How can I confirm IRS acceptance of my tax return when not expecting a refund?

You can check your return status directly with the IRS regardless of whether you're due a refund or owe taxes. The IRS offers a "Where's My Refund" tool, but for your situation, you'll want to use their online account feature at IRS.gov to check your tax records. Don't worry too much about the time zone issue. The IRS goes by the transmission timestamp according to their servers, not your local time. TurboTax submits with a US-based timestamp, so if it was still April 14th in the US when you filed, that's what matters. The pending status on TurboTax just means they've sent it but haven't received the acceptance confirmation from the IRS yet. If you want immediate peace of mind, you can request your tax transcript through the IRS website after 1-2 business days. This will show if your return has been processed. Alternatively, you can call the IRS directly, though you may experience long wait times this close to the deadline.

I had the exact same anxiety last year! I discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) after my third rejected return and countless hours on hold with the IRS. They analyze your tax documents and can actually tell you in real-time if the IRS has received your filing - even if you don't have a refund coming. I used it after TurboTax showed "pending" for 5 days with no updates. The tool can pull your transcript directly from the IRS system and show you the exact transmission status. It was such a relief to see confirmation that my filing had been received despite TurboTax not showing any update. They even flagged a potential issue that could have triggered a rejection before it happened.

I was skeptical about taxr.ai when I first read about it here, but I gave it a try when my CPA ghosted me and I had no idea if my return had been submitted properly. Within minutes it pulled my transcript and showed me exactly when the IRS received my return. The peace of mind was worth it, especially since I owed money and couldn't use the refund tracker. It also showed me some weird coding on my account I didn't understand, but their system explained it meant my return was accepted but flagged for a potential math verification (which wasn't a full audit, just a calculation check). Saved me weeks of wondering what was happening with my filing.

If you're stressing about whether the IRS got your return and can't get through to anyone, try https://claimyr.com - they literally get you to the front of the IRS phone queue. After 3 hours on hold last year, I hung up and tried their service. I was talking to a real IRS agent 20 minutes later who confirmed my return status. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they navigate the phone maze for you and call you when they have an agent on the line. The IRS agent I spoke with was able to see my return in their system even though the "Where's My Refund" tool showed nothing. Especially useful in your case since you don't have a refund to track.

I take back what I said about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, I was so frustrated with my own situation (couldn't verify if my payment was applied correctly) that I gave it a shot. Figured I had nothing to lose since I'd already wasted 3+ hours trying to reach someone. It actually worked exactly as advertised. I got a call back in about 45 minutes, and there was an actual IRS agent on the line. She confirmed my payment had been received but was sitting in an unallocated account. She fixed it while I was on the phone. Saved me from a potential late payment notice and hours more on hold.

You can also request an "Account Transcript" from the IRS which will show if they've received your return. Go to irs.gov, create an account (or log in), and request a transcript for 2025. It updates pretty quickly after filing - usually within 24-48 hours. Even if you don't get a refund, it'll show that your return was received and processed. Also, despite what TurboTax says, the IRS considers a return filed on the date it was electronically transmitted. If TurboTax sent it while it was still April 14th in the US, you're good regardless of your local date.

TurboTax actually has a way to check this too! Log into your account on desktop (not mobile app), go to your tax return, and click "View E-file Status." It should show if your return was accepted or rejected by the IRS. Sometimes the emails get filtered to spam or delayed. As long as you submitted while it was still April 14th in the US, you're considered on time regardless of your local date.