The Refunds Returned Report provides tax professionals with detailed visibility into taxpayer refunds that have been returned to the IRS. This may include scenarios where:
- The taxpayer did not cash a check
- The taxpayer's bank rejected the ACH deposit, often flagged with an R17 return code (commonly seen with neobanks or digital account providers)
Note: The amount returned to the IRS is the net amount minus all associated fees withheld from the tax refund.
Key Details Included in the Report
- Lead Number - A unique identifier assigned by the IRS to track returned funds. This number helps the IRS recognize that multiple taxpayer refunds were returned as part of the same batch.
- Date - The specific date when the refund was wired back to the IRS.
Please note: It may take up to 6 weeks from this date for the return to be fully processed and reflected in the IRS system.
Example scenario
| Example | Scenario | How to Use It |
| Alberto Recendez | Identifying taxpayer Alberto Recendez's returned refund status | The “Refund Amount Returned” column shows the total dollar amount that was sent back to the IRS, while the “Refund Returned Date” reflects the exact date the funds were returned. The “Status” column contains the Lead Number assigned to those funds, which should be referenced when contacting the IRS for assistance. |
Report illustration
The image illustrates how the data is structured, providing details regarding why and when a refund is returned to the IRS.