Transcript Decoder

TC 570 — Additional account action pending (refund hold)

Family: Holds & freezes · Usually needs attention · 33 codes decoded

What this line records

Something on the account needs another action before a refund can be issued, so the refund is held. Common triggers are a review of income, withholding, or credits, or an identity check. It is a pause, not a decision — and on its own it does not say what is being reviewed. 🔊 Listen

What to do / what happens next

Watch for a TC 971 and the letter that follows it — the letter, not this code, names the issue and any reply date. A TC 571 or 572 reverses this hold when the action clears.

Reading a transcript — the primer

A transcript is the IRS's copy of your tax record. There are four types people request, and only one of them carries these codes:

• Account transcript: THE one with TC codes: your return plus every later action — assessments, credits, payments, holds, refunds — in chronological order, with dates and amounts. Negative amounts are credits in your favor; positive amounts increase what you owe.
• Return transcript: The lines of your return as filed, adjusted for math errors. No later activity — it cannot show refunds, holds, or post-filing adjustments.
• Record of account: The two above combined in a single document.
• Wage & income transcript: What payers reported about you — W-2 and 1099 forms. It carries no TC codes; it is the record the document-matching program (TC 922) compares against your return.

Get yours free: your IRS Individual Online Account shows account transcripts instantly (the current year and up to nine prior years online), or request one by mail with Form 4506-T. Never pay a third-party site for your own transcript.

Got a letter instead of a transcript?

Letters and transcripts are two views of the same file. If the IRS mailed you a letter, its code — CP14, CP2000, LT11 — decodes in the Notice Decoder.