IRS Code 570: What “Account Action Pending” Means

IRS code 570, also written as tax code 570 or 570 irs code depending on the source, means the IRS placed a hold on your account. Your refund isn’t released and your return isn’t finished processing until something gets resolved on the IRS’s end.

It’s officially called “Additional Liability Pending and/or Credit Hold,” and it shows up more often than people expect. If you’re also trying to make sense of the codes around it, our full transcript code guide walks through how they connect.

Quick Answer: What does 570 mean on a tax transcript?

Code 570 is a temporary hold the IRS places on your account while it reviews something — a mismatch, a credit check, or an identity verification. Your refund is frozen until the hold clears. It does not automatically mean you’re being audited, and it does not mean you owe money. Most 570 holds resolve on their own once the IRS finishes its review.

Part of a series: IRS Transcript Codes Explained — What 570, 810, 971, 806 & 846 Really Mean

What Code 570 Does — and Does Not — Mean

Before getting into causes and timelines, it helps to clear up what this code actually isn’t.

• It does not mean you’re being audited. Most 570 holds are automated system checks, not assigned to a person.
• It does not mean you owe additional tax. It can appear when the IRS suspects there might be an issue — but suspecting isn’t the same as finding one.
• It does not tell you why the hold was placed. The notice that follows (code 971) carries that answer.
• It does not mean your refund disappeared. A $0.00 amount next to 570 is a procedural marker, not a wipeout.

What Does Code 570 Actually Do to Your Account?

Code 570 triggers what the IRS internally calls an “-R freeze”. That freeze blocks two things at once: the IRS can’t send you a refund, and it can’t apply any credit on your account to a different tax period or debt either.

Most of the time, code 570 shows up with $0.00 in the amount column. That’s not your refund getting wiped out. It’s a procedural marker confirming nothing has moved yet, in either direction.

What Codes Usually Appear Alongside Code 570?

Code 570 rarely appears alone. The codes around it tell the fuller story.

If you only see 570 and 971 with nothing after, the hold is still active. If you see 571 or 572 followed by 846, the refund is on its way.

Why Shouldn’t I Trust the Date Next to Code 570?

The date next to 570 is the transaction’s effective date, not a deposit date. Sometimes it lines up with when the IRS actually reviews the account again. Sometimes it doesn’t.

If you see a future date next to 570, treat it as the IRS flagging when it expects to revisit the hold, not a promise that anything will resolve that day.

What Triggers a Code 570 Hold?

Most 570 holds come from automated screening, not a person looking at your file. The IRS’s Return Integrity Verification Operations unit, RIVO, runs much of this screening to catch errors and fraud before refunds go out.

Common triggers include income or withholding that doesn’t match what employers reported, refundable credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit that need eligibility checks, a duplicate or amended return on file, or an existing balance from a prior year that the system flags before releasing new credit.

None of these triggers mean you did something wrong. Most are just the system cross-checking your return against third-party records before it lets money move. The hold is a checkpoint, not a verdict.

Does Code 570 Mean I’m Being Audited?

Not by itself. Most 570 holds are automated, system-generated checks, not assigned to a person. If you want to know whether you’re under formal examination, look for a different code: TC 810.

TC 810 is a stronger freeze that more reliably points to Exam or the IRS’s Automated Questionable Credit unit reviewing your return. The IRS’s own manual actually treats 570 and 810 as related codes that can both come from that same review process, so the line between them isn’t as clean as it might seem. In practice, though, seeing 570 by itself is far more often routine processing than an active audit.

How Long Does a Code 570 Hold Usually Last?

There’s no fixed number, because the cause sets the timeline. A wage or income mismatch often clears in a few weeks.

A formal CP05 income verification review can take up to 60 days. Identity verification typically adds roughly 9 weeks of processing time after you complete the verification step.

TC 571 is the standard code that lifts a 570 hold, though you’ll occasionally see TC 572 used instead when the IRS is correcting a 570 that posted in error. Until one of those posts, the freeze stays active no matter how much time has passed, and the refund itself doesn’t move until code 846 shows up after that.

As a general rule, the IRS aims to follow up with taxpayers within 30 days when an account is being worked. If it’s been well past that with no notice and no movement, that’s usually the point where it’s worth checking in rather than waiting indefinitely.

What If I Already Owe From a Previous Year?

This is the part most guides skip. The -R freeze doesn’t just block your refund. It blocks the IRS from applying that money to an old balance too.

So if you’re expecting this year’s overpayment to chip away at a debt from a prior year, the 570 hold pauses that as well, not just the part that would’ve come to you. Once the hold lifts, the IRS decides where that money goes, and if you have an open balance, it typically goes there first rather than into your bank account.

That’s worth knowing if you’ve been counting on refunds to slowly work down a balance instead of dealing with it directly. A 570 hold can delay that process by months in a given year, but it doesn’t make the underlying balance any smaller, and interest keeps running on it the entire time. If that balance has been there for a few years already, it’s also worth understanding where it sits against the IRS’s 10-year collection window, since that clock keeps running whether or not your refunds are getting absorbed into it.

If you’ve got a balance sitting from an earlier year and you’re not sure what it actually adds up to, checking your total IRS balance tells you what’s really at stake before this year’s refund gets absorbed into it. And if that balance has been sitting for years without a plan, setting up a payment plan is usually a faster path than waiting for refunds to slowly chip away at it.

What To Do While Code 570 Is on Your Transcript

A few things help, and a few common moves make it worse. Work through these in order.

1. Pull the right transcript for the right tax year. Log into your IRS Online Account to access your Tax Account Transcript directly. If you can’t get in online, request it by mail or use the IRS automated phone transcript service. Make sure you’re looking at the correct year — a 570 hold from a prior year looks identical to a current-year hold on the surface.
2. Read the companion codes, not just the 570. Check for code 971 — if it’s there, the explanation is often in your IRS Online Account under Notices and Letters before the paper letter arrives. Then watch for 571 or 572, followed by 846.
3. Gather documentation before it’s requested. You don’t need to send anything unless the IRS asks. But having your W-2s, 1099s, and supporting documents for any credits you claimed ready means you can respond fast when a notice arrives.
4. Respond to any notice by its deadline — with exactly what it asks for. Don’t send documents the IRS didn’t request. Extra unsolicited documentation doesn’t speed things up. It slows them down.
5. Don’t file a duplicate return. If you assume the IRS didn’t receive your return and file again, the second filing triggers its own hold and adds delay on top of the original.
6. Don’t amend early. Amending the return before you know what the IRS is actually reviewing often restarts the clock entirely. Wait for a notice that tells you what’s being questioned before touching the return.

When to Call the IRS About a 570 Hold

Calling early rarely speeds things up. Phone agents typically see the same transcript you do and can’t push a review along faster just because you called. A few situations are worth a call anyway:

• It’s been more than 30 days since 570 posted and nothing’s changed — no notice, no update.
• You see code 971 on the transcript but can’t find the actual notice in your mail or your IRS Online Account.
• You’re facing a real hardship, like an inability to cover rent or utilities, and the delay is making it worse.

Most code 570 holds resolve on their own once the IRS finishes its review. If yours is tangled up with a balance from an earlier year, that’s a different problem than a delayed refund, and it’s worth sorting out directly. Contact us now.

Key Takeaways

— Code 570 is a temporary freeze that blocks your refund and any credit offset until the IRS clears it.
— It does not mean you’re being audited and does not mean you owe money.
— The date next to 570 is not a refund date.
— Watch for code 971 (notice issued), then 571 or 572 (hold released), then 846 (refund scheduled).
— If you have a prior-year balance, the freeze blocks credit offset too — not just your refund.
— For a freeze pointing to Exam, look for TC 810, not 570.
— Don’t file a duplicate return or amend early. Wait for the notice and respond precisely.