"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_...
If you chose to have your TurboTax fees deducted from your federal refund, that will take some extra time, while the third party bank handles the refund processing
https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-refund/refunds-take-longer-others/L1...
.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-refund/irs-refund-taking-longer-21-d...
If you are getting earned income credit on line 27 or additional child tax credit on line 28 You are subject to the delay required by the PATH act. Do not expect your refund before early March
https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/internal-revenue-service/federal-refunds...
Note: “Accepted” is not the same as “approved”. TurboTax tells you the e-file was accepted if the IRS deems that there is enough information on the return for them to take it in for processing. Only the IRS can approve of the refund, which is a later stage of processing. If the IRS approves your refund they will provide a date for the refund to be issued.
FROM THE IRS WHERE’S MY REFUND SITE:
https://www.irs.gov/wheres-my-refund
How it works
Where's My Refund shows your refund status:
- Return Received – We received your return and are processing it.
- Refund Approved – We approved your refund and are preparing to issue it by the date shown.
- Refund Sent – We sent the refund to your bank or to you in the mail. It may take 5 days for it to show in your bank account or several weeks for your check to arrive in the mail.
**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
