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You misunderstood "five days early" if you thought it meant you would get your refund in five days.   "5 days early" means you are supposed to receive your federal refund from one to five days sooner than the refund date shown on the IRS refund site.   If it does not meet that "at least one day sooner" date, they are supposed to refund the $35 fee.   You have to pay attention to the date on the IRS refund site. You need your filing status, your Social Security number and the exact amount  (line 35a of your 2025 Form 1040) of your federal refund to track your Federal refund:    https://www.irs.gov/refunds         First, check your e-file status to see if your return was accepted:  https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/efile-status-lookup/   Once your federal return has been accepted by the IRS, only the IRS has any control.  TurboTax does not receive any updates from the IRS. Your ONLY source of information about your refund now is the IRS.     You need your filing status, your Social Security number and the exact amount  (line 35a of your 2025 Form 1040) of your federal refund to track your Federal refund:    https://www.irs.gov/refunds   To track your state refund:     https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-refund/track-state-refund/L3jgO8PGs_US_en_US?uid=lt447ebr   If you chose to have your TurboTax fees deducted from your federal refund, that will take some extra time, while the third party bank handles the refund processing     https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-refund/refunds-take-longer-others/L14YlqFrH_US_en_US?uid=lexdr7zh . https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-refund/irs-refund-taking-longer-21-days/L2vRAJbdU_US_en_US?uid=lexe7lst         If you are getting earned income credit on line 27 or additional child tax credit on line 28 You are subject to the delay required by the PATH act.  Do not expect your refund before early March   https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/internal-revenue-service/federal-refunds-delayed-due-path-act/L5jnQJsBi_US_en_US   Note:  “Accepted” is not the same as “approved”.  TurboTax tells you the e-file was accepted if the IRS deems that there is enough information on the return for them to take it in for processing.   Only the IRS can approve of the refund, which is a later stage of processing.  If the IRS approves your refund they will provide a date for the refund to be issued.   FROM THE IRS WHERE’S MY REFUND SITE: https://www.irs.gov/wheres-my-refund How it works Where's My Refund shows your refund status: Return Received – We received your return and are processing it. Refund Approved – We approved your refund and are preparing to issue it by the date shown. Refund Sent – We sent the refund to your bank or to you in the mail. It may take 5 days for it to show in your bank account or several weeks for your check to arrive in the mail.        

If it won't let you switch to mail your return, see step 5.    You might need to pay the fees first. https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/printing/help/how-do-i-print-and-mail-my-return-in-turbotax-online/01/26258

TurboTax gets no information from the IRS after you file your tax return.   Only the IRS is in control and only the IRS can provide information.   TurboTax gives you an estimated date for receiving your refund based on a 21 day average from your date of acceptance, but it can take longer.  “21 days”  is not a promise from TurboTax or the IRS.      First, check your e-file status to see if your return was accepted:  https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/efile-status-lookup/   Once your federal return has been accepted by the IRS, only the IRS has any control.  TurboTax does not receive any updates from the IRS. Your ONLY source of information about your refund now is the IRS.     You need your filing status, your Social Security number and the exact amount  (line 35a of your 2025 Form 1040) of your federal refund to track your Federal refund:    https://www.irs.gov/refunds   To track your state refund:     https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-refund/track-state-refund/L3jgO8PGs_US_en_US?uid=lt447ebr   If you chose to have your TurboTax fees deducted from your federal refund, that will take some extra time, while the third party bank handles the refund processing     https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-refund/refunds-take-longer-others/L14YlqFrH_US_en_US?uid=lexdr7zh . https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-refund/irs-refund-taking-longer-21-days/L2vRAJbdU_US_en_US?uid=lexe7lst         If you are getting earned income credit on line 27 or additional child tax credit on line 28 You are subject to the delay required by the PATH act.  Do not expect your refund before early March   https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/internal-revenue-service/federal-refunds-delayed-due-path-act/L5jnQJsBi_US_en_US   Note:  “Accepted” is not the same as “approved”.  TurboTax tells you the e-file was accepted if the IRS deems that there is enough information on the return for them to take it in for processing.   Only the IRS can approve of the refund, which is a later stage of processing.  If the IRS approves your refund they will provide a date for the refund to be issued.   FROM THE IRS WHERE’S MY REFUND SITE: https://www.irs.gov/wheres-my-refund How it works Where's My Refund shows your refund status: Return Received – We received your return and are processing it. Refund Approved – We approved your refund and are preparing to issue it by the date shown. Refund Sent – We sent the refund to your bank or to you in the mail. It may take 5 days for it to show in your bank account or several weeks for your check to arrive in the mail.      

Many people have multiple TT accounts and forget how to access them.  Log out of the account you are in now.     https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/account-management/many-intuit-accounts-turbotax/L9aVfKS1Z_US_en_US?uid=ll5g6zcx Account Recovery

@ meac03 wrote:  what is a CPO1A? identity protection pin what is CPO1A? A CP01A is a letter from the IRS each year that includes one's 6-digit IP PIN (Identity Protection PIN) when the IRS has determined that a person has to use one, commonly because of tax-related identity theft.  That letter usually comes in late December or early January to those people that the IRS requires its use.  Did you get such a letter with an IP PIN?  People who voluntarily opted into the IP PIN program do not normally get the letter, but can retrieve their IP PIN each year in their online IRS account.    https://www.irs.gov/individuals/understanding-your-cp01a-notice   You didn't provide much info, so we don't know what else to tell you.  If you have more questions about an IP PIN, you would need to report back.

USER ERROR WITH SOCIAL SECURITY ENTRY We have seen a lot of people who made a user error with the entry of their SSA1099.   The screen right after you enter the SSA1099 asks you if you lived in certain foreign countries in 2025.   If you skipped past that screen or answered incorrectly, your Social Security was not taxed correctly.   Look at your Form 1040 and see if line 6b was left blank due to that mistake.  The IRS is catching those mistakes and correcting them by reducing your refund or increasing your tax due.   It is really so important to read every screen slowly and carefully from top to bottom as you prepare your tax return to avoid errors.    

You can connect with a TurboTax Live expert who can assist with your situation directly from your return.   Go into the tax return. 1. Select Expert Help 2. Connect with Expert Help in the chat window to start a live session.    You’ll have the option to share your screen so the expert can review everything with you in real time. If you’re using the mobile app, you can access Expert Help there as well.     TurboTax Online Live Assisted Review TurboTax Desktop Live Tax Advice

The IRS refund site does not use the word "pending" so not sure what you are referring to.   FROM THE IRS WHERE’S MY REFUND SITE: https://www.irs.gov/wheres-my-refund How it works Where's My Refund shows your refund status: Return Received – We received your return and are processing it. Refund Approved – We approved your refund and are preparing to issue it by the date shown. Refund Sent – We sent the refund to your bank or to you in the mail. It may take 5 days for it to show in your bank account or several weeks for your check to arrive in the mail.      

There was a question in MY INFO about your Social Security card that you must have answered incorrectly when it asked if your card says "not valid for employment."   Go back through the questions in MY INFO for your name to correct your answer.

You cannot take the home office deduction or deduct other unreimbursed business expenses like a computer, unless you are self-employed and report income and expenses on Schedule C.  If your patent award and other income is reported on Form W-2, as opposed to Form 1099-NEC, you cannot deduct those things.

You posted your question from online TurboTax.  Home and Business is a desktop download version of the software.   The online versions are Deluxe and Premium.   If you have self employment income you need online Premium.

I attempted the same option. I Exited Turbotax 2025 Desktop. I then restarted Turbotax 2025 Desktop.  I picked the same tax file for 2024 that would not open the previous time.  This time it asked me for the password, which it had not done before. I keyed it in and it Transferred the file correctly!!!   I was really worried like everyone else that this product was going to fail. At least at this point I am verifying information from last year.  Good Luck to everyone!