That only makes sense. Until they give me back what they owe and fix their mistake with the Advance CTC, I don’t want to have to deal with them.
Is the interest they pay fixed at 6% or does it go up with inflation?
It changes quarterly.
Posted solely for informational purposes:
Subject: WMR (Where’s My Refund) - Status bar disappears
If this happens to you, and if you prior have checked and confirmed your return was received: do not panic. However:
As many folks have commented, the WMR tracker status bar may disappear or not be shown if your return falls under IRS review after it is received ( Status Bar 1: Return Received ) because additional information is needed for your return. This can happen even if you previously checked WMR and it showed the status as “Return Received.” An explanation or instructions will be provided depending on the situation (eg PATH message or see Tax Topic 152)
But don’t panic when this happens. The IRS still has your return but things are essentially on hold until the IRS gets the additional information from you to continue processing your return . You will either get directions on WMR or IRS2Go or the IRS will contact you by mail.
Follow the provided instructions and return any additional information ASAP to get your potential refund and reduce any further delays. Talk to your accountant, tax advocate or tax professional if you are not clear on what the IRS is asking for or you don’t get an update after 21 days.
Also noteworthy:
WMR status is updated only one time each day at around 3:00 am ET. So constant checking will avail you nothing. Just check once each day if you wish.
Ha! Dont count on that. Maybe I just wasnt patient enough, but twice now I’ve waited at least 8 months without being contacted in any way, only to have the issue quickly resolved with a phone call.
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Supposedly those “traditional” logins will no longer work come this summer. I don’t think there was a loophole, they just hadn’t shut down enrollments yet.
So this headline states they’re allowing opt outs to the whole id.me BS:
But…
Those trying to access their online accounts can instead verify their identity through a live, virtual interview with a representative from a third-party service, ID.me.
A f’ing live interview just to be able to log into your IRS account!!! Who the f#@k comes up with this insanity???
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Post was deleted by the author.
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Yes I thought that was the plan to phase this type of login after June 22. I was hoping that they’d keep them going after removing the ID.me facial recognition stuff.
But it sounds like they’re just sticking with ID.me, just replaced the third party facial recognition surveillance with a cumbersome third party intrusive interview that you know is never gonna scale properly during tax season when millions of people access their accounts.
Way to misread the room. We don’t want an intrusive login process using a non-governmental third party with no oversight. How hard was that to understand?
Fortunately it sounds like they’ll use Login.gov next year. I’ve already got our two accounts setup which required none of this ID.me nonsense (just usual Authenticator App or SMS verification). Hopefully soon, it’ll be an option for login into IRS, preferably before they phase out the old username/password method.
Very Happy Camper!!
I am so pleased this morning! During the overnight it was posted to WMR that my refund has been approved! They also acknowledged my I bond purchase. Here is my data point:
My return was filed back around 16-17 days ago using 4F (Free File Fillable Forms). In all my years of filing taxes this is the first time I ever e-filed. And I’m pretty certain my 2020 return, filed on paper, still has not been processed by the IRS. I owed money for 2020 so there was no wait for a refund.
With my filing for 2021, of course, the I bonds are the focus. I did the needed overpayment at time I made my last quarterly tax payment, middle of January. All 2021 quarterly payments were made by credit card. So there is no paper anywhere in my 2021 activity with the IRS.
What I like most about this morning’s WMR response to my 4F filing, which of course included Form 8888, is the following language I found after logging into WMR:
You requested that part or all of your refund be used for a US Savings Bond(s) purchase.
It may take up to three weeks from the date your refund was sent for your Savings Bonds to arrive in the mail. The Bureau of the Public Debt will mail your bonds to the address shown on your tax return.
If you do not receive the savings bond(s) you should contact Treasury Retail Securities at 1-844-284-2676.
I anticipated the delay, something about which I think others have posted. The key for me, though, is that, even with the delay, with any luck my bonds should still be issued prior to the May first rate reset.
Timing . . . . is everything.
If my bonds are issued on the schedule they indicate I should have a full year at a high interest rate. After that?
Nobody knows where inflation will be headed, so the November first rate reset is a crapshoot. Given how bad things are now inflation wise, though, I feel really good about May first.
While the I bonds are 99% of my focus, here is what the IRS is saying about the dollar portion of my refund:
The amount not used to purchase bonds is scheduled to be refunded by March 2, 2022.
If you do not receive the refund by March 7, 2022 , please contact us again. We are unable to take any action until then.
That’s fine by me. Long as my I bonds show up before May first I’m gonna be extremely pleased. 
ETA
For anyone unfamiliar:
WMR = Where’s My Refund
Form 8888 is used to devote a portion of your refund to purchase of I bonds.
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Glad to hear, especially with your mystery of the vanishing form 8888 when printing your return.
I’m still waiting on one K-1 (says it’ll be available next week), which should still leave them with a healthy 2 months to get my return processed and bond issued with the current rate.
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I think you have a chance. You’re cutting it closer, though, than would leave me feeling comfortable. Thing is:
That “up to three weeks” on the bonds leaves a whole lot of wiggle room. Apparently the IRS sends the I bond money over to the Treasury on the same day they actually issue the remainder of the refund. There are lots of stories about IRS delays. But I know nothing about possible delays in I bond issuance.
With my own refund happening so early in March, I have hope that all of my I bonds might be issued (later) in March, which would leave me earning interest from first of March onward. That would be very cool.
I’m quite excited about all this because it is my first time buying I bonds this way. Next year I certainly will do this all over again. But there will not be so much drama . . . . or fun, either.
Next year it’ll just be routine.
I’m just optimistic, not comfortable. Not like I can do anything about it anyways. 
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Pursuant to my earlier posts, here is an update:
I received the dollar (non-I bond) portion of my tax refund today, as promised if not a tad early.
This leaves almost the entire month of March for my I bonds to be issued so with luck I will be getting interest from March first onward. Pretty sweet. Consider:
I paid for my final estimated tax payment by credit card, which included money for the I bonds. There is a small profit on that transaction because I used a rewards card. Also the payment occurred just after my statement closed. Hence:
The Alliant portion of that payment was not even billed until middle of February and there is no need to pay it off until eighth of March. The money for that payment is currently on deposit and is earning interest.
So bottom line: can you say “double interest” 
Course if my I bonds are not issued some time during this month the double interest goes away. And with the “gubberment” involved you never know and can take nothing whatsoever for granted. But I’ve done my best and that’s all I can do. 
I’m so happy and pleased to report that my IRS refund is deposited in my bank account today. Received my State refund a couple days ago.
As shinobi says, I’m a happy camper now. 
Of coarse it’s just a matter of how we look at taxation. I’m looking forward to another day (maybe Trump) when we see lower taxes.
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I know budget deficit hawks are not popular but I really hope not. His previous tax cuts never paid for themselves - these have never done and never will -. Now the Dems kept them and increased spending on welfare. Perfect combo. Do we really need to operate further in the red than we already are?
IMO the only case time they should be allowed to lower taxes is when we had a budget surplus the previous year. Since nobody has any fiscal discipline and the order of the day on both side is to buy votes (via handouts for Dems or lower taxes for GOP), these surpluses are never gonna happen so they should never be allowed to lower taxes.
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Shandril, thanks for the comments. But you’re reading to hard into my closing remarks.
Just thinking about political maneuvering gets boring sometimes.
I’m unusually happy about getting my tax refunds earlier than in the past years.
And closing with a mention of Trump and lowered taxes was really in jest.
I got the last bit of information, and got my return filed last night. However, I undershot the desired $5k refund, so my entire refund will be going towards ibonds. I’m understanding that your experience is that my refund status will still update to reflect the bond purchase request being processed? I guess the bonds will just show up when they show up regardless, but it will be nice to see an update that something is happening. At first I was worried that no refund check would mean no refund updates.
First of all, sorry to learn you missed on the $5k. Tough one.
Now on to your question:
Yes, WMR will have information for you right along. You need to wait a day or two before your first inquiry. Your first milestone is WMR notice that your return has been accepted for processing. After that, if they find no errors, omissions, or other such delay providers, WMR will eventually tell you your refund has been approved. As I indicated up thread, reaching that second stage for me took between two and three weeks.
The timing of the third and final stage, refund sent, is a little quirky. I actually had my (dollar) refund, in my bank account, before that third stage triggered. But for you that third stage will be more important because you have no dollar refund. So:
When you reach your third WMR stage it will tell you your (presumably) entire refund has been sent to the Bureau of Public Debt with instructions to send you your I bonds. However, I smell a wrinkle:
Unless the amount of your refund can be fulfilled entirely, and precisely, with I bonds, I think it likely there will be a small residual amount of money they will need to refund to you in “cash”. Unless you gave them the data they need to ACH that (small amount of) money to you, I’m guessing they will issue you a check.
Anyway, keep watching WMR. It is easy to do so, and it will let you know where things stand. Good luck and I hope your I bonds arrive before first of May.
Note:
WMR = Where’s My Refund
Well, it seems my first milestone is still getting it submitted. Freefillableforms keeps telling me it’s been rejected due to a number on the Premium Tax Credit form. The instructions say “divide line 3 by line 4, if over 401% list 401.” I’ve tried both 401%, and the actual result (5XX%) with the fractional remainder both rounded up and dropped.
Understood. That also happened to me, but for a different reason.
Sorry, but I have no knowledge about your particular situation so I’m unable to offer any help at all. I hope you’re able to work that out.
I know when my initial 4F submission was rejected I was, to say the least, quite dismayed and disappointed. But I had (what sounds like) a simpler problem to solve than you have. Tough one. Hope you are able to get your return accepted.
Finally, you’re right of course. WMR is not even turned on until your return is accepted. That is step one.
I’ve tried a dozen times, all rejected as an invalid number. On freefillableforms, I found a support page to submit issues, which the claim will be responded to within 2 days. I have zero faith that snail-mailing my return will get it processed quick enough to get my bond issued in April, so I’m going to wait the two days and see what, if anything, they say.