IRS E-File Rejected! What do I do now?

So you have prepared and e-filed your federal and state income taxes online for the first time and you eagerly await the acknowledgement from the IRS. When it comes it says ‘rejected’ . What do you do now? Well, the first thing that you need to do is NOT panic. E-file rejections are pretty common due to the fact that it is still a relatively new system. You can easily fix most errors and re-submit for processing.

When a tax return is rejected, all it means is that there was an error in the tax return you e-filed. You are provided with information that specifies what error caused the rejection in the form of reject codes provided by the IRS. There are unique reject codes for each error that may occur in a tax return. This code has to be translated into the appropriate meaning for it to make any sense.

Most e-file providers will require you to purchase an added support feature to translate the code, but at Online Tax Pros, this feature is available to everyone at no additional cost. Why should you have to pay more to file the same return? Did you know that the IRS allows you to make changes to your electronic return and transmit it for re-processing multiple times at no cost at all? This is again where Online Tax Pros is different from other online tax preparation and e-file service providers. You do not have to pay additional fees to have your tax return re-submitted for processing after it is rejected due to an error.

Tax returns can be rejected for numerous reasons, such as a misspelled name or address, incorrect w-2 information, etc. But the most common reason comes in the form of a signature page; this is where you digitally authorize the tax return without having to mail a signature form to the IRS. It is called the self-select pin method, and it allows you to enter your prior year adjusted income (AGI) or self-select PIN, date of birth and a new five digit pin number of your liking as a digital signature. This eliminates the paper trail altogether in the tax filing process. Because not everyone has their prior year return instantly available, most taxpayers tend to get the AGI or prior year PIN information wrong. This is a very easy error to fix; you can read about it here.

So, when you tax return is rejected do not panic. Just read the information provided with the rejection, make the necessary changes, and re-submit it for processing. And remember, if you have to pay additional fees to find out what the reject code means or to re-submit your return for processing, you are clearly in the wrong place for preparing and e-filing your tax return. When you prepare and e-file you tax return with Online Tax Pros, there are NO hidden charges. It is as simple as that.

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