Why does it say federal return pending

[Critter-3]

What does "Pending" mean?

Pending simply means that your e-filed return is on its way and that the government hasn't accepted or rejected it yet.

If you e-filed your return in January, it'll stay in Pending status until the IRS starts processing the backlog of returns.

After January, e-filed returns generally sit in Pending status for 24–48 hours before coming back as either Accepted or Rejected. Sometimes state returns stay in Pending for several days or even longer.

Keep calm and check back

Until your state or the IRS processes your return,  you may hear there's "no record found." That actually means the return's still being processed. Just check back in a few days.

Related Information:

• Why is my state e-file still pending?
• Can I cancel a pending return?
• What does Accepted mean?
• Why doesn't the government have any record of my pending return?
• Can I amend a pending return?

[VolvoGirl]

Did you file it?  Did you go all the way to the end and hit the big orange Transmit Returns Now button?  It will say pending until the IRS Accepts or Rejects it.  Which won't be until Jan 27, 2021 or later when they open.  So you have to wait.  And you can't get it back if you need to change or add anything.