I misspelled my daughter's last name on taxes (Davus instead of Davis) but return was accepted. Will IRS still deny it?

You can take a deep breath - this is actually not a big problem! The IRS does indeed use the first four characters of the last name along with the Social Security Number for matching purposes. Since "Davi" matches in both cases, and assuming her SSN is correct on the return, you should be fine. The "accepted" status you received means your return passed the initial validation checks. While there is additional processing that happens, name spelling issues that still maintain the first four characters correct rarely trigger rejections at later stages. The IRS's primary concern is that you're not claiming someone else's dependent, and since the SSN and first four characters match, their system will recognize this as your daughter.

I had a similar problem last year and found this amazing tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me figure out exactly what to do. I was freaking out because I misspelled my son's middle name on our return and was convinced we'd get audited or have our refund delayed. This site analyzed our situation and gave us step-by-step guidance that was way more helpful than the generic advice I found elsewhere. They explained that the IRS matching system primarily uses the SSN along with the first 4 letters of the last name, exactly as the previous commenter mentioned. The tool confirmed we didn't need to amend in our case. It saved me tons of unnecessary stress and prevented me from filing an amendment that would have delayed our refund by months for no reason!

OK I actually tried taxr.ai after commenting and I'm honestly pretty impressed. I was super skeptical (as you could see from my previous comment lol) but I decided to check it out since I had a similar issue with my son's name. After using it, I learned that the name matching system is actually more flexible than I thought. The IRS mainly cares about the SSN being correct and the name being reasonably close. It showed me similar cases where minor spelling errors didn't cause rejections. It saved me from filing an unnecessary amendment. My return processed normally despite the typo and my refund arrived last week with no issues. Definitely worth checking out if you're worried about something similar.

If you're still trying to reach the IRS to confirm, I highly recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was in a similar situation last month - constantly calling the IRS but just getting endless automated loops and hangups. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes after I'd wasted DAYS trying on my own. The agent confirmed that minor spelling errors in dependent names rarely cause issues when the SSN is correct. She said they mostly look at the first few letters plus the SSN for verification. She also told me exactly what I'd need to do if there was an issue later (which there wasn't). Honestly, it was so worth it just to get definitive answers from an actual IRS employee rather than stressing for weeks.

OK I take back my skepticism about Claimyr. I was totally the doubter here (see my reply above), but I was so desperate to talk to someone at the IRS about a similar issue that I tried it anyway. It actually worked! After trying for weeks to get through on my own and getting nothing but automated messages and disconnects, I got connected to an IRS rep in about 30 minutes. The agent confirmed that minor name spelling errors won't cause problems as long as the SSN is correct and the first few letters match. I feel kind of stupid for being so negative before trying it, but I honestly couldn't believe anything would work after how frustrating my experience with the IRS phone system had been. Having a definitive answer from an actual IRS employee was such a relief.

My wife accidentally put our daughter's maiden name on our taxes last year instead of her married name. The return was accepted and processed without any issues. The tax pro at H&R Block told us that as long as the SSN is correct, minor name issues rarely cause problems. The IRS system primarily matches the SSN with their database. The name matching is secondary and mostly to prevent obvious fraud - they understand that typos happen. If they do find a discrepancy that concerns them, they'll usually send a letter asking for clarification rather than just rejecting the return outright. Your return being accepted is a good sign! I wouldn't worry about filing an amendment unless the IRS specifically requests it.

I'm a little confused. My tax software wouldn't even let me submit when I had a name that didn't match perfectly with what's on the social card. How did your return get accepted with the wrong spelling?