IRS Letter 4464C Notice: Return Under Review Before Refund
A Letter 4464C means the IRS is holding your refund while it verifies the return you filed — typically the income, withholding, or credits claimed — for up to 60 days. You usually don't need to do anything, and it is not an audit.
Deadline calculator
The Letter 4464C clock runs from the date printed on the notice — not the day you opened it.
Estimate only, based on the standard 60-day Letter 4464C window. Your notice controls — always use the specific date printed on it.
What a Letter 4464C actually means
The 4464C comes from the IRS's pre-refund verification screens, which cross-check the wages and withholding on your return against what employers actually reported. Returns with early-season filing, large refundable credits, or W-2 income the IRS hasn't matched yet get held most often. It's a screening pause, not an accusation.
Most 4464C holds resolve themselves: the employer's W-2 data arrives, the numbers match, the refund releases. The cases that drag are usually mismatches — a W-2 the employer never filed, withholding that doesn't line up, or an employer that went out of business. That's when the IRS follows up asking for paystubs or other proof, and when having your documentation organized pays off.
What to do, step by step
- 1Verify your own numbers first: compare the return's income and withholding against your actual W-2s and 1099s, so you know whether the hold is likely to clear on its own.
- 2Don't file an amended return or a duplicate — the review has to finish either way, and duplicates make it slower.
- 3Track status through the Where's My Refund tool and your IRS online account; a transcript showing a refund date beats any phone call.
- 4If 60 days pass with no refund and no further letter, call the number on the letter — and if the delay is causing hardship, the Taxpayer Advocate Service can take the case.
- 5If a follow-up letter asks for paystubs or employer verification, respond quickly and completely — that's the mismatch scenario, and it doesn't resolve without you.
Common questions
Is a 4464C letter an audit?+
No. It's pre-refund verification — the IRS matching your reported income and withholding against employer filings before releasing money. No records request, no examination. If the IRS later needs documents, it sends a separate letter asking for them specifically.
What's the difference between a 4464C and a CP05?+
Functionally very little — both hold the refund while the IRS verifies the return, and both usually require nothing from you. They come from different IRS review programs, which is why the letters look different. Either way: verify your own numbers, watch your transcripts, and escalate after the stated window passes.
Can I speed up a 4464C review?+
Mostly no — the review runs on the IRS's matching timeline. What helps at the margins: making sure your employer actually filed its W-2s (ask payroll if you suspect trouble), not filing duplicates, and going to the Taxpayer Advocate Service if the hold passes 60 days and is causing genuine financial hardship.
Checked against IRS primary sources — see how we source these guides. You can verify any notice directly at IRS.gov. The dates and instructions printed on your specific notice always control.
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