IRS Help Center
IRS Transcript Codes: What They Mean
Updated
Pulled your IRS account transcript and found a wall of three-digit numbers? Each one is a transaction code that tells a piece of the story behind your return and your refund. This is your plain-English map — find the code you're seeing and open the guide that explains it.
In short: IRS account transcripts use three-digit transaction codes to show what's happening with your return and refund. Look up the codes you see below to find out what each one means and what (if anything) you need to do.
Codes Pointing to a Bigger Tax Problem?
An assessment, an offset, or a refund freeze can be the first sign of a balance you'll need help with. A free, confidential consultation can tell you where you stand — no pressure, no obligation.
How do you read an IRS account transcript?
New to transcripts? Start with how to pull yours and how to actually read it — including the cycle code and processing dates that tell you where you are in the queue.
- How to get your IRS transcript online
- How to read an IRS account transcript
- IRS cycle code meaning
- The "as of" date on your IRS transcript
Every IRS Transcript Code at a Glance
What each code on your account transcript means, and what it does to your refund. Select any code for the full explanation.
| Code | What it means | What it does to your refund |
|---|---|---|
| 150 | Your return posted and tax was assessed | Baseline entry. Your return is on file |
| 290 | Additional tax assessed, or $0.00 closing a review | Can reduce or wipe out a refund |
| 291 | The IRS reduced tax it had previously assessed | May free up a refund or lower a balance |
| 420 | Your return was selected for examination — an audit | Refund is typically held |
| 424 | An exam request — not an audit yet | Can clear without further action |
| 570 | A hold on your account — not an audit | Refund paused until it is released |
| 599 | A late-filed return logged as secured | Often posts as $0.00 |
| 766 | A credit posted to your account | Adds to your refund; 846 usually follows |
| 806 | Your federal withholding credit | Part of the refund calculation, not the refund |
| 810 | A refund freeze | Refund stopped until 811 posts |
| 811 | The refund freeze was removed | 846 usually follows |
| 826 | Your refund was applied to another tax year you owe | Reduces or removes your refund |
| 846 | Refund issued | The day the IRS releases the money |
| 898 | Treasury Offset took your refund for a non-IRS debt | Refund reduced or taken |
| 922 | The AUR underreporter program flagged a mismatch | A CP2000 may follow |
| 971 | A notice was issued | Depends on which notice is coming |
| 977 | Your amended return posted | Restarts the processing timeline |
Amounts and dates on a transcript line change what a code means in your case, and eligibility for any IRS program depends on your own facts.
Refund Codes
These codes track money flowing in your favor. Your refund being issued, withholding and credits posted, and refunds moved between tax years. To work out when a refund filed your way would normally arrive, and when it is late enough that the IRS will discuss it, use the IRS refund tracker.
- Code 846: refund issued date
- Code 806: withholding and credits
- Code 766: credit to your account
- Code 826: refund applied to another year
Which codes mean my refund is on hold?
If your refund stalled, the answer is usually here. These codes signal additional review, an account hold, a refund freeze, or an identity-verification step.
- Code 570: additional account action pending
- Code 971: notice issued
- Codes 570 and 971 together
- Code 810: refund freeze
- Code 811: refund freeze released
- Code 810 freeze and identity verification
Adjustment & Assessment Codes
These codes show the IRS posting your return, changing your balance, or flagging an examination. Use them to track how your assessed tax got to where it is.
- Code 150: tax return filed
- Code 290: additional tax assessed
- Code 291: reduced or removed tax
- Code 420: examination of return
- Code 424: examination request
Other Codes
Less common but important — refund offsets, substitute returns, amended-return processing, and litigation freezes.
- Code 898: refund offset
- Code 599: return secured
- Code 922: review of unreported income
- Code 977: amended return filed
How to get the transcript in the first place
Codes are only useful once you are holding the document. The fastest route is your IRS online account, which shows the tax records for each year. The alternative is Get transcript by mail, and the thing that trips people there is the address: the IRS matches it against the exact street address from your latest tax return, so a recent move is the usual reason a request fails.
You will need the taxpayer identification number the return was filed under, which for most people is a social security number. A tax account transcript is the one that carries the codes on this page. If a lender is asking for figures rather than you, that is a different product: income verification runs through the IRS Income Verification Express Service, not through these transcripts.
Common Questions
The questions taxpayers ask most about why a transcript says one thing and "Where's My Refund" says another, plus when transcripts actually update.
- My transcript updated but WMR didn't
- What day do IRS transcripts update?
- Common IRS transcript myths from Reddit
Browse all guides in the IRS Help Center.
Clarity Tax Relief is not affiliated with the IRS or any government agency. Our guides are general information, not tax or legal advice for your specific situation; eligibility for IRS programs depends on individual facts and circumstances, and no outcome is guaranteed.
Related: Tax Relief Services · IRS Help Center.
“Wage and income transcript - shows data from information returns we receive such as Forms W-2, 1098, 1099, and 5498.”
— IRS, Transcript types and ways to order them
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