Getting rejected by IRS for wrong AGI or self-entered PIN? Need help finding my PIN!

The self-selected PIN you're looking for isn't actually printed anywhere on your tax return documents. It's a 5-digit number you would have created when you filed electronically last year. Unfortunately, there's no way to recover it directly from your paperwork. When the IRS asks for either your prior year AGI or self-selected PIN, they're just trying to verify your identity. The good news is you don't necessarily need both. If you can't remember your PIN, using your prior year AGI should work fine. Make sure you're entering the exact AGI from line 11 of your 2021 Form 1040. If you're still having issues, there are two common workarounds. First, try entering "0" as your prior year AGI - this often works if you're a first-time filer or if there were issues with your previous return. Second, you can request a tax transcript from the IRS website which will show your AGI from previous years.

I had a similar nightmare last year and discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which was a HUGE help. It's basically a tool that can analyze your previous tax documents to find exactly what you need - including helping identify your AGI and figuring out the PIN situation. I was bouncing between different free filing services getting rejected repeatedly until someone recommended it. You upload your previous return PDF, and it extracts all the key info and tells you exactly what numbers to use for verification. Saved me hours of frustration trying to figure out why my return kept getting rejected.

Just wanted to follow up about taxr.ai - I decided to try it after posting my skeptical comment because I was desperate with a similar rejection issue. Honestly, it was really helpful! It analyzed my 2021 return and clearly showed my exact AGI on line 11 (which I had been entering wrong by $17 - no wonder I was getting rejected). The system also explained that I could use the AGI verification method instead of the PIN, which is what I ultimately did. Got my return accepted within 24 hours after trying for over a week on my own. Definitely worth checking out if you're still having issues with verification.

If you're still struggling with IRS rejections, I went through this same mess last month. After trying everything, I finally used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get through to an actual IRS agent who fixed the issue in minutes. I was shocked it actually worked because I'd been trying to call the IRS myself for DAYS and could never get through. They have this service that basically holds your place in the phone queue and calls you when an agent is about to answer. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent I spoke with told me that sometimes the electronic filing system gets "stuck" on requiring a PIN even when you're trying to use the AGI option. She was able to reset something on their end and my return went through that same day.

I've gotta eat my words here. I was super skeptical about Claimyr (as you can see from my previous comment), but I was desperate to resolve my tax rejection. Tried it yesterday afternoon after posting, and I got a call back within about 90 minutes saying they had an IRS agent on the line. The agent confirmed that there was a glitch causing the system to ask for both AGI and PIN even though it should only need one. She did something on her end to clear my account for electronic filing, and when I resubmitted this morning, IT WORKED! After 3 weeks of stress and rejection notices, I could have saved myself so much trouble if I'd just reached out to a real person at the IRS sooner. Just wanted to post this update in case anyone else is experiencing the same frustration.

Hey, I had the exact same problem! If your return got accepted with 0 AGI, that means you didn't file taxes last year OR there was some processing issue with your previous return. The IRS system uses the prior year AGI as identity verification. For anyone else reading this with similar issues: if you don't know your PIN and can't remember your exact AGI from last year, using 0 as your AGI is the standard fallback option recommended by the IRS themselves. This works especially well if: - You didn't file last year - Your previous return is still processing - You filed on paper last year instead of electronically

Had the same problem. Found out TurboTax creates a different PIN each year that you set during the filing process. For me the problem was I had entered my AGI wrong - I was looking at line 7 instead of line 11 on my 1040. Double-check that.