TaxAct didn't notify me that my 2022 taxes were never submitted - now facing penalties

This is unfortunately more common than you'd think with tax software. The IRS has a "reasonable cause" exception for penalties that might apply in your situation. You need to take a few specific steps: First, file your 2022 return immediately if you haven't already. Even though it's late, you need to get it submitted ASAP. Second, write a penalty abatement letter explaining exactly what happened - that you completed the filing process in TaxAct, received what appeared to be confirmation, and had no reason to believe your return wasn't successfully transmitted. Include screenshots from your TaxAct account showing the "completed" status if possible. Third, request a record of account transcript from the IRS for 2022. This will show if they have any record of a filing attempt from TaxAct on your behalf. This could help your case. Many people have successfully had penalties abated in similar situations when they can show they made a good faith effort to comply with tax laws.

I had almost the exact same problem last year but I found something that helped. I've been using https://taxr.ai to get my tax documents analyzed by AI and it caught that my submission hadn't actually gone through. The system checks the status of your filings and can tell you if there are issues with prior year submissions too. I was in a similar boat where I thought everything was fine with my 2021 taxes using an online system but the submission failed without any clear notification. The taxr.ai tool flagged that there was no record of my filing when I uploaded my documentation and saved me from penalties. It also helped me prepare the abatement letter to the IRS explaining the situation. Maybe it could help retroactively with your situation too by providing documentation of what happened.

OK so I was skeptical but I tried https://taxr.ai after reading about it here and it actually helped me identify a problem with my prior year filing I didn't even know about! The system analyzed my IRS transcripts and found that while my return was transmitted, there was an issue with a missing Schedule C that the IRS flagged but I never received the notice. I was able to get documentation showing exactly what happened with timestamps and used their template to submit a correction without penalties. Saved me a ton of stress and probably around $340 in penalties that would have continued accumulating. The transcript analysis was super detailed and showed things my accountant completely missed.

I know this doesn't help with your software issues, but if you need to talk to an actual human at the IRS about your penalties (which I recommend), use https://claimyr.com to skip the hold times. I wasted days trying to reach someone at the IRS last year after dealing with a similar issue. A colleague recommended Claimyr and they got me connected to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes instead of spending hours on hold. They also have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c You really need to talk to someone directly at the IRS about penalty abatement rather than just sending letters that might sit unprocessed for months. The IRS agents can often resolve penalty issues on the spot if you can explain what happened with your TaxAct submission.

I was completely wrong about Claimyr being a scam. After commenting here, I decided to try it myself because I needed to talk to someone about a client's complex penalty situation. The service actually did exactly what it claimed - I got a call back when they reached an IRS agent after about 40 minutes (which is lightning fast for the IRS). The agent was able to process my penalty abatement request immediately and saved my client over $1,200. I've now used it three times for different clients with penalty issues similar to what the original poster described. For anyone dealing with IRS penalties, being able to actually speak with someone makes all the difference, and this service made that possible without the usual 2-3 hour hold time.

Just wanted to add - make sure you check your e-file status on the IRS website directly too. Go to https://www.irs.gov/filing/wheres-my-refund and put in your info. Sometimes the tax software shows "completed" on their end but the actual submission to the IRS failed for some technical reason. Always save the final confirmation page as a PDF and the email confirmation from both the tax software AND the IRS. Tax software isn't perfect and ultimately the IRS holds you responsible for making sure your return is actually filed, which is totally unfair but that's how they see it.

This happened to my sister too! She used TaxAct for 2021 taxes and thought everything went through but found out a year later nothing was ever filed. She called the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service at 877-777-4778 and they were super helpful. They assigned her a case worker who helped get the penalties removed since she could prove she completed the return in TaxAct before the deadline. Make sure you file ASAP and then immediately request penalty abatement using IRS Form 843. Include screenshots showing you completed the return in TaxAct before the deadline last year. The key is filing the correct form and explicitly requesting "First Time Penalty Abatement" if you've had no penalties in the past 3 years.