Why are my taxes still pending

There could be a couple of reasons why you might be experiencing a delay:

1. First, the status might be pending for security reasons. This may be a sign that someone is trying to use your identity to file a tax return. This can take up to 72 hours, after which your return will then be forwarded to the IRS, or if applicable, rejected. If rejected, you can then correct the rejection issue and resubmit. Please see this FAQ for reference.

2. Secondly, there could be a delay if your return has various refundable credits, such as the Earned Income Credit, Investment Credit, Energy Credits, or Business Credits. You may need to wait a few more days and check your filing status again. Please see this FAQ for additional information.

Note: Both instances may be applicable. That is, you could have a hold for security reasons first. And additionally for verification of the refundable credits in your return. In this case, delays might extend beyond 72 hours.

Additionally, if you have Form 5695 and claiming joint occupancy, the IRS will not be accepting these returns until 3/16/25. You can see this on this IRS site. The language you see below is from Row 39 of the Tax Year 2024 spreadsheet.

Taxpayers claiming Joint Occupancy on Form 5695 will have to file via paper if filing their return before the Form 5695 schema is updated in mid-March. This temporary limitation should only impact a subsection of Form 5695 filers.  For a preview of the TY24 draft form and instructions for Form 5695, please see the Draft tax forms on IRS.gov at https://www.irs.gov/draft-tax-forms. Submission of Forms 5695 that do not claim Joint Occupancy may be e-filed at the start of Processing Year 2025