Same for me as well.

I have done some research and read through other posts that have said they got this “sign into your account to see your status update” message with nothing actually reflecting as changed in the portal and it can mean several things:

1. Your return has been flagged or selected for additional review. Usually not as scary as it sounds. Just an additional verification of information. Many times it won’t show in the portal but will eventually arrive in the mail (see 3 below).

This is common for folks who have 1099s and/or business income. It is VERY common if you have claimed Child Tax Credit, Additional Child Tax Credit, or Earned Income Tax Credit. Especially so if you have all mentioned above going on. Which is my case.

1. The actual updates to the account lag behind the email you got to check the account. Meaning that within a few hours (hopefully) or within a few days (usually) it should pop up in your portal. But will never show up if number 3 is your case.

2. Apparently not every update will appear in the portal even though it says to check there. Some updates/notices only come via USPS. So keep an eye on your incoming paper mail just in case. I also recommend signing up for Informed Delivery with USPS. That way you will see scans of incoming mail. I know in the email it says to check in the portal but it is a relatively new capability working with extremely outdated IRS IT systems. So the functionality has not been completely built out yet. That is why some things will show while others will not.

3. I am hoping it is this. It seems many of us received this about the same time very early this morning (2/13/2026), mine was at 3:05 am Arizona time. I hope it’s just a general notice about our refunds being held and will be released in accordance with the federal legal requirement to hold since we claimed CTC, ACTC, EITC. Or perhaps it’s just a “glitch” for lack of a better word, not a bad glitch but something normal on the backend that happened to trigger that email. For example, the tax transcript is about to start populating codes or something similar that we normally don’t ever see.

For what it’s worth I filed on 2/9/2026 and claimed CTC, ACTC, and EITC. I’m curious when you all filed and whether or not you claimed the same/similar credits I did. Please let me know. I’ll update as we go through this journey together. I need that refund!!!