TC 571: Reversal of TC 570 — the -R Freeze Released
By Forrest Baumhover, CFP®, EA · Last verified August 28, 2026
TC 571 is the code that actually opens the door a TC 570 closed, but it only tells you the obstacle is gone — a separate transaction code, TC 846, is the one that tells you the refund is actually on its way.
What the code actually does
TC 571 reverses the -R freeze that TC 570 set. Document 6209's own entry is direct about it: TC 571 is the "Reversal of TC 570" and "releases the 570/576 freeze status." IRM 21.5.6.4.35.2's resolution table describes the same action operationally — where an account "has a TC 570 holding the overpayment," the instruction is to "input a TC 571 using CC REQ77, to release the freeze."
What TC 571 does not do is issue money. It removes the hold that was preventing the module's credit balance from moving — nothing more. Whether that credit balance actually reaches the taxpayer, and how much of it, still depends on the rest of the module: any other freeze still in place, any offset that applies once the -R freeze is gone, and the separate transaction that actually generates a payment.
How the release actually reaches a refund
IRM 21.5.6.4.35.2 documents the release as effectively automatic once the right transaction posts — one row of its resolution table states plainly that once "TC 840/571 has been input," the "[f]reeze automatically releases when the transaction posts." That is the mechanical trigger: input the TC 571, and Master File no longer treats the module as frozen from refunding.
The actual money moves under a different code. TC 846, per Document 6209, "debits the tax module for the amount of overpaid tax (plus applicable interest) to be refunded to the taxpayer." A transcript that shows TC 571 without a following TC 846 means the obstacle is cleared but the refund transaction has not generated yet — worth distinguishing for a client who reads "571" as "refund is coming this week" when the actual disbursement is a separate, later posting.
Why TC 571 is not the same as TC 572
Both codes clear a -R freeze — Document 6209's TC 570 entry lists "TC 571 or 572" together under "Frozen status released by the following" — but they document two different outcomes, and conflating them misreads what happened to the underlying issue. TC 571 is a release: the freeze existed for a real, documented reason, and that reason has now been resolved. TC 572, per its own entry, is a "Correction of 570 Processed in Error ... Used to remove TC570/576 Input in error" — the freeze itself should never have posted in the first place, and TC 572 undoes the mistaken input rather than resolving anything substantive.
The practical difference matters for a client conversation. A TC 571 means something happened — a document arrived, a payment got matched, a review closed — and it is worth knowing what that something was. A TC 572 means the freeze was a processing error from the start, and there is no underlying issue to explain to the client beyond "the hold itself was a mistake."
What TC 571 gets confused with
The pairing worth separating cleanly is with TC 811, the release code for the -E freeze that TC 810 sets. Both are "the release code" for a refund freeze, and both can appear on a transcript after a long wait, but they close out entirely different holds. TC 571 releases a -R freeze — usually a specific, module-level pending item under IRM 21.5.6.4.35. TC 811 releases a -E freeze, which IRM 21.5.6.4.10 describes as placed "by Compliance or Return Integrity and Compliance Services (RICS)," a broader compliance or examination-linked hold. Seeing a 571 does not tell a practitioner anything about whether a 810/811 pair also exists on the same module — they are independent freeze/release systems, and a module can carry both at once.
TC 571 is also easy to read as interchangeable with a TC 290 adjustment for .00, since IRM 21.5.6.4.35.2's own resolution table lists both as ways certain -R freeze rows get resolved. They are not the same action: a TC 290 is a substantive account adjustment (even at a zero-dollar amount) that can carry its own downstream effects, while TC 571 is specifically the freeze-release transaction. Which one actually posted on the module — not just that "something cleared the freeze" — determines whether anything else about the account changed at the same time.
The practitioner's actual next step
Once TC 571 posts, check for TC 846 before telling a client the refund is confirmed — the freeze clearing and the refund issuing are two separate transactions on the transcript, not one event. The one-line version worth keeping ready for that call: a TC 571 means the hold is off; a TC 846 means the money is actually moving, and only the second one is a promise of cash. If TC 571 posted weeks ago with no TC 846 following it, that is worth researching on its own: another freeze may still be active on the module — a TC 810, for instance — or the credit may be about to move through an offset, such as a TC 826 or TC 898, rather than refund.
If the transcript shows TC 572 rather than TC 571, do not treat it as confirmation that a genuine pending-liability question was resolved in the client's favor — it means the original hold was an input error, and there is no substantive determination to relay to the client beyond that.
What this means for your refund
A TC 571 on your transcript is good news — it means whatever was holding your refund back has been cleared and the IRS considers that specific issue resolved. It does not automatically mean the money has been sent yet.
Look for a TC 846 after the TC 571. That is the code that means the refund has actually been issued. If you see a 571 but no 846 yet, it usually just means the disbursement transaction has not posted, though it is also worth checking whether anything else is still holding the account. The IRS Transcript Decoder can walk through your full transcript and show exactly where your refund stands.