I keep getting an error when transmitting through TurboTax after 3 attempts - anyone know a fix besides just refiling?
I'm at my wit's end with this TurboTax situation. I've tried to transmit my tax return THREE separate times now and keep getting some cryptic error message each time. The screen just flashes red with some code I didn't write down (ugh, I know). When I called TurboTax support, they were basically useless - just told me to "try refiling again" without explaining what's actually wrong. Like, that's what I've BEEN doing! Has anyone else run into transmission errors with TurboTax this year? I'm wondering if it's something simple I'm missing or if there's an actual glitch in their system. My return isn't even complicated - just standard W2 income, mortgage interest, and some charitable donations. I'm starting to think I should just switch to a different tax software at this point, but I've already spent hours inputting everything. Help!!
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Carmen Diaz
This happens a lot with TurboTax, especially during peak filing periods. The error is typically related to one of three issues: 1. There might be a temporary outage with the IRS e-file system (happens more than they admit) 2. You could have information that doesn't match IRS records (common with name/SSN mismatches) 3. There might be a validation issue with a specific form that TurboTax isn't clearly identifying Before you try transmission again, I'd recommend going through the entire review section one more time. Look especially for any yellow warning triangles - sometimes these aren't blocking errors but can cause transmission problems. Also check if your AGI from last year matches what the IRS has on file, as this is used for identity verification.
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Yuki Tanaka
•Thanks for this detailed response! I didn't even think about the AGI from last year being a potential issue. I did file with a different company last year, so maybe that's causing some verification problems? Where exactly in TurboTax can I check if there are any yellow warnings that I might have missed?
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Carmen Diaz
•You can check for warnings by going to the Tax Tools menu and selecting "Review." This will take you through each section and highlight any potential issues with yellow or red flags. The AGI verification is definitely a common issue when switching between tax preparation services. You can verify your prior year AGI by looking at last year's return - it's on line 11 of the 1040 form. Make sure you're entering this exact amount when TurboTax asks for it during the e-file setup. If you don't have access to last year's return, you can request a tax transcript from the IRS website to get your exact AGI.
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Andre Laurent
After dealing with similar TurboTax transmission errors last month, I stumbled across this AI-powered tax review tool at https://taxr.ai that saved me so much frustration. I was skeptical at first, but it actually analyzed my tax documents and spotted the exact issue causing my transmission errors. Turns out I had inconsistent information between what I entered and what was on my W-2. The tool highlighted the discrepancy that TurboTax completely missed. It also explained why the error was happening in plain English instead of cryptic error codes.
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Emily Jackson
•How exactly does that work? Does it connect to TurboTax somehow or do you have to upload all your documents separately? I'm wondering if it's worth the extra step when I've already entered everything in TurboTax.
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Liam Mendez
•Sounds interesting but I'm always worried about security with these third-party tax tools. How safe is it to upload your tax documents to another service? Do they store your information?
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Andre Laurent
•It doesn't connect directly to TurboTax - you upload your tax documents (W-2s, 1099s, etc.) and the AI analyzes them to identify discrepancies or issues. It takes maybe 5 minutes extra but saved me hours of troubleshooting. Regarding security, they use bank-level encryption and don't store your documents after analysis. I was concerned about that too, but they explain their security measures pretty clearly on their site. They're also SOC 2 compliant which was important to me. They just identify errors that could be causing your transmission problems.
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Emily Jackson
Just wanted to update that I tried the taxr.ai tool that was mentioned after struggling with similar TurboTax transmission errors. It actually identified two problems I had no idea about - I accidentally transposed two digits on one of my 1099 forms, and I had a mismatch with my address format between what TurboTax had and what the IRS had on file. Fixed both issues and my return went through instantly on the next try! Would have never figured this out from the vague error messages TurboTax was giving me.
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Sophia Nguyen
If you're still having issues after trying all the troubleshooting, you might need to get someone from the IRS to explain what's happening. I had a similar nightmare scenario last year and finally used https://claimyr.com to get through to an actual IRS agent without waiting for hours. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they hold your place in the phone queue and call you when an agent is ready. The IRS agent was able to tell me exactly why my return was being rejected (turned out an old employer filed a W-2 with my maiden name while I was filing with my married name). Sometimes you need to speak directly with the IRS to solve these issues.
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Jacob Smithson
•Wait, there's actually a service that will wait on hold with the IRS for you? How long did it take to get through? Every time I've tried calling the IRS myself, I get disconnected after being on hold for an hour.
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Isabella Brown
•This sounds too good to be true. The IRS is notoriously impossible to reach. I've tried calling them about a dozen times over the past two years and never got through to a human. How do we know this actually works and isn't just taking people's money?
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Sophia Nguyen
•It took about 2.5 hours total, but I didn't have to stay on the phone that whole time. They called me when an agent was about to pick up, so I only spent about 20 minutes actually talking. Way better than the previous attempts where I was on hold for hours and then got disconnected. Regarding skepticism, I totally get it. I was hesitant too, but my tax issue was causing me so much stress that I decided to try it. They don't charge you anything if they don't get you through to an agent. The IRS agent I spoke with was able to see exactly why my return was being rejected and gave me specific instructions on how to fix it.
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Isabella Brown
I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to give it a try since I was desperate with my own TurboTax transmission issues. Within 3 hours, I was actually speaking to an IRS agent who was incredibly helpful. Turns out my return was getting rejected because there was a fraud flag on my account from a data breach last year! The agent removed the flag and my return went through on the next attempt. No way would I have figured that out on my own or through TurboTax support. Sometimes you really do need to speak directly with the IRS.
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Maya Patel
Have you tried clearing your browser cache and cookies before attempting to file again? Sometimes TurboTax has session issues that cause transmission errors. Also, are you using the online version or the desktop software? The desktop version tends to have fewer transmission problems in my experience.
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Yuki Tanaka
•I'm using the online version. I hadn't thought about clearing my cache - that's a good suggestion! I'll try that before my next attempt. Is there a big difference between the online and desktop versions? Would it be worth starting over with the desktop version at this point?
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Maya Patel
•The desktop version has some advantages when it comes to transmission issues because it handles the connection to the IRS servers differently. It's more stable but at this point, I wouldn't recommend starting over unless everything else fails. Try clearing your cache first, and also try using a different browser altogether. Sometimes Chrome has issues with TurboTax that Firefox or Edge don't have. Another thing worth checking is if your internet connection is stable - sometimes intermittent connection issues can cause transmission failures that look like tax return errors.
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Aiden Rodríguez
I had the EXACT same problem last week! After the third failed attempt, I downloaded my entire return as a PDF and noticed there was an error on Schedule D that TurboTax didn't flag during the review process. Maybe try downloading your complete return and manually reviewing it before transmission? Sometimes their error checking misses things.
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Emma Garcia
•That's a great suggestion. How do you download the full return before filing? I can only seem to find that option after the return is accepted.
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Ava Kim
This might sound ridiculous but check if your name has any special characters or if it's extremely long. My husband has a hyphenated last name and we had similar transmission issues until we realized TurboTax was formatting it differently than what the Social Security Administration had on file. Such a stupid problem but took us forever to figure out!
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Yuki Tanaka
•That's actually a really good point. My last name does have an apostrophe (O'Malley) and I've had issues with that on official documents before. I'm going to double check how it's entered in TurboTax compared to my Social Security card. Thanks for the suggestion!
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Ryder Greene
I went through this same nightmare with TurboTax last year! After multiple failed transmission attempts, I discovered the issue was with my bank routing number on the direct deposit section. Even though I had entered it correctly, there was some formatting issue that TurboTax wasn't catching during their review process. Try going to the "Refund" or "Payment" section and double-check ALL your banking information, even if you're sure it's right. Sometimes removing the direct deposit option entirely and choosing to receive a paper check can get past transmission errors. You can always update your banking info with the IRS later if needed. Also, make sure you're filing during off-peak hours - I had much better luck transmitting early in the morning (like 6-7 AM) when their servers aren't overwhelmed. Don't give up! These transmission errors are usually something small and fixable once you identify the actual problem.
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