IRS Electronic Filing

IRS Rejections

What happens if I file electronically, and the IRS rejects my return?

First, you need to determine the reason for rejection. If it is something simple, like a misspelled name or your social security number was entered incorrectly, then you only need to correct the mistaken information, and re-submit for electronic filing. If the issue is something more, you may need to contact the IRS at www.irs.gov or at (800) 829-1040 and find out what you need to do to correct the problem with your return. It is possible that you will not be able to file electronically due to some IRS regulation. In that case you will need to print out your return and mail it to the IRS.

How do I find out why my return was rejected by the IRS?

You will be notified of the reasons for rejection at the e-mail address you provided under the Personal tab on the Address Information page. There is also a link on our home page in the Start Your Taxes section. When you click on Check E-file Status, you will login to verify your identity, and the reason for your rejection will be displayed.

The IRS says my name (or my spouse's name) is over 35 characters so they rejected my return. What do I need to do?

For electronic filing, the IRS has a 35 character limit on the taxpayer and spouse names. This includes the first name, last name, middle initial, punctuation and spaces.

The way the IRS assembles the names it comes out like this:

Example: William A Jefferson & Elizabeth R Johnson - that's 41 characters.

  1. Print your return with your full name(s) entered so you have a copy for your records.
  2. The IRS (and some states) verify your Social Security Number against the first four characters of both the first and last names when electronically filing. To insure you are under the 35 character limit and the information can still be verified, shorten your name(s) as follows:
    • Remove middle initials and any punctuation.
    • Shorten your first name(s) leaving at least the first 4 characters of each first name.
    • If you still are not within the limit, shorten your last name and your spouse's last name, leaving at least the first 4 characters of the last name.
  3. You MUST recalculate the return for these changes to take effect and to verify that the error message is gone.
  4. Once the error message has been eliminated, continue the filing process and submit the return for electronic filing.

My return was rejected for electronic filing because they said my taxpayer's or dependent's name or social security number didn't match their records. What do I do now?

You should contact your local Social Security Administration, and verify your information against what they have in their records. If you are both in agreement, you should double check your input in our program. Make sure the numbers are properly entered, and that you are not using abbreviations or nicknames. Spell out all your information carefully and completely. Do not include punctuation.