IRS Daily and Weekly Account Processing
What is the difference between IRS Daily and Weekly Accounts?
The difference is when your tax return is processed, and when updates are made and posted to your account.
Daily Accounts:
Some transactions post to the Master File on a daily basis as opposed to during the weekly cycle.
If your cycle code ends with a 01, 02, 03, or 04 your account follows Daily processing and usually posts updates on Wednesday Mornings.
⦁ Daily Account tax returns are processed Friday(01), Monday(02), Tuesday(03), Wednesday(04)
⦁ Major updates with direct deposit dates for the Daily account usually take place on Wednesday mornings.
⦁ Accounts that follow Daily processing update on Where’s My Refund(WMR) on Wednesday early mornings with Friday Direct Deposit Dates.
Some individual tax returns require no additional actions to the taxpayer’s account process to the master file on a daily basis, unless you would meet one of the disqualifiers below on the tax account that would make you become a weekly account.
- ITIN Accounts
- Foreign Address
- Campus Address
- Freeze Codes
- Identity Theft Indicators
- Prisoner File
- Related MFT 31 (Bankruptcy, Offer in Compromise, Restitution Related, Tax Court, Innocent Spouse, Exam agreed/ unagreed cases, Taxpayer Assistance Order, Installment Agreement, Currently Not Collectible)
- Criminal Investigation Activity
- Tax Module History (two years prior) with CI, Exam, or Collection Activity
- Civil Penalty Account (MFT 55)
Weekly Tax Accounts:
If your cycle code ends with 05 your account follows Weekly processing and usually posts updates on Saturday Mornings.
⦁ Weekly Account tax returns are processed only on Thursdays(05)
⦁ Major updates with direct deposit dates for the Weekly accounts usually take place on Saturday mornings.
⦁ Accounts that follow Weekly processing updates on Where’s My Refund(WMR) on Saturday early mornings with Wednesday Direct Deposit Dates.
Individual tax returns that require additional actions to ensure the tax return is accurate before it can be processed must continue to be processed on a weekly basis to allow the IRS time to verify and correct the tax return before it posts to the Master File. The IRS included efforts in its software planning to identify specific tax return transactions and taxpayer accounts that require additional review prior to processing the tax return. The IRS has identified approximately 148 million taxpayer accounts that contained characteristics that would cause a tax return to be processed weekly (called disqualifiers).
- Entity: Entity disqualifiers relate to transactions or characteristics that are in the entity portion of a tax account. Examples include accounts marked as identity theft, accounts in bankruptcy litigation, and accounts with an IRS processing center zip code.
- Tax Module – Freeze: Tax Module Freeze disqualifiers relate to conditions present on the individual tax periods within a tax account. Examples include tax periods with a claim pending, with an offer-in-compromise, or marked uncollectible.
- Tax Module – Transactions: Tax Module Transaction disqualifiers relate to codes or transactions present on the individual tax periods within a tax account. Examples include tax periods with certain penalty transactions or underreported issues.
- Incoming Transactions: Incoming transaction disqualifiers relate to conditions posted to tax periods during the prior tax Filing Season. Examples include changes to the tax account or adjustments made to the tax return as a result of actions taken at the time the tax return is processed.
How to determine if your tax return follows daily or weekly processing:
1. You have to have access to your current year’s Account Transcript!
2. Obtain a Copy of your Account Transcripts (If you need help you can visit our Transcript Resources Page)
3. Click on the most recent tax year and your Account Transcript will appear in a new window.
4. Look for the Transactions Sections on your Account Transcript
5. Locate your Cycle in the Transactions section of the Account Transcript
As highlighted in red above Cycle #20150705 is the day your return was posted to the IMF (Individual Master File) and began processing.
*The Processing Day of the Week the last two digits of your cycle code will determine if you are a Daily or Weekly Account.
What is the Cycle Code?
Master File Cycle Date is an 8-digit number found on your account transcripts. This date indicates the 4 digits of the calendar year, two-digit IRS cycle week, and two-digit processing day of the week.
Is my Cycle Code the same as last year?
No, Your cycle code will be different each year that you file a tax return.
Use the charts below to help you translate your cycle code to a calendar date
Daily & Weekly Cycles with PATH
All tax returns will start out either to be daily or weekly accounts once you first get accepted into the Master File. If you are claiming Earned Income Credit or Additional Tax Credits and will be affected by the PATH LAW. All returns claiming the two mentioned credits above will be held under a C-Freeze. When your return is held under a C-Freeze this forces the tax return to update only on a weekly schedule. Everyone with the PATH message whether their cycle code ending in 01, 02, 03, 04, or 05 should see WMR updates on Saturdays. When a C-Freeze is on the account the computer forces the account to post updates on Where’s My Refund(WMR) on Saturdays.
