I filed on February 8

[joellyn20]

What am I supposed to do when the IRS keeps telling me it has not processed my return, and I will be charged penalties and such?  I also haven't gotten my first stimulus check.  Could that be why?  When I look at my IRS account where I owe back taxes, it shows 0 in the first stimulus check amount and $600 in the second stimulus check.  I did get the second stimulus check.  I'm not sure if the 0 means I'm not going to get it at all or if I just haven't gotten it yet.  I also got the third stimulus check.  I also did what I was supposed to when filing the 2020 tax return to try and get my first and second stimulus check.  How are we supposed to find out why we're not getting a first one.  Nobody ever brings up how to go about finding out how to find out why you haven't gotten the first one.  They're all about the third one now.  Now I have to worry about if I'm supposed to do an amended return since the IRS hasn't processed my return.

[SweetieJean]

You are not alone.   The IRS is seriously backlogged due to all the extra stimulus filings, as well as a few million unprocessed 2019 returns left over from the COVID shutdown.  In addition, the Where's My Refund site has been erratic and unreliable.  But if TT told you the IRS Accepted your filing for processing, then the government has it.  (Approved is a later step, but TT receives no further updates once Accepted.)  Contacting the IRS will not help, and the IRS has implored taxpayers not to call them.  Lots of other folks are still waiting, so please continue to be patient.  Also see:

Refunds | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov)

Why is my tax refund taking so long? The IRS may not tell you, but this report offers clues (msn.com...

What led to IRS backlog: ‘Thin workforce,’ new pandemic relief programs | Federal News Network

[joellyn20]

Thank you very much for the information you provided for me.  I have to admit, on the second link I was unable to read all of everything; I am legally blind, but I read most of what I could.   I spoke with someone a couple of weeks ago and she seemed to think that at this point,  I will not be getting my first stimulus check after getting the second and third, but I do have a right to ask why I didn't get it because they're not allowed to refused me the check on the grounds that I owe back taxes.  So, I've been unable to find out HOW to find out why I wasn't granted my first stimulus check so if anyone can help me out there, I'd appreciate it so much because I've spent hours on this going nowhere, plus, I'm not even positive if I'm not getting it for sure?  It does seem that way but I'd like to hear it from the source somewhere then I'd like to hear WHY I didn't get it.