Since today is Tuesday, January 27, 2026, the IRS officially opened for the general public yesterday. If you are still seeing a "Pending" status, here is the explanation:
- On the official opening day (Jan 26), millions of people hit "Submit" at once. The IRS limits how many returns it pulls from the software providers' servers per hour to prevent their systems from crashing.
- Your return is likely sitting in the "digital waiting room." It will stay Pending until the IRS computer actually "downloads" it and actually accepts or rejects it.