Why is my federal refund pending and my state “started “

[mesquitebean]

Are you referring to the "return status" at your Tax Home page?

"Pending" means the Federal return was efiled and has not yet been accepted by the IRS.   For most filers, the IRS opens up for return processing on Monday, January 27.

"Started" means the state return has not yet been finished and filed.    Are you awaiting some state forms that were not yet ready for efiling?   If so, we can tell you how to check the availability.

NOTE:  Since the Federal has been efiled separately first, you won't be able to efile the state return until the Federal return has been accepted.   And, of course, all your state forms must be available for efiling.    See my next comment below on how to check.

[mesquitebean]

@youngchachi 

  NOTE:  Since the Federal return has been efiled separately first, you won't be able to efile the state return until the Federal return has been accepted.

Of course all your state forms must be ready and available for efiling as well.   Here's how to check any available dates, if applicable.    You can also go through the REVIEW tab inside your return to see if there are any state forms you are waiting on.

State Forms Availability Table:
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/forms/help/state-forms-availability-table-for-turbotax-individual-...