What does code 570 mean on an IRS transcript?

IRS Document 6209 defines transaction code 570 as Additional Liability Pending and/or Credit Hold: it freezes the account from refunding while something is resolved. It is not an audit code (that is 420), and no IRS source attaches a fixed duration to it; review timeframes vary by cause from roughly 60 to 180 days per the Internal Revenue Manual.

What does code 846 mean?

Code 846, Refund of Overpayment, is the transaction that issues your refund; the date beside it is the issuance date and the amount includes any interest. The IRS notes a direct deposit may take up to 5 days to appear in your account after the refund is sent, and a mailed check several weeks.

Do cycle codes tell me my deposit day?

No. Per IRM 3.30.123 the cycle code's final two digits are the master file posting day of that transaction (01 Friday, 02 Monday, 03 Tuesday, 04 Wednesday, 05 Thursday), and weekly accounts process on Thursdays. Nothing in the IRM maps cycle codes to bank deposit days.

IRS Transcript Codes, Decoded From the IRS's Own Manual

Q: Is the As of date on my transcript my refund date?

No IRS source defines the As of date as a refund date, and the IRS says outright that a tax transcript will not help taxpayers find out when they will get their refund. The refund transaction is code 846, which posts with the refund's date and amount.

When your refund stalls, the internet tells you to pull your IRS account transcript, and then leaves you alone with codes like 570, 971, and 846. Most explanations online are folklore. These are the official definitions from IRS Document 6209, the agency's own transaction code reference, and the Internal Revenue Manual, translated into plain English, including what each code does and does not mean for your refund.

First, the IRS's own caution: the agency's refund myth page says a transcript "will not help taxpayers find out when they will get their refund," and points to Where's My Refund as the tool for that. A transcript shows what has happened on your account; it does not schedule what happens next.

The refund path

150

Code 150: Return Filed and Tax Liability Assessed

Your return posted, and this is the tax the IRS assessed from it. It is your tax, not your refund.

Full decode → 806

Code 806: Credit for Withheld Taxes

The withholding from your W-2s and 1099s, credited to your account exactly as claimed on the return.

Full decode → 766

Code 766: Refundable Credit Allowance

A refundable credit the IRS allowed on your account, such as the additional child tax credit or a stimulus-type credit. In one special case it instead reverses an offset.

Full decode → 768

Code 768: Earned Income Credit

Your EIC posting to the account as a credit.

Full decode → 846

Code 846: Refund Issued

The refund transaction itself. The date beside it is the date the IRS issued your refund, and the amount is what was sent, including any interest.

Full decode →

Holds and freezes

570

Code 570: Additional Liability Pending or Credit Hold

A hold. Something on the account needs resolving before the IRS will release your refund or move credit off the module.

Full decode → 571

Code 571: Hold Released

The 570 hold is over.

Full decode → 810

Code 810: Refund Freeze

A stronger stop than a 570: the whole refund side of the account is frozen pending review.

Full decode → 811

Code 811: Refund Freeze Reversed

The 810 freeze lifted, fully or partly.

Full decode →

Offsets

826

Code 826: Overpayment Applied to Another Year

Part or all of your overpayment went to pay a different tax period you owe, instead of coming back to you.

Full decode → 898

Code 898: Treasury Offset (Non-IRS Debt)

A different agency took part of your refund through the Treasury Offset Program: typically past-due child support, federal student loans, state income tax, or other government debts.

Full decode →

Exam and review

420

Code 420: Examination Indicator

Your return was referred to the exam function for consideration. This is the transcript's actual audit-related code.

Full decode → 971

Code 971: Miscellaneous Transaction

A marker whose meaning depends entirely on its action code. On many accounts it appears when the IRS issues a notice, but that is one case among dozens.

Full decode →

421

Code 421: Examination Referral Reversed

The exam referral closed. If you were watching a 420 nervously, this is the code you wanted.

424

Code 424: Examination Request

An earlier-stage exam referral marker, reversible by 421 like the 420.

922

Code 922: Underreporter Review

The document-matching program compared your return against W-2s and 1099s on file. If it finds a gap, the letter that follows is a CP2000.

Collection markers

520

Code 520: Litigation or Bankruptcy Hold

A legal proceeding, commonly bankruptcy, put a hold on the account.

530

Code 530: Currently Not Collectible

The IRS marked the balance as not collectible for now, the hardship status decoded in our CNC guide.

582

Code 582: Lien Indicator

A federal tax lien exists for this period. The letter behind it is typically Letter 3172, with appeal rights attached.

Amended and duplicate returns

976

Code 976: Duplicate Return Posted

A second return hit the account, and the module froze until a human sorts out which filing governs.

977

Code 977: Amended Return Posted

Your amended return posted and is in the processing queue.

Cycle codes: what the eight digits really are

The cycle code (like 20260705) is a posting stamp, not a delivery schedule. Per IRM 3.30.123 it reads year, week number, then a day digit for when the transaction posted to the master file: 01 is Friday, 02 Monday, 03 Tuesday, 04 Wednesday, 05 Thursday. Weekly-processed accounts post on Thursdays, which is the true origin of the "05 account" label. Nothing in the IRS's manual connects any cycle digit to the day a deposit reaches your bank.

The "As of" date

No live IRS source defines the As of date, and none assigns it refund meaning, so neither do we. Treat it as an internal accounting date. The refund, when it exists, is the code 846 line, which carries its own date and amount.

Where did Tax Topic 152 go?

Tax Topic 152, the generic refund-information topic that Where's My Refund used to show, has been retired: its page now redirects to the IRS's general refunds page, which gives the current timing guidance of about 3 weeks for an e-filed return and 6 or more weeks for a mailed one. Seeing a reference to it was never a problem indicator, and now it is not even a page.

The folklore hall of fame

"A blank transcript or N/A means audit." No IRS source says this anywhere. It typically means the return has not finished (or started) posting.

"Transcripts update for everyone on Tuesdays and Fridays, and 05 accounts deposit Wednesdays." The only official day mapping is the posting-day table above. Deposit scheduling by cycle code appears nowhere in the IRM.

"Ordering a transcript is a secret way to get a refund date." The IRS lists this as a myth by name on its refund myth-busting page.

Sources: IRS Document 6209, Section 8A; IRM 21.5.6 (freeze codes); IRM 3.30.123 (cycles); IRS: myth-busting federal tax refunds; IRS: transcript types. Verified July 2026; Document 6209 revises annually.

General educational information, not tax advice. Transcript entries reflect your account's specific facts; a credentialed tax professional can read yours in context. ClearChoiceRadar is not affiliated with the IRS or any government agency.