you have to ask for it again.

Most people who see code 846 need no help at all. If the amount matches your return and the window has not passed, the right move is to wait. No call, fee or service makes a released refund move faster. A bounced deposit being reissued and a simple refund trace are free processes you can run yourself. You can pull your transcript at IRS.gov Get Transcript and check status at IRS.gov/refunds. If a delayed refund is causing real hardship, such as an eviction or a utility shutoff, the Taxpayer Advocate Service can step in at no cost.

Was your 846 smaller because the IRS kept part of it for back taxes?

If a code 826 took part of this refund for a prior year you owe, the same balance takes next year's refund too, and interest and penalties keep accruing on it in between. A licensed tax professional can review your transcript free and map out how to resolve the underlying balance.

Get My Free Transcript Review Call (888) 825-7779

Why the 846 amount is less than the refund on your return

When the 846 amount does not match line 35a of your Form 1040, the difference was taken before release and the codes above the 846 line show exactly where it went. The IRS puts it plainly: "Your refund may be reduced to pay prior taxes owed. Your refund may also be reduced to pay a past due debt such as child support, federal agency nontax debt or state income tax." Three codes carry that on a transcript:

• Code 898, offset to a non-IRS debt. The Treasury Offset Program intercepts refunds for past-due child support, defaulted federal student loans, state income tax and other government debts. The 898 line shows the exact amount taken, and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service mails a notice naming the agency that received it.
• Code 826, applied to another IRS year. If you owe federal tax for a prior year, the IRS applies the refund to that balance first, automatically, every year until it is paid.
• A return adjustment. A code 971 paired with a math-error or adjustment notice such as a CP12 means the IRS changed a number on your return before computing the refund. The letter explains the change and your window to dispute it.

One mismatch runs the other way: an 846 can be larger than your return. When the IRS takes more than 45 days past the filing deadline to issue a refund, it generally adds interest, which posts as its own credit line and rides along with the 846.

Say a couple filed jointly and expected $27,500 back. Their transcript shows code 150 tax of $9,400, code 806 withholding of $35,200 and a $1,700 credit, which nets to the $27,500 on line 35a. Then a code 898 for −$4,850, one spouse's defaulted federal student loan, and an 846 of $22,650. Only one spouse owed that loan, but it came out of a joint refund. The other spouse can file Form 8379, the injured spouse allocation, to recover their share based on their own income, withholding and credits. It can be filed after the offset has already happened.

Terms on your transcript, decoded

• Refund issued (846): the final refund posting. The IRS has approved the amount shown and released it on the date shown.
• Cycle code: the eight-digit number near code 150 that says which weekly or daily batch your account updates in. It predicts when a new code such as 846 can appear.
• "As of" date: a bookkeeping date the IRS uses to compute interest and penalties to a point in time. It is not your refund date and it moves around routinely.
• Refund offset (TOP): the Treasury Offset Program's interception of a refund to pay child support, student loans, state tax or other government debts before the money reaches you.
• Refund trace (Form 3911): the formal process for locating a released refund that never arrived. The IRS asks joint filers to use the form.

Code 846 refund issued: your questions, answered

Your next 24 hours

1. Screenshot the 846 line. Note the date and the exact amount. That is the release date your delivery window counts from, and the number every other check starts with.
2. Pull your Form 1040 and compare. Match the 846 amount to line 35a. If it is short, write down the code above it (898, 826 or 971) and the amount. That tells you which fix applies.
3. If the IRS kept part of the refund for a tax debt, get it reviewed free. That balance intercepts every future refund and keeps growing until it is resolved. Call (888) 825-7779 or use the 2-minute form for a free, no-pressure transcript review.

This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice for your specific situation. Eligibility for IRS programs depends on individual facts and circumstances; no outcome is guaranteed.

Related guides: Can I Still Get a Refund From 3 Years Ago? The Deadline, Explained · Code 810 Refund Freeze: What It Means and How to Fix It · IRS CP53 Notice: The IRS Couldn't Direct-Deposit Your Refund · What Day Do IRS Transcripts Update? Daily vs. Weekly, Explained · Ex-Husband's Tax Debt and My Refund Taken: How to Get It Back