Problem: What to do when the IRS rejects your 2023 tax return even if you entered the correct 2022 AGI or Adjusted Gross Income amount?
2022 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 2022 AGI amount as listed on line 11 of their 2022 Form 1040, the IRS rejects the return even though the AGI amount is correct.
These 2022 AGI rejections are not an eFile.com tax app transfer issue. This issue is an amount miss-match of the 2022 AGI entered by the taxpayer and the 2022 AGI amount stored by the IRS AGI verification system.
We recommend taking these steps to get the 2022 AGI rejection issue solved:
Step 1:
Actual 2022 AGI $ amount
Make sure you entered the correct 2022 AGI amount during checkout (verify on Form 1040, line 11). If are filing as married filing joint (MFJ) for 2023, enter the same AGI amount for your spouse if you also filed married filing joint in 2022. If you got married in 2023 and your spouse had a different 2022 AGI, then enter this amount during checkout. If you got divorced in 2023 enter the 2022 MFJ joint return for 2023.
Step 2:
2022 Tax Amendment AGI
If Step 1 failed and only if you filed a tax amendment for tax year 2022, 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 2022, try and enter your actual 2022 AGI and the spouse's AGI as 0 and vice versa.
Step 3:
0 (Zero) as 2022 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 2022 AGI. If you did not file as MFJ in 2022, try and enter your actual 2022 AGI and the spouse's AGI as 0 and vice versa.
Step 4:
2022 Tax Transcript
If Step 1, 2, and 3 failed, get a free 2022 tax transcript as the IRS might have adjusted your 2022 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 2022 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 2022 AGI here is only used to verify your identity. If the IRS has for some reason not updated your correct 2022 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 2022 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 2022 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