It means all of the forms you need are not ready yet. There a lot of 2021 forms not ready yet. You cannot file until all of your forms are ready---and you should not be in a rush to file now anyway.
I worry when people ask how soon they can file and want to file the minute they can, because experience here has shown that many of those same people will be back in this forum in a few weeks asking how to amend. Right now it has been taking the IRS more than six months to process amended returns. Filing too soon could mean you are setting yourself up for months of aggravation.
You can fall for the marketing ploy that will allow you to e-file early if you want to—-but be aware that your e-file will just sit on a server and if you discover that you need to make any changes you will not be able to. You cannot change or add anything while your return is in pending on the server. You have to wait until the IRS ether accepts or rejects it much later in January or early February. If it is rejected you can fix it; if it is accepted with your mistakes you have to wait for it to be processed and go through the lengthy process of amending.
You still need your 2021 W-2's and any 1099's that will show your income for 2021. Those will not be issued until late January or early February.
The tax forms are not ready yet. The software still needs lots of updates. Go to the REVIEW tab to see which forms in your return are incomplete and the estimated dates they will be ready (dates always subject to change) and sign up for the email alerts if you wish.
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Being in a hurry to file and get a refund is never a good idea---it leads to filing incorrectly without all of your information and to waiting months to amend mistakes that you should not have made in the first place. Be patient and file correctly when all of your information is in order and the tax forms are ready.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/forms/help/irs-forms-availability-table-for-turbotax-individual-pe...
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/forms/help/state-forms-availability-table-for-turbotax-individual-...
And based on the delays for 2020 refunds I for one do not even want to guess how long the IRS will take to process 2021 returns and send out refunds. Expect confusion regarding the child tax credit----wait for the letter 6419 they will send you in January that tells you how much of the advance CTC you got because you need to enter that. And if you got the 3rd EIP in 2021 there will be a letter for that too. Those amounts need to be entered carefully and correctly.
And…..if you are trying to rush because you get earned income credit or the child tax credit——the PATH act means you cannot get your refund until the end of February at the earliest—so filing early will not get you an early refund.
**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.**
