02/22/2026
If you paid your tax prep fees out of your refund, read this 👇
Your refund does NOT go straight from the IRS to you. It goes to a third-party bank first. That bank takes out prep fees, then sends you the rest. (if you paid fees outright this does not apply)
Here are the main refund transfer banks and who typically uses them:
• TPG (Santa Barbara Tax Products Group) – taxpayer.sbtpg.com
(TurboTax “pay with refund”, Jackson Hewitt(possible), many independent tax offices)
• Republic Bank – republictaxpayer.com
(Jackson Hewitt(possible), some Liberty Tax offices, and other local preparers)
• Refund Advantage (EPS Financial) – refund-advantage.com
(Many local/independent tax preparers)
• Refundo – refundo.com
(Smaller independent tax offices)
How to check:
1️⃣ Ask your preparer which refund bank they use.
2️⃣ Go to that bank’s website.
3️⃣ Enter your Social Security number, filing status, and expected refund amount.
4️⃣ Look for “Funded” status — that means the IRS sent the money to the bank and they are processing it.
If “Where’s My Refund” says SENT but it’s not in your account yet, it can take 1–3 business days to show as funded in the bank portal.
Save this for tax season or tag someone who keeps asking where their refund is 👀💰