Why does Turbotax say my refund was accepted but the IRS site still says processing

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
February 7, 2022
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TurboTax Live Deluxe Online

mesquitebean

Employee

When the Tax Home page at TurboTax shows your efiled return as "accepted", that refers only to the efile status. It means the efile was successfully sent to the IRS and that the IRS computers determined that it met all the technical requirements such that they could begin processing it. i.e., the IRS accepted it for processing.

Keep watching the IRS "Where's My Refund" tool.

https://www.irs.gov/refunds

If you chose direct deposit, the IRS says most refunds that require no manual processing are sent within 21 days.

abmx0Author

Thank you! Last thing, is there a anticipated time frame in which the IRS does approve the tax return?

mesquitebean

Employee

@ abmx0 wrote:
Thank you! Last thing, is there a anticipated time frame in which the IRS does approve the tax return?

You're welcome.

The IRS says 9 out of 10 filers who efile and choose direct deposit will get their Federal refunds within 21 days after being accepted. Some returns are processed fairly quickly, while others require additional processing due to specific items in the return, or if the IRS catches any errors. Some are pulled at random for more thorough investigation.

This IRS FAQ gives some situations where it might take longer than 21 days:
https://www.irs.gov/refunds/tax-season-refund-frequently-asked-questions

This time of year (February) there is an additional factor that could cause a delay as you'll see at that link, and that's the PATH Act, which requires the IRS not to pay any refunds where a filer has claimed EITC or ACTC credits until after February 15. That means returns that contained those credits may not get refunds until around March 1, possibly a tad earlier if direct deposit was chosen.