I am in similar boat, e-filed return using desktop premier TT paid version on 2.5.21 and as of 2.17.21 still showing "pending". for the last few days I see "check in XX hours" message with no change. I logged into IRS account and it shows IRS did not receive our 2020 return. "Where is my refund" tool also does not show anything. I filed my daughter's basic return with TaxFreeUSA on 2.7.21 and it was accepted by IRS on 2.12.21. This is the first time in my long life I experienced such a delay. I tried to call TT but I cannot seem to get past their automatic system. I would expect IRS to either accept or reject our return in nearly six days.
I have contacted both IRS and TurboTax and eventually got a human. Lady at IRS put me on hold to consult someone and eventually told me to wait 21 days then contact them. TurboTax lady said it showed going to the IRS, I had to wait on them. Like you I would think there should be no choke point in acknowledging receipt , although it may start some clock ticking and I am speculating they may be doing batches to manage their output expectations
I received a rejection from the IRS this afternoon. TurboTax walks you through the problems. Turned out it was an issue with their software, recently fixed. All I had to do was resubmit, IRS accepted within 15 minutes
Thank you for an update, my return still showing pending as of now
I have been watching and waiting as well. I filed my returns on January 31, my daughters the next few days and my ex-husbands a few days after that. All of them were sent to the IRS on February 12th. Currently, his have been accepted (he owed), hers has already been refunded (very little refund) and mine are stuck in limbo somewhere and no one can give any answers. TT shows it was received by the IRS on February 16, status changed to pended on February 16 but NO acknowledgment or acceptance or rejection from the IRS itself. I have called the IRS and finally spoke to a person - they aren't showing delays....so, where did it go???
Your e-filed return is still in pending on the server because the IRS is currently accepting/rejecting/processing returns. Sometimes it can take more than 48 hours to process. Only a few returns were accepted early in a test batch. Everyone else has been waiting. Please see the TurboTax FAQ below for more information on pending returns:
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/return-status/help/what-does-pending-mean/00/26331