Problem: What to do when the IRS rejects your 2022 tax return even if you entered the correct 2021 AGI or Adjusted Gross Income amount?
2021 AGI Solution: The IRS AGI rejections have been a problem for the last 3 years. Taxpayers get rightfully frustrated and can't accept the fact that when they enter the correct 2021 AGI amount as listed on line 11 of their 2021 Form 1040, the IRS rejects the return even though the AGI amount is correct.
These 2021 AGI rejections are not an eFile.com tax app transfer issue. This issue is an amount miss-match of the 2021 AGI entered by the taxpayer and the 2021 AGI amount stored by the IRS AGI verification system.
We recommend taking these steps to get the 2021 AGI rejection issue solved:
Step 1:
Actual 2021 AGI $ amount
Make sure you entered the correct 2021 AGI amount during checkout (verify on Form 1040, line 11). If are filing as married filing joint (MFJ) for 2022, enter the same AGI amount for your spouse if you also filed married filing joint in 2021. If you got married in 2022 and your spouse had a different 2021 AGI, then enter this amount during checkout. If you got divorced in 2022 enter the 2021 MFJ joint return for 2022.
Step 2:
2021 Tax Amendment AGI
If Step 1 failed and only if you filed a tax amendment for tax year 2021, enter you and your spouse's (if MFJ) adjusted tax amendment based AGI instead of the AGI from your original return on Form 1040 line 11. If you did not file as MFJ in 2021, try and enter your actual 2021 AGI and the spouse's AGI as 0 and vice versa.
Step 3:
0 (Zero) as 2021 AGI
If Step 1 and 2 failed or do not apply, enter 0 (as in the number zero) for you and your spouse (if MFJ) as your 2021 AGI. If you did not file as MFJ in 2021, try and enter your actual 2021 AGI and the spouse's AGI as 0 and vice versa.
Step 4:
2021 Tax Transcript
If Step 1, 2, and 3 failed, get a free 2021 tax transcript as the IRS might have adjusted your 2021 AGI without your knowledge. Get the transcript here
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript (be prepared for the ID.me based verification process on the IRS site) or call the automated Internal Revenue Service Transcript Order Line at 1-800-908-9946. You might have to wait 5 days to get the 2021 transcript with your AGI mailed to you.
Step 5:
Mail In
As the last option and only if Steps 1-4 have failed and only after you have
contacted eFile.com, download, print, sign, and mail your return from your eFile.com
My Account. Do not mail your state return to the IRS but only to the respective state agency.
See mailing instructions here.
- Note: The 2021 AGI here is only used to verify your identity. If the IRS has for some reason not updated your correct 2021 AGI, then they will have stored it as 0, thus if you enter 0, you have verified your identity. This is NOT an indication that your actual and correct 2021 AGI is false or incorrect on your tax return and you will NOT get in trouble for this.
- Tip: Once your tax return got rejected as a result of Step 1, do not try to e-File your tax return over and over again with the same correct 2021 AGI entries. Instead, move on to the next step and DO NOT SKIP Steps 3 and 4 if 1 and/or 2 have failed.
Sign into your eFile.com account
Next year, your AGI will be stored conveniently for you in your eFile.com account under My Account.
You can read more here about IRS backlogs that might have caused this issue via the taxpayer advocate's report: https://www.efile.com/tax-service/pdf/6506.pdf