The PATH Act “lift” date for the 2026 tax season is expected to be February 17, 2026 – that’s when the PATH-related hold effectively ends and the IRS can begin releasing refunds for returns with the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), subject to normal processing times.

Key dates for PATH Act in 2026

  • The law requires the IRS to hold refunds with EITC/ACTC until at least February 15 each year.
  • In 2026, February 15 falls on a weekend and is followed by Presidents’ Day, so practical release of the hold shifts to about February 17, 2026.
  • Some tax calendars for 2026 note that earliest PATH-affected refunds (with direct deposit and no issues) are expected to start arriving late February to early March 2026 , often around February 27–March 6 for early filers.

Simple example

If you:

  1. File in late January 2026 with EITC/ACTC,
  2. Your return is accepted and has no errors,
  3. You choose direct deposit,

then your refund would still be held until after the PATH Act “lift” around February 17, 2026 , and you’d likely see funds hit your account near the end of February or early March 2026 , depending on IRS processing.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.