Does the blue TurboTax status bar have anything to do with the actual status of your refund or is it just a generic estimate?

[KatrinaLO]

The blue/green  bar is used as a guide to track your refund status. The bar will fill in as your tax return begins processing. When the blue line is complete, this means that your tax return has been accepted by the IRS and you have an estimated date. 

TurboTax tracks whether your federal tax return has been accepted or rejected, and will provide an estimate on when you can expect to receive your tax refund.  Please see the following FAQ for additional information on how to  track your federal refund:

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/taxes/discussion/if-the-little-blue-bar-is-completely-full-what-do...

[Kmbonatch]

I've seen other people say that the TurboTax blue bar is just TurboTax's estimate on when you should typically get your return based on when you filed. It doesn't really reflect the true status. 

[EbonyL122824]

That is correct @Kmbonatch.TurboTax gives you an estimate direct deposit date only. TurboTax does not take into account the possible delays of the IRS and calculates the 21 days from acceptance as the direct deposit date. For most taxpayers, this estimated date will not be correct as there are multiple issues that can cause a delay while your return is being processed by the IRS. The best way to get an accurate direct deposit date is to use the Where's My Refund tool on the IRS website. 

To track your Federal refund, visit the Where’s My Federal Refund? site here: https://www.irs.gov/refunds. Updates are made daily, usually overnight. You may also download the IRS2Go app to check your Federal refund status. You can track the status of your state return by following the directions in the following TurboTax FAQ.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/refund-status/help/how-do-i-track-my-state-refund/00/25571

 Note: You will need your social security number, filing status, and refund amount in order to track your refund.

[Kmbonatch]

Ok....the first tax expert said the opposite. Thank you for clearing that up for me!

[jamieroberts25]

What's crazy is not all the TurboTax expert are saying the same thing. Some say it's just an estimate and others say it means that you have a deposit date. All the experts need to get on the same page and give the same information. 

[Roxy31]

i know right it's crazy 

[CarissaM]

The bar is an estimate based on the date you filed. 

If you would like to track your real time status of your refund, please click here. 

[MLB83_]

Except the IRS received it 2/12 and The blue lines been full for 4 days,tops..

So..50 days?

[MichelleLO]

Unfortunately, the IRS is experiencing delays in the processing of returns due to a later than usual start to the tax season, a backlog of mailed returns, current tax season returns, and the current round of stimulus payments. Please see this post here byToddL99 for further explanation of why returns are delayed. 

[mariy56]

What does mean when blue bar is full and the refund amount change to solid green 

[Cynthiad66]

That sounds like an IRS feature and I can only venture to guess.  I think it means that your return has completed processing and is ready for issuing the refund.  But there are usually dates associated with that status bar.

[MINDSPARK216]

.. I'm always a early bird e-filer. This year my return was accepted by the IRS on January 23 ( when I actually filed), and basically my return sat in limbo for a week until Jan 29th. My tracking bar is not blue it's green and it's on the last dot ( dot isn't solid green it's hollow) with a est. date of 02/13. Still haven't received it via Direct Deposit ..

[MINDSPARK216]

... Not being on the same page is running rampant in most industries nowadays ...

[CatinaT1]

Have you checked Where's My Refund on IRS.gov?