After you file

That's a very common question in January each year.    It sounds like your friends are among the few whose returns have been pulled early by the IRS for testing purposes.  For most people the 24-48 hour clock to get an acceptance or rejection notice won't start until January 27, when the IRS ramps up to retrieve returns from TurboTax, as I'll explain below.

 

When you efiled, did you go all the way to the final screen and click a big orange button that says "Transmit My Returns Now?"

 

If you successfully efiled, then log back into your Online Account.  At the Tax Home page what is shown for the status?    Does it say "pending?"

 

If it says your efile status is still "pending", that would be normal at this point in early filing season.   Be aware that the IRS doesn't open up to officially start processing returns until January 27.   For most people, if you efile before then, your return will sit on TurboTax servers until the IRS retrieves it on Jan. 27 (except for a few returns that are pulled early for testing purposes.)    So most people won't know until after January 27 whether the return is accepted or rejected.    Once accepted, that is when processing will actually begin and the 24-48 hour clock will start. 

 

And if you have a Federal refund, then wait at least 24 hours after it is accepted, and it should show up in the IRS "Where's My Refund" tool where you can monitor its progress.