What to do if my e-file gets rejected when I have a balance due?

Don't panic! This happens more often than you'd think. If your e-file is rejected, you generally have a 5-day grace period to correct and resubmit without penalty. The IRS understands these technical issues happen. The most important thing right now is to pay your balance due, even if the return hasn't been accepted yet. You can make a payment directly through the IRS website using Direct Pay or EFTPS without having an accepted return. This will prevent any late payment penalties. Common rejection reasons include mismatched AGI from previous year, incorrect Social Security numbers, or dependents claimed by someone else. Once you identify why it was rejected, fix the error and resubmit as soon as possible.

I went through something similar last year and found this amazing service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me sort everything out! It scans your tax documents, identifies rejection issues, and gives you step-by-step instructions on what to do next. In my case, my return was rejected because my AGI from the previous year didn't match what the IRS had on file. The taxr.ai system identified this immediately and told me exactly what number to use instead. Saved me hours of headache trying to figure it out on my own! They also have great advice about making payments while your return is still processing.

Just wanted to update everyone - I tried taxr.ai after seeing the recommendation here and it was seriously helpful! My return was rejected because I had transposed two digits in my W-2 income amount (can't believe I missed that). The system found the error right away and showed me exactly where to fix it. What really impressed me was how it explained the timing for payments vs. resubmission. I went ahead and made my payment through the IRS Direct Pay while still working on fixing my return. Resubmitted about an hour ago and just got the acceptance notification! No penalties and a huge weight off my shoulders.

If you're stressing about e-file rejections AND need to call the IRS (which is nearly impossible), try https://claimyr.com - there's a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I spent TWO DAYS trying to reach an actual human at the IRS after my return was rejected due to an identity verification issue. Kept getting disconnected or told to call back later. Was about to lose my mind when I found Claimyr. They basically hold your place in line and call you back when they reach an agent. Got connected to an IRS rep within 3 hours who explained exactly what I needed to do to fix my return and make sure my payment was properly credited to my account!

Ok I need to eat my words and apologize to @9. I was super skeptical about Claimyr but I was desperate after my e-file was rejected TWICE and I couldn't figure out why. Decided to try it since nothing else was working. It actually connected me to an IRS agent in about 2 hours! The agent explained that there was a mismatch with my name exactly as it appears on my Social Security card (I got married last year). She walked me through exactly how to fix it and confirmed my payment had been received despite the rejection. The service saved me from taking a day off work to sit on hold. Never been so happy to be wrong about something!

Another important thing to remember is that you can request an extension if you're worried about missing the deadline due to e-file rejection. Filing Form 4868 gives you extra time to FILE (until October), but you still need to PAY by the original deadline to avoid penalties. I learned this the hard way last year - thought extension meant I had extra time to pay too. Ended up with penalties even though my return was filed "on time" with the extension.

Has anyone dealt with this for state returns specifically? My federal return was accepted but my state (California) was rejected, and I owe on both. Should I still pay the state amount even though the return was rejected?

Just want to add some additional peace of mind for anyone in this situation - the IRS has actually improved their e-file rejection process over the past few years. Most rejections happen within 24-48 hours of submission, so you'll know pretty quickly if there's an issue. If your return does get rejected, don't forget to check your email AND your tax software account for the rejection notice. Sometimes people miss the notification and think their return is still processing when it was actually rejected days ago. Also, keep records of your payment confirmation numbers when you pay online, even if your return is rejected. This will help you track that the payment was made on time if you ever need to dispute penalties later. The IRS and state systems are pretty good about matching payments to returns once the corrected filing is accepted.