A cycle code is an eight-digit code found on your account transcripts. The cycle code indicates the day your account was posted to the IRS Master File. This date indicates the four digits of the current cycle year, two-digit IRS cycle week, and two-digit processing day of the week.
Understanding Your IRS Cycle Code
When you look at your IRS Tax Transcript, you’ll see a cycle code — it looks something like this:
Example: 20190704
| Part | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2019 | The IRS processing year (not always the same as the tax year you filed). |
| 07 | 07 | The IRS processing week of that year. (Each year has up to 52–53 processing weeks.) |
| 04 | 04 | The day of the week your return was processed. |
That’s called your IRS processing cycle code, and it tells you when your tax return was processed (not the day your refund was sent).
Let’s break it down into simple parts:
Days of the Week in IRS Cycle Codes
The last two digits of the cycle code represent the day of the week the IRS processed your return:
| Cycle Day | Day of the Week |
|---|---|
| 01 | Friday |
| 02 | Monday |
| 03 | Tuesday |
| 04 | Wednesday |
| 05 | Thursday |
(Note: the IRS week starts on Friday, not Sunday, because of their internal batch schedule.)
2025 IRS Processing Cycles
We’ve streamlined the IRS Processing Cycles for easier understanding. Simply locate your cycle code on your account transcript and refer to the charts below to identify the day when the IRS initiated the processing of your tax return.
2025 Transcript Cycle Code Charts
January 2025 IRS Processing Cycles
February 2025 IRS Processing Cycles
March 2025 IRS Processing Cycles
April 2025 IRS Processing Cycles
May 2025 IRS Processing Cycles
June 2025 IRS Processing Cycles
July 2025 IRS Processing Cycles
August 2025 IRS Processing Cycles
September 2025 IRS Processing Cycles
October 2025 IRS Processing Cycles
November 2025 IRS Processing Cycles
December 2025 IRS Processing Cycles
