Interpreting the IRS Transcript, Hub and Cycle Date Theories is Making Heads Spin

There was incorrect information passed around since last week by others, which has caused a lot of unnecessary worry for people. Let’s clear some of that up:

1. Return processing locations are not called “hubs”. If you want to use correct terms, they are a “campus” or “service center”.  To clarify the Memphis/Philly issue: What people are seeing on the transcript is a default account setting that everyone gets before their return is processed. This is TEMPORARY and will change once the return is processed. Memphis is NOT a processing service center. No one’s return is “stuck in Memphis”. Return processing is assigned based on state to Fresno, Austin, Andover, Kansas City, and Philadelphia. (This is also part of the confusion because Philly is both a processing center and a non-filer center.) So, it doesn’t matter what your non-filer transcript looks like. Everyone will have that!
2. Just to clear up the “I saw on the internet that Memphis processes returns” issue, it used to be a processing site, but is not anymore, so yes, you will find old stuff on the internet. But good luck trying to get a return accepted their now.
3. To summarize, it does not matter what Service Center your transcript says if it has not finished processing. Also, there is no significance between having Memphis or Philly. There were NEVER location-based processing delays.
4. There was no “test batch” for PROCESSING. If your return was “accepted” prior to 1/31, it was put into a queue waiting for processing to begin 1/31. So really, it’s only been 8 days (not weeks), and with the known processing delay(s), it is really more like 3-4 days for some.
5. For those with early (pre 1/31) accepted dates, think of it like Black Friday. Everyone lines up waiting for the doors to open, but when they open the doors, just because you were towards the front of the line, doesn’t mean you will be the first ones into the store because there are so many people pushing to get in.

IGMR received this clarification from what we deem a trustworthy source. Hopefully it alleviates some stress and people stop feverishly trying to figure out which ‘hub’ they are in. Happy refunding!