Can I proceed with my original tax return after the amended return was rejected for claiming my mother as dependent?

You're actually in luck here! If your amended return (Form 1040-X) was rejected, that means it was never officially processed by the IRS system. In the eyes of the IRS, it's as if you never submitted it at all. Since your original return was accepted, that's the one that remains in the system as your official tax filing. You don't need to take any additional action - the rejected amended return can be disregarded completely. This is different from if your amended return had been accepted and processed. In that case, the amended version would become your official return, replacing the original. But since it was rejected, your original return stands as your official filing. Just keep the rejection notice for your records in case there are any questions later, but otherwise, you're all set!

I went through something almost identical last tax season and found a lifesaver called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that really helped sort out my amended return confusion. I had filed an amendment thinking I could claim my aunt as a dependent, got rejected, and was totally lost about what to do next. The taxr.ai system analyzed my rejection notice and original return together and gave me a super clear explanation of exactly why my amendment was rejected and confirmed I could safely stick with my original return. Saved me hours of stress and potentially making things worse by filing unnecessary additional forms. It also checked if there were any other red flags in my original return that might trigger audits - thankfully there weren't!

Just wanted to follow up about taxr.ai - I decided to try it after my skeptical comment earlier. Actually ended up being pretty helpful! I had a similar amended return issue plus some questions about claiming business expenses on Schedule C, and the system gave surprisingly detailed explanations. It clearly pointed out that my rejected amendment meant my original return was still valid (like others mentioned here) but also identified a deduction I missed on my original return that I could still claim if I filed a correct amendment. The explanations were way more detailed than what I got from the IRS notice. Definitely less expensive than my usual tax guy for these kinds of questions.

If you're still getting nowhere with figuring out your amended return situation, I'd recommend calling the IRS directly - except we all know how impossible that is! After spending 3 hours on hold last month for a similar rejected amendment issue, I found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that actually got me through to a real IRS agent in under 15 minutes. They have this system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you, then calls you when an actual human picks up. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The agent I spoke with confirmed exactly what others here are saying - that my rejected amendment meant my original return was still active, and they noted in my file that I had attempted to amend but didn't need to proceed.

I'm eating crow here and need to apologize for my skepticism about Claimyr. After my doubtful comment yesterday, I decided to try it this morning for a different tax issue I've been trying to resolve for WEEKS. Not only did I get through to an actual IRS person in about 20 minutes (compared to my previous 2+ hour waits), but the agent was able to confirm that my original return is still valid after my rejected amendment. They even helped me understand exactly why my amendment was rejected (there was a signature issue I completely missed) and noted in my file that I don't intend to resubmit it. For anyone in a similar situation - definitely worth using if you need actual clarification from the IRS rather than just guessing what to do. Saved me a ton of stress and uncertainty.

Something similar happened to me last year but my amended return was ACCEPTED before I realized I made a mistake. If your amended return was rejected, you're in better shape because your original return is still valid like everyone else said. But FYI for anyone reading - if your amended return is ACCEPTED and processed, you have to file ANOTHER amended return to fix any issues. You can't go back to your original return once an amendment is processed. Learned this the hard way and ended up having to pay a tax professional $250 to sort it all out.

Has anyone here actually had experience ignoring a rejected amended return? I'm in almost the exact situation as OP (tried to claim my mom, brother already did it, amendment rejected) and just want to make sure there aren't any weird consequences down the road. My tax software keeps bugging me about the "unresolved rejected return" every time I log in and it's making me paranoid.