My federal and MA refund got accepted but IRS is still looking at it even when I signed up for 5 days earlier. What is happening?

"5 days early" means you are supposed to receive your federal refund from one to five days sooner than the refund date shown on the IRS refund site.   If it does not meet that "at least one day sooner" date, they are supposed to refund the $35 fee.

You have to pay attention to the date on the IRS refund site.

You need your filing status, your Social Security number and the exact amount  (line 35a of your 2025 Form 1040) of your federal refund to track your Federal refund:   

https://www.irs.gov/refunds

Federal and state refunds come from completely separate entities.  There is no rule as to which one will come in first or how long it will be between their arrival in your account.

TurboTax gives you an estimated date for receiving your refund based on a 21 day average from your date of acceptance, but it can take longer.  “21 days”  is not a promise from TurboTax or the IRS. 

First, check your e-file status to see if your return was accepted: 

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/efile-status-lookup/

Once your federal return has been accepted by the IRS, only the IRS has any control.  TurboTax does not receive any updates from the IRS. Your ONLY source of information about your refund now is the IRS.

You need your filing status, your Social Security number and the exact amount  (line 35a of your 2025 Form 1040) of your federal refund to track your Federal refund:   

https://www.irs.gov/refunds

To track your state refund:    

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-refund/track-state-refund/L3jgO8PGs_US_en_US?uid=lt447ebr