IRS cycle code decoder
Enter the 8-digit cycle code from your IRS account transcript to see the week and day the transaction posted. Dates for 2026 come from the IRS's published posting calendar.
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How cycle codes work
A cycle code has three parts: the year, the posting week (cycle) and the day. In 20261505, 2026 is the year, 15 is the posting week, and 05 is the day. The IRS's posting week runs Friday through Thursday.
| Digits | Day posted |
|---|---|
| 01 | Friday |
| 02 | Monday |
| 03 | Tuesday |
| 04 | Wednesday |
| 05 | Thursday |
The cycle tells you when a transaction posted to your IRS account. It isn't a refund date: a refund is its own line, code 846, with its own date. To decode every line at once, use the transcript decoder, and see what each transcript code means.
2026 IRS posting cycle calendar
Each posting week runs Friday through Thursday. Cycles 01 to 03 are dead cycles for individual accounts, when nothing posts while the IRS starts up the new year.
| Cycle | Posting week |
|---|---|
| 202601 | Jan 2 to Jan 8 (no individual postings) |
| 202602 | Jan 9 to Jan 15 (no individual postings) |
| 202603 | Jan 16 to Jan 22 (no individual postings) |
| 202604 | Jan 23 to Jan 29 |
| 202605 | Jan 30 to Feb 5 |
| 202606 | Feb 6 to Feb 12 |
| 202607 | Feb 13 to Feb 19 |
| 202608 | Feb 20 to Feb 26 |
| 202609 | Feb 27 to Mar 5 |
| 202610 | Mar 6 to Mar 12 |
| 202611 | Mar 13 to Mar 19 |
| 202612 | Mar 20 to Mar 26 |
| 202613 | Mar 27 to Apr 2 |
| 202614 | Apr 3 to Apr 9 |
| 202615 | Apr 10 to Apr 16 |
| 202616 | Apr 17 to Apr 23 |
| 202617 | Apr 24 to Apr 30 |
| 202618 | May 1 to May 7 |
| 202619 | May 8 to May 14 |
| 202620 | May 15 to May 21 |
| 202621 | May 22 to May 28 |
| 202622 | May 29 to Jun 4 |
| 202623 | Jun 5 to Jun 11 |
| 202624 | Jun 12 to Jun 18 |
| 202625 | Jun 19 to Jun 25 |
| 202626 | Jun 26 to Jul 2 |
| Cycle | Posting week |
|---|---|
| 202627 | Jul 3 to Jul 9 |
| 202628 | Jul 10 to Jul 16 |
| 202629 | Jul 17 to Jul 23 |
| 202630 | Jul 24 to Jul 30 |
| 202631 | Jul 31 to Aug 6 |
| 202632 | Aug 7 to Aug 13 |
| 202633 | Aug 14 to Aug 20 |
| 202634 | Aug 21 to Aug 27 |
| 202635 | Aug 28 to Sep 3 |
| 202636 | Sep 4 to Sep 10 |
| 202637 | Sep 11 to Sep 17 |
| 202638 | Sep 18 to Sep 24 |
| 202639 | Sep 25 to Oct 1 |
| 202640 | Oct 2 to Oct 8 |
| 202641 | Oct 9 to Oct 15 |
| 202642 | Oct 16 to Oct 22 |
| 202643 | Oct 23 to Oct 29 |
| 202644 | Oct 30 to Nov 5 |
| 202645 | Nov 6 to Nov 12 |
| 202646 | Nov 13 to Nov 19 |
| 202647 | Nov 20 to Nov 26 |
| 202648 | Nov 27 to Dec 3 |
| 202649 | Dec 4 to Dec 10 |
| 202650 | Dec 11 to Dec 17 |
| 202651 | Dec 18 to Dec 24 |
| 202652 | Dec 25 to Dec 31 |
Questions about cycle codes
What does a cycle code ending in 05 mean?
The transaction posted on a Thursday, the last day of the IRS's Friday-to-Thursday posting week. Thursday is also the day accounts on weekly processing post.
What do the other endings mean?
On individual accounts, 01 is Friday, 02 Monday, 03 Tuesday and 04 Wednesday. Accounts on daily processing can post on those days.
Does my cycle code tell me when I'll get my refund?
No. The cycle shows when a transaction posted to your IRS account. A refund shows as its own line on the transcript, code 846, with its own date and amount.
Why are there dates only for 2026?
The IRS publishes the current year's posting calendar in the Internal Revenue Manual (IRM 3.30.123), and we take our dates from it. For other years we decode the week number and day only. We'll add 2027 when the IRS publishes that calendar.
Sources: IRM 3.13.5.10, Customer Account Data Engine (CADE) 2; IRM 3.30.123, Processing Timeliness: Cycles, Criteria and Critical Dates. TTOC Finder is independent and isn't affiliated with the IRS.