I filed on 2/2/21 and it still says Pending. What does that mean???

[xmasbaby0]

MY RETURN IS IN PENDING—what does that mean?

Did you e-file?  Did you click that big orange button that said “Transmit my returns now?”  If so, your return is now in “pending” on a server.  Do not try to change anything while your return is in pending. If your return is rejected you will be able to make corrections before re-filing.

The IRS just began accepting/rejecting 2020 returns on Friday, February 12, 2021.  You need to watch your emails for the acceptance/rejection notice that may take until mid-February or later to arrive.   And watch your spam folder too.   There are a LOT of e-files on servers so it may be several days after the IRS opens before you get an email.  There are so many returns waiting —kind of like trying to put the ocean through a garden hose.  

When you e-file your federal return you will receive two emails from TurboTax.  The first one will say that your return was submitted.  The second email will tell you if your federal return was accepted or rejected.  If you e-filed a state return, there will be a third email to tell you if the state accepted or rejected your state return.

A state return cannot be accepted until the federal return has been accepted.  And it is very common for it to take an extra day or more for the state return to be accepted.

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/2021-tax-filing-season-begins-feb-12-irs-outlines-steps-to-speed-refund...

[ssaunders42]

When I click on 'Check E-file Status' both Fed and State say:

Pending.  "It takes the IRS about 24 to 48 hours to process e-filed returns.  In this time, returns are in a pending status.  Come back in about 24 hours or check your email.  We'll let you know as soon as your return is accepted."

[Jason707]

I think there is some sort of early file users internal glitch happening and I am trying to get Turbo tax to check on this for me. I filed on 2/1/21 and my federal was accepted on 2/11/21 but my state has been stuck in pending status.

My friend just e-filed thru Turbotax yesterday and not even an hour later got email confirmation that his fed/state taxes were accepted. He did not e-file early like us, so this leads me to believe something happened with the early file users.

[krsbozo]

I am having the same issue. I submitted on 2/12, but *both* Federal and CA returns are currently in Pending state. I've been asked to be patient, but looking around I can see that there a lot of issues with returns ending up in Pending state for a lot longer than is typical, and people are understandably freaking out. The level of anxiety around the issue is remarkable, really. Taxes are fraught with anxiety and importance, and to have a system that is so opaque with little visibility is a bad situation. It's all great when it works as it should, but when glitches happen, what are you supposed to do? 

[ssaunders42]

I called support yesterday.  They told me everything was okay and to not worry until 3 weeks have passed.  surprise surprise, two hours later my taxes for both fed and state were denied.  There was some update that had to be done and I had to select which 'county' I live in...  NO IDEA WHY THEY NEED MY COUNTY WHEN THEY HAVE MY **bleep** ADDRESS!!!!

Either way, I was able to resubmit and got a notification that the IRS accepted my returns less than an hour later.  My state is still pending, so hopefully, that goes through today or tomorrow.

[krsbozo]

@ssaunders42 Good news for you! Thanks for the information. And good luck with your State return. I hope it works out for you. I've been following a different thread where there are many folks whose returns were accepted by the IRS, but are in a pending state at the CA FTB. And folks are really unhappy. 

But perhaps your return will be accepted without an issue. Hope so. 

I wonder if your call to support triggered some sort of change on the TurboTax servers that forced the rejection. Normally, I wouldn't think in such a conspiratorial way, but it's the sign of the times that we've given up trust in our institutions, and I guess Intuit is one of them. 

Best of luck!