Tax refunds can be delayed for being resequenced or unpostable. Where’s My Refund (WMR) tool on irs.gov might tell you that “Your tax return is still being processed. A refund date will be provided when available.” Resequenced or unpostable circumstances happen behind the scenes while your tax return is being processed.
Resequenced
Resequencing involves correction to an IRS tax return account when there is a problem with the validity of a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) or Social Security Number (SSN). When there is an identity mismatch the IRS Individual Master File (IMF) needs corrected. The IRS needs to research and resolve mismatches and one method to do it is called resequencing. There are a number of reasons the IRS needs to perform resequencing. It can happen automatically or many times a person works your case to research and resolve the problem. The processing of your tax return can be delayed by the research and resequencing process.
Read More: What causes resequencing and how long does it take?
Unpostable
An unpostable transaction is something that happens where a transaction can’t be posted to the Individual Master File (IMF). If something that needs resequenced and isn’t resolved it can become unpostable. Then the return will require corrective action by the IRS. There will be a reason code but it is not something available to see on your transcript. The process to correct unpostable tax return can take 6-8 weeks.
Read More: What is unpostable tax return?