"Additional account action pending." That is the kind of language people see next to a TC 570, usually right where they expected a refund. The line is zero dollars. The effect is not.
The definition
Document 6209 titles TC 570 "Additional Liability Pending and/or Credit Hold." It "indicates additional liability pending" and "freezes (-R freeze) module from refunding or offsetting credit out."
Read that carefully. A TC 570 does not say you owe more. It says something might change, and until it is resolved the credit on the module stays put. No refund. No offset to another year.
TC 571 is the reversal. Document 6209 says it "releases the 570/576 freeze status." TC 572 is used to remove a TC 570 input in error.
What generates a TC 570
A TC 570 can be input by an IRS employee, and Document 6209 also lists situations in which it is generated automatically. Among them:
- A return,
TC 150, posted with computer condition code 3 on individual accounts, or X on business accounts. - A document code 34 credit transaction input with a credit freeze code.
- A
TC 670payment that creates a credit balance when an unreversedTC 420orTC 424exam indicator is on the module. - A document code 54
TC 291with priority code 7 in blocking series 740 to 769. - A
TC 150in blocking series 920 to 929. - A
TC 24Xpenalty transaction with reference number 699. - A
TC 680designated interest payment that results in a credit balance of $5 or more. - A delinquent return refund hold, Julian date 999.
You will not usually see the condition code or the blocking series on a taxpayer transcript. What you will see is the TC 570 and the cycle it posted in. If it posted in the same cycle as your TC 150, something about the return itself triggered it. If it posted later, look at what else posted near it.
Common companions
On individual accounts, a TC 570 often travels with a TC 971. Document 6209 lists several TC 971 action codes that explain why a return or refund is being reviewed. Two that matter here:
- Action code 140: cases selected systemically by the Automated Questionable Credit unit for review after posting due to potential non-compliant withholding or refundable credit. Document 6209 says plainly: "The refund is frozen until a review is complete."
- Action code 522: identity theft documentation received, which the IRM's transcript procedures describe as a pending claim of identity theft, case not resolved.
If your TC 570 sits next to one of these, the hold has a specific reason and a specific unit behind it. That tells you who to contact and what they will want. Identity theft holds are covered in the IRS's identity theft procedures; credit reviews usually involve a letter asking for documentation.
What releases a TC 570
Document 6209 lists the release events for the hold. The ones you are most likely to see:
| Release | What it looks like on the transcript |
|---|---|
| Reversal | TC 571 (or TC 572 if the 570 was an error) |
| Adjustment | TC 29X other than priority codes 6 or 7 or blocking series 200 to 299, often a TC 290 .00 |
| Exam result | TC 30X other than disposal codes 7 or 11 |
| Original return | TC 150 |
| Balance change | Module goes to zero or a debit balance |
So the good news on a held refund often arrives as one of two lines: a TC 571, or a zero-dollar TC 290. Either one, followed by a TC 846, means the refund issued. If the release posts and the refund amount is smaller than expected, look for a TC 826 moving part of the credit to another year. See TC 846: Refund Issued.
TC 576: the cousin
Document 6209 also describes TC 576, "Unallowable Tax Hold," generated by a TC 150 with a credit balance and unallowable tax. It "holds the Unallowable Tax to the extent of the Credit Balance in suspense" and freezes that amount from refund and offset out. The 6209 entry notes "this amount has not been assessed." TC 577 reverses it. TC 571 releases both the 570 and 576 freeze status.
If you see a TC 576, the IRS has identified an item on the return it considers unallowable and is holding back the corresponding part of the refund while it is resolved.
TC 570 vs. other freezes
A TC 570 is not the only reason a refund can stall. A TC 420 exam indicator freezes the module. A TC 810 refund freeze does too. A duplicate or amended return can set its own freeze. And refunds involving the earned income credit or the additional child tax credit have a statutory timing rule: IRC 6402(m) says no credit or refund of an overpayment for a taxable year shall be made before the 15th day of the second month following the close of that year when either credit is allowed. Read every zero-dollar line, not just the one you noticed first. TC 810: Refund Freeze covers the most serious of the others.
A worked example
Here is a fictional individual account that shows a typical hold and release.
| Code | Explanation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
TC 150 | Return filed and tax assessed | 4,200.00 |
TC 806 | Withholding credited | -6,900.00 |
TC 570 | Additional account action pending | 0.00 |
TC 971 | Miscellaneous transaction (review action code) | 0.00 |
TC 290 | Additional tax assessed | 0.00 |
TC 571 | Resolved additional account action | 0.00 |
TC 846 | Refund issued | 2,700.00 |
Read it as a story. The return produced a 2,700 dollar credit. A hold went on, with a TC 971 showing a review. The review ended with a zero TC 290, meaning no tax change, and the hold came off with a TC 571. The refund issued for the full credit. If the TC 290 had carried an amount, the refund would have been smaller by that amount plus any interest and penalty, and you would expect a notice explaining it.
Holds on a balance due year
A TC 570 matters most when the module has a credit. It freezes refunding and offsetting credit out. On a year with a balance due, there is no credit to hold, and the line mainly signals that something about the year is still being reviewed. Do not ignore it. A review that ends with a TC 290 can increase the balance, and you would rather know that before you set up a payment plan based on the old number.
What a TC 570 is not
It is worth being precise, because people panic over this code. A TC 570 is not an assessment. It carries no dollar amount and adds nothing to what you owe. It is not a lien, which would show as a TC 582. It is not a levy. It is not a penalty. It does not, by itself, mean you are being audited; an audit shows as a TC 420 or TC 424.
What it is, is a stop sign on the credit side of one module. The IRS has told its own computer not to send money out of that year until someone finishes looking at something. When you understand it that way, the question to ask becomes obvious: what is being looked at, and what does the IRS need from me to finish?
Write down the cycle the hold posted in and every other line that posted within a cycle or two of it. That cluster is usually the explanation. A hold that posted with the return points to something on the return. A hold that posted months later points to a review, a payment or an adjustment that came after.
How long a TC 570 lasts
There is no fixed answer on the transcript. The hold lasts until whatever triggered it is resolved and one of the release events posts. Some resolve in a few cycles without any action by the taxpayer. Some sit until someone answers a letter.
If the hold is causing real financial hardship, the IRS's own procedures describe referring taxpayers to the Taxpayer Advocate Service in appropriate circumstances. That is an option worth knowing about when the money matters to rent or medical bills and the normal channels are not moving.
If a TC 570 has been sitting for a while with no letter, no companion TC 971 and no release, call. Ask what the hold is for and what the IRS needs. Have the transcript in front of you with the cycle of the TC 570 circled. The question "what posted with this hold" usually gets you to the answer faster than "where is my refund."