The following table will assist you in selecting command codes that will assist in your research. For additional information on these Command Codes (CC), see IRM 2.3.1, IDRS Terminal Responses. Research should be done for valid and invalid segments. This list is not all inclusive.

You must first establish the Fact of Filing (FOF). Opening a control base will bring up a master file account in any campus or generate a Transaction Code (TC) 904 in 11 to 18 calendar days, depending upon the day of the week you input your request.

A TC 904 with the Document Code (DC) "99" will appear on IDRS if the master file does not contain the module requested but the TIN and Name Control (NC) match.

A TC 904 with DC "79" will appear if the master file contains no such TIN or NC match.

The exceptions to sending the Letter 109C, Return Requesting Refund Unlocatable or Not Filed; Send Copy, are:

Returns filed electronically are identified by a unique Filing Location Code (FLC) shown as the first two digits in the Document Locator Number (DLN). Refer to http://serp.enterprise.irs.gov/databases/irm.dr/current/6209.dr/6209ch04.3.htm, Document 6209, for a list of FLCs.

The return has been processed:

Command Codes IMFOLT/BMFOLT and TXMOD will indicate whether a Transaction Code (TC) 846 refund is issued via paper or direct deposit. TC 846 will appear on IMFOLT approximately one cycle before TXMOD. CC TXMOD will also show an indicator on TC 840.

Research both primary and secondary TINs to determine possible offset. Advise taxpayers with the following debt indicators on CC INOLE an offset may occur:

Use the following statement or similar notification:" The refund may be offset to satisfy other outstanding liabilities." See IRM 21.4.6, Refund Offset, for more detailed information.

Command Codes IMFOLT/BMFOL and TXMOD will indicate when a refund (TC 846 only) is issued. For IMF accounts, the indicator DD:0 (paper check) or DD:9 (direct deposit) will appear near the right margin either on the same line as the TC 846 or the next line down. If the taxpayer requests their refund be deposited into more than one account, each deposit will reflect a TC 846 with a split refund indicator of 1, 2, or 3. If the taxpayer requests only one direct deposit or a paper check, the indicator will be 0. Below is an explanation of the indicators:

Using the following table, determine when the refund was or will be issued and advise taxpayer. For additional information on Customer Account Data Engine (CADE) processing, see paragraph 4 and 5 below.

The literal CADE will appear in the upper right hand corner of CC IMFOLI and IMFOLT if the account is currently on CADE. However, since accounts can move between CADE and IMF, the CADE literal is not an indicator that the refund was processed through Cade.

Unlike IMF processing which occurs in weekly cycles, CADE processing occurs on a daily basis. CADE cycle dates will carry an additional two digit field to indicate the day of the week processing occurred. The cycle date will post in a YYYYCCDD format. IMF accounts will be signified by an 08 in the DD field or the field will be blank. CADE days of the week will be signified by:

To determine the direct deposit date on account processed through CADE, subtract two business days from the TC 846 date on IMFOL. No calculation is required for paper refunds. The TC 846 date is the check issue date.

If research indicates the refund check was recently issued or scheduled to be issued, and the taxpayer indicates a change of address but does not meet oral statement criteria, advise the taxpayer to complete Form 8822, Change of Address. Also advise the taxpayer the check may be delivered to the old address and will be re-issued to the current address if it is returned to the IRS. If the taxpayer submitted a change of address to the U. S. Postal Service, the check should be delivered to the new address. See the instructions for ordering forms in IRM 21.3.6.4.1 , Ordering Forms and Publications. For complete guidelines regarding oral statement address change, see IRM 3.13.5.12, Address Changes from Oral Statements. If the account has an S- freeze, follow procedures in IRM 21.4.3.4.3, Undeliverable Refund Checks.

If research indicates the refund was issued, see IRM 21.4.1.3.4, Refund Issued, But Lost, Stolen, Destroyed or Not Received.

Refunds can be issued to both spouses from the same module in the same cycle or a taxpayer can request their refund be deposited into more than one account. For more information on Split Refunds, see IRM 21.4.1.4.7, Direct Deposits - General Information.

Injured spouse claims received with the original return can be adjusted at the same time using specific reference numbers. See IRM 21.4.6.5.9.3, Form 8379 Filed with Original Return.

TC 846 for primary and secondary Social Security Numbers (SSN) will carry the same Document Locator Number (DLN), therefore both refunds will be stopped when intercepting with CC "NOREF" .

Except on split refunds, refund claims input using CC "CHKCL" on more than one refund issued in the same cycle often "OOPS" . It may be necessary to submit the claim through Payments, Claims and Enhanced Reconciliation (PACER) or Treasury Check Information System (TCIS).

If the taxpayer states he received the check and the check was lost, stolen, or destroyed and a TC 840/846 is present on the module, refer to IRM 21.4.2, Refund Trace and Limited Payability .

If research shows a refund has been generated and the taxpayer states he did not receive the check, use the following "If–And–Then" table to assist in resolving the issue:

If refund trace action is required, follow procedures in IRM 21.4.2, Refund Trace and Limited Payability.

When a return attempts to establish a module on master file without an address, the following occurs:

For additional information, see IRM 21.4.3.4.3.1 , Undelivered Refund Notices, Computer Paragraph (CP) 31 for Individual Master File, CP 231 for Business Master File, or IRM 21.4.3.4.3.2, Local Undelivered Refund Check Listing (URCL).

If your research indicates that the return was processed but the refund was never issued, or the amount was not what the taxpayer expected, the problem may be due to tax offsets, math errors, freeze conditions, invalid Social Security Number (SSN) or Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), or credit elect, among other things.

After completing the research, advise the taxpayer why the amount differed or why refund was not sent.

If the refund amount, Transaction Code (TC) 840/846 agrees with the amount shown on the taxpayers return but the taxpayer received less, a non-tax offset was made through the Treasury Offset Program (TOP).

The following will assist you in responding to a taxpayer who received a refund, but had expected a different amount:

For information regarding Debtor Master File (DMF), Treasury Offset Program (TOP) Offset Bypass Refund, Hardship and Injured Spouse, see IRM 21.4.6, Refund Offset.

A taxpayer's refund may be less than expected or not received due to an error or an item being disallowed on the return. To identify and resolve math errors, see IRM 21.5.4, General Math Error Procedures.

If the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) on the return does not pass validity checks on Integrated Data Retrieval System (IDRS), it is considered invalid.

If your research shows that the account is in "Status 12" with a credit balance on the module, a freeze code will be on the account. This can be identified on CC "IMFOL" , "BMFOL" , "TXMOD" or "SUMRY" with an alpha character (A–Z). For information on resolving these accounts refer to IRM 21.5.6, Freeze Codes.

A taxpayer may elect to have all or a portion of an overpayment credited to the next year's estimated tax (ES). The "credit elect" can be recognized by Transaction Code (TC) 836 on the current year's module and TC 716 on the following year's module. Access Command Code (CC) "REINF" or "IMFOL" if there is no data on CC "TXMOD" .

When a taxpayer inquires about a refund and research shows the overpayment was applied as a credit elect for the following year, the overpayment is only refundable if:

A direct deposit indicator will post with the TC 846 and can be identified on TXMOD/IMFOLT as DD:9.

Effective January 1, 2008, if a taxpayer files their tax return and requests a direct deposit of their refund, but later determines the return contained an incorrect Routing Transit Number or account number, the direct deposit may be stopped by inputting TC 971 AC 850 prior to the posting of the return (TC 150) on CC IMFOLT. Input of a TC 971 AC 850 will result in the issuance of a paper refund check to the address shown on the taxpayer's entity module. If the return has posted, the direct deposit refund cannot be prevented by input of TC 971 AC 850. See IRM 21.4.1.4.7.1(4), Direct Deposit of Refunds for exceptions.

Effective January 1, 2010, and on tax year 2009 returns, taxpayers could elect to get their tax refund in the form of Series I U.S. Savings Bonds. Effective January 1, 2011, and on tax year 2010 and subsequent returns, taxpayers have more options available for purchasing savings bonds.

Effective January 2011, Treasury launched a "pilot" program called MyAccountCard (MAC) offering a selected group of low- to mid-income taxpayers the opportunity to receive their refund in the form of a prepaid debit card. Only taxpayers who received a letter from Treasury were eligible for the program. The letter provided them with application instructions. Depending on the success of the "pilot" program, it may be expanded to include all taxpayers in the future. There is no indicator on the tax module to identify these refunds, and the refund trace process will follow the same procedures as any other direct deposit. Treasury offered variations of MyAccountCard through four different financial institutions in order to evaluate which product features, fee structures and marketing messages generate the greatest positive response from taxpayers. The participating financial institutions are:

See MyAccountCard for more information.

Various tax return preparers also offer non-Treasury prepaid debit cards as a method to receive tax refunds. Taxpayers who want to select this method for their refund should contact their preparer or the issuer of the debit card for information regarding the use of these cards for receiving refunds. This includes the routing transit number and account number, any fees associated with the card's use, how to enter the request on the tax return in the direct deposit section of the refund, and limits on the amount of deposits and withdrawals. Refund traces on these accounts will follow the same procedures as any other direct deposit. See IRM 21.4.1.4.7.4, Non-Receipt, Lost, Stolen or Destroyed Prepaid Debit Cards, for more information.

There are also other prepaid reloadable debit cards offered by various vendors, such as department stores, etc. As in the case of the preparer debit cards, taxpayers inquiring about using a prepaid debit card to receive their tax refund should be directed to the vendor offering the card. The vendor will be able to provide information such as the routing transit number and account number, any fees associated with the card's use, how to enter the request on the tax return in the direct deposit section of the refund, and limits on the amount of deposits and withdrawals. Refund traces on these accounts will follow the same procedures as any other direct deposit. See IRM 21.4.1.4.7.4, Non-Receipt, Lost, Stolen or Destroyed Prepaid Debit Cards, for more information.

Taxpayers can request their refund be deposited (split) into as many as three bank accounts/investment vehicles; a combination of savings, checking, Individual Retirement Account (IRA), or Series I Savings Bonds. Split Refunds will be allowed on all Forms 1040 series (paper and electronic returns). Taxpayers who want their refund deposited into more than one account will be required to complete a Form 8888, Allocation of Refund (Including Savings Bond Purchases). The request for split refund will be honored if all of the following conditions are met:

A split refund indicator on IDRS will be used to identify refunds as follows:

Changes made by the IRS that increase or reduce the total refund will affect the amount identified with split refund code 3, then refund code 2, then 1, if relevant.

Since the refunds at Financial Management Service (FMS) will be sorted in ascending order by Routing Transit Numbers (RTN), offsets will be taken in RTN order, not by the split refund indicator. There are times when FMS transmits the information to the financial institution and the routing number is invalid or the bank account has been closed. When this occurs, part of the refund may be issued in a paper check and part may be direct deposit.

If a taxpayer has not received their direct deposit, see IRM 21.4.1.4.7.1, Direct Deposit of Refunds .

The Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) indicator "0" is the standard indicator for all refunds. Regardless of whether the taxpayer requested direct deposit or not, the indicator reflects that the refund was processed as requested by the taxpayer. It includes direct deposits that have passed all validity checks and paper checks. For all acceptable direct deposits, the EFT indicator will be "0" followed by the EFT information. The EFT indicators are as follows:

The following section contains procedures for resolving taxpayer refund inquiries.

With Taxpayer Information File (TIF) centralization, it is no longer necessary to contact the issuing center or your local Notice Review to stop the refund. Input of CC NOREF will stop a refund regardless of the Campus and will be evident when viewing the account. Use the Command Code (CC) "NOREF" to intercept erroneous refunds and update the Refund Information File (RFIF). Refer to IRM 2.4.37, Command Code NOREF Overview for a complete description and input requirements.

CC "NOREF" :

Refunds can be issued to both spouses from the same module in the same cycle. TC 846 for primary and secondary Social Security Number (SSN) will carry the same Document Locator Number (DLN); therefore both refunds will be stopped when intercepting.

Complete all account actions, except credit transfers, when requesting to stop a refund. Transfer a credit after the TC 841 posts. If the account action you are taking will result in a balance due, input TC 470 to hold any balance-due notices that may generate. It takes 4-6 weeks for the TC 841 to post.

Employees stopping the refund will maintain an open control on all cases where a CC "NOREF" is input. The employee places the open control in "B" or "M" status (monitoring). The case can be closed when confirmation is received that the refund has been stopped.

The controlling employee must monitor for the TC 841 and take appropriate action. If there is an adjustment on the module and the control is in background, the CSR should make the adjustment based on the information provided by the taxpayer.

If the module contains a background control without an adjustment to the account, the controlling employee may be waiting for information from the taxpayer. If the information can be used to close the account, contact the controlling employee. Prepare a Form 4442, Inquiry Referral, include all of the taxpayer information and forward the case to the controlling employee.

When the TC 841 posts to the account, take the necessary action to release the "P" Freeze and close the control base.

If the TC 841 does not post within 4-6 cycles:

The "HAL" program is to be used when a refund must be intercepted but it is too late to use Command Code (CC) "NOREF" . This program is available for use the day after the "NOREF" cutoff day. Requesting a refund intercept using this program causes the Financial Management Service (FMS) to physically locate and pull the refund check. Therefore always try to meet the CC "NOREF" time frames.