Filed with H&R Block a week ago - still showing as 'pending' not 'accepted'

That does seem unusually long. Have you checked your H&R Block account to see if there are any notices or alerts? Did you file electronically or by mail? And did you get any confirmation email after submitting?

Have you considered checking the IRS website directly? Why rely on H&R Block's status when you can verify with the source? The "Where's My Refund" tool might not show anything yet, but you could try creating an account on IRS.gov and checking if your return appears there. Sometimes the tax prep software has delays in updating their status even when the IRS has already processed your return.

I'd be worried too. A week is definitely longer than normal for acceptance. When this happened to me last year, I spent THREE DAYS trying to reach someone at the IRS to confirm they actually received my return. Finally used Claimyr (https://www.claimyr.com) to get through to an agent in about 30 minutes. Turns out there was an issue with my SSN formatting that H&R Block didn't catch, but the IRS rejected. Better to find out now than wait until April and discover you need to refile.

I had this exact same issue with H&R Block last year! 😂 Filed on February 10th and it stayed "pending" until February 19th. I called them THREE times and got a different answer each time. One rep said it was normal, another said there was a system issue, and the third told me to check my email spam folder (where I actually found the acceptance notification that had been sent days earlier but got filtered). Might be worth checking your spam/junk folder?

You may want to verify the transmission method used by H&R Block for your return. Some tax preparation services batch-process returns at specific intervals rather than submitting them immediately. Additionally, if your return contains certain schedules or forms that require additional verification, the acceptance process may be delayed. I would recommend contacting H&R Block again and specifically asking if your return has been transmitted to the IRS or if it's still in their internal queue.

According to the IRS website (https://www.irs.gov/refunds/tax-season-refund-frequently-asked-questions), e-filed returns should receive an acknowledgment within 24-48 hours. If you're still showing as pending after a week, something's definitely off. H&R Block might be having a system issue they're not admitting to. You can also check your filing status directly with the IRS by creating an account at https://www.irs.gov/payments/view-your-tax-account - this will show if they've received your return regardless of what H&R Block's system says.

I've used both TurboTax and H&R Block over the years, and H&R Block consistently takes longer to show acceptance status. Last year my TurboTax return was accepted in 36 hours, while this year with H&R Block it took 5 days - but everything was fine. Their system just updates slower than TurboTax. As long as you filed electronically and got a confirmation number when you submitted, I wouldn't worry too much yet. If it goes beyond 10 days, then start making calls.