No your tax return is not automatically filed after you snap a photo of your W-2. You have to enter all of your personal information into My Info--including any dependents, etc. that you are claiming. Then you should look over the other possible information that you could be entering. When everything you need to enter is in there, then you go to the FILE section of the software. You enter banking information if you want a direct deposit of your refund, or you can choose to have a paper check mailed to you. In order to e-file you have to go all the way to a big orange button that says "Transmit my returns now" and click it. Until you do that, you have not filed.
AFTER you file, then you watch your emails to see if the return has been accepted or rejected. If it is accepted then you can track your refund on the IRS refund site.
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 2022 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/questions/1899433-how-do-i-track-my-state-refund
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901548-why-do-some-refunds-take-longer-than-others
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://www.irs.gov/refunds/tax-season-refund-frequently-asked-questions
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2840013-does-accepted-mean-my-refund-is-approved
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2724106-my-return-is-accepted-but-still-not-approved-is-there-a-pr...
OR——if you filed by mail, expect a long wait. It is taking the very backlogged IRS six to nine months to process mailed returns. Until a human opens your envelope and enters the data into the system, nothing will even show up on the refund site, so you will have to be very patient.
**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
