Although TurboTax is accepting some e-filed returns now they are NOT being e-filed to the IRS which will not process any return until January 29. TurboTax stores those returns filed early until the IRS opens for business, only then will you get an e-mail telling you if the return was accepted or rejected by the IRS.
Only the simplest returns can be transmitted to TurboTax now. Many forms will not be finalized until Jan 25 and some later then that.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1908854-forms-availability-table-for-turbotax-federal-products-exc...
Why does TurboTax allow early filing? Because their competitors do - It is a marketing ploy.
Filing early with TurboTax before the IRS opens on Jan 29 is a really BAD IDEA.
1) If you discover something that is wrong on your return, receive a W-2 that is different, receive some other tax document that was not on the return that you filed then there is NOTHING that you can do about it other than wait to see if the IRS accepts or rejects the return after Jan 29. If rejected you can correct and file again, but if accepted then the only remedy is to amend which can take 4 months to process.
2) You must remember to check back after Jan 29 (or check for an e-mail) to confirm that the IRS has accepted or rejected the return. If rejected, then it was never filed at all and must be corrected and re-filed. Every year many taxpayers that file early, forget to check back and only discover months later that they never actually filed because if was rejected by the IRS but they had forgotten about checking back after filing with TurboTax.
3) While the IRS does conduct some pre-Jan 29 polling tests and does accept some returns early, they will not process those until Jan 29. There is a reason to test and that is to discover any problems with it's systems. A couple of years ago a test went bad and several thousand "test" returns were lost. The IRS was able to recover those but it delayed refunds for some by months.
There is no real advantage to file before the IRS opens on Jan 29, but there are disadvantages to do so.
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/2018-tax-filing-season-begins-jan-29-tax-returns-due-april-17-help-avai...
**Disclaimer: This post is for discussion purposes only and is NOT tax advice. The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of any information in this post.**
