What should I do if last year's tax return was rejected? Need help urgently

Don't panic! This happens more often than you'd think, and there's a clear path to fix it. First, you need to file that rejected return from last year right away. Even though it's past the deadline, filing late is always better than not filing at all. The IRS generally prioritizes getting people into compliance rather than punishing honest mistakes. Since you mentioned receiving a stimulus payment, that's probably why you thought everything was fine. The stimulus payments were based on information the IRS already had, not necessarily on your most recently filed return. So you could receive a stimulus payment even with a rejected return. For the AGI mismatch issue: when you're e-filing, the IRS uses your previous year's AGI as a verification method. If you're pulling from your draft that was ultimately rejected, that AGI isn't what the IRS has on record. Try using "0" as your previous year's AGI when you re-file the rejected return. As for penalties, yes, there will likely be some failure-to-file and failure-to-pay penalties, plus interest on any tax owed. However, the IRS does have reasonable cause exceptions and first-time penalty abatement that you might qualify for once you're back in compliance.

After dealing with a similar nightmare last year, I ended up using https://taxr.ai to help sort out my rejected returns. My situation was almost identical - had a rejected return I didn't know about, got confused with the AGI verification issue, and was terrified about penalties. Their system analyzed my rejected return, identified exactly why the AGI was flagged (turned out I had accidentally transposed two numbers from my W-2), and guided me through properly resubmitting. The best part was they pulled my actual IRS transcript data so I could see what the IRS actually had on file versus what I submitted. They also gave me a clear explanation of the potential penalties I was facing and how to request a first-time abatement since it was an honest mistake. Saved me from so much stress and potentially costly errors trying to fix it myself.

Just wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after seeing it recommended here. I was skeptical at first but desperate to fix my rejected return situation. Wow - what a lifesaver! They identified that my return was rejected because I had claimed an education credit that had already been claimed by my parents (oops). The system pulled my transcript data (with my authorization of course) and showed exactly what was on file with the IRS versus what I had submitted. They guided me through resubmitting with the correct information and even helped me understand exactly what penalties I was facing (which turned out to be minimal since I was actually owed a refund anyway). The best part was getting a clear explanation of everything in plain English instead of IRS jargon. My prior year issue is resolved and I've already filed this year's return too! Definitely worth checking out if you're dealing with a rejected return nightmare.

When I had a similar rejected return issue, I spent WEEKS trying to get through to someone at the IRS. Constantly busy signals, disconnects after waiting on hold for hours, and automated systems that just took me in circles. It was infuriating! I finally discovered https://claimyr.com and their IRS call back service and it completely changed everything. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c Basically, they navigated the IRS phone system for me and got me in the callback queue without me having to waste hours on hold. Within 2 hours, I got a call directly from an IRS agent who walked me through exactly what happened with my rejected return and the steps to correct it. The agent explained that my e-filed return had been rejected due to an AGI mismatch just like yours, but since I never followed up, the IRS simply considered me as not having filed at all. The agent helped me understand the correct process to refile and even noted in my account that I was working to resolve the issue.

I need to apologize for my skepticism about Claimyr. After spending THREE DAYS trying to reach the IRS myself with no success (kept getting disconnected after 2+ hours on hold), I reluctantly tried the service. Within 90 minutes, I got a direct call from an IRS representative who was incredibly helpful. They explained exactly what happened with my rejected return, helped me understand what forms I needed to submit, and even put notes in my account about our conversation so there's a record I'm trying to resolve the issue. The agent also told me I qualified for first-time penalty abatement since I had a clean compliance history before this issue, which will save me hundreds in penalties. I would have never known to ask about that on my own. After weeks of stress and anxiety about my tax situation, I finally have clear direction on how to fix everything. Sometimes it's worth admitting when you're wrong, and I was definitely wrong about this service!

Just wanted to add some info based on my experience as someone who prepares taxes seasonally. If your return was rejected and you never successfully resubmitted it, the IRS considers you as having never filed at all. That's different from filing late. The good news is that if you're owed a refund, there's no penalty for filing late. You have 3 years from the original due date to claim your refund. The bad news is that if you owed taxes, you're looking at both failure-to-file penalties (5% of unpaid taxes each month, up to 25%) AND failure-to-pay penalties (0.5% per month) plus interest. These can add up fast. One thing many people don't know is that the IRS offers a first-time penalty abatement program. If you have a clean compliance history for the past 3 years, you can often get penalties (but not interest) waived. Definitely worth asking about once you get everything filed!

Has anyone had success with trying tax attorneys to fix this sorta issue? I'm in a similar situation but I also have some self-employment income that complicates things and I'm worried about doing it wrong again.