Amended 2021 Fed eFile rejected! TurboTax email explanation doesn't make sense to me!

[GolfBall]

After help from this community I amended my previously eFiled 2021 Fed return. TurboTax didn't detect any problems so I went ahead and eFiled the amended return. Then I received an email from TurboTax that it was rejected and the rejection email makes no sense to me. The rejection email is as follows:

Email begin:

The good news is, we can help resolve the issue easily, and work with you to update and resubmit your return as soon as possible.

What happened:   IND-078 - If 'TotalPaymentsAmt' in the return is equal to 'TotalTaxAmt', then the following must be equal to zero if an amount is entered: 'OverpaidAmt' and 'RefundAmt' and 'AppliedToEsTaxAmt'.

Next step:   We'll help you get this updated on your amended federal return and e-file.

To update your return:   Once you've opened your return in TurboTax, the details about what needs updating will be displayed.   From there we can walk you through making the updates you need and help you e-file your return. If it isn't possible to e-file your updated return, we'll make sure you have everything you need to print and file your tax return by mail.

Email end.

That's the jist of the email message. I don't know what it means and when I went back into TurboTax and opened the return, TurboTax did not behave the way the email said it should. There were no details displayed about what needs updating (as the email said there would be). So, there was no walking me through making the needed updates so that I can resubmit. So, I am stuck. I don't know what needs correcting and TurboTax is not behaving as the email said it would so I don't have a clue on how to correct it.

Using TurboTax Premier 2021.

Thanks.

[NCperson]

@GolfBall - Let's parse this statement: 

What happened:   IND-078 - If 'TotalPaymentsAmt' (Line 17) in the return is equal to 'TotalTaxAmt' (Line 11) then the following must be equal to zero if an amount is entered: 'OverpaidAmt' (Line 18) and 'RefundAmt' (line 22) and 'AppliedToEsTaxAmt' (Line 23)

so sounds like Lines 17 and Line 11 equal each other - please verify - and if that is true, then Line 18, line 22 and line 23 must all be zero..... 

which in English means that the payments (line 17) equals the Tax (line 11) , so there is no money due back to you, either because you overpaid (line 18), there is no calculated refund (line 22) or any extra money  to be rolled over to 2022 tax year (line 23)

if that doesn't make sense, please post the numbers on the line number i mention above

does that help? 

[fanfare]

You will probably find that all those lines are empty.

TurboTax is buggy.

see here for similar error:

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/state-taxes/discussion/re-federal-tax-return-rejected-error-code-i...

@GolfBall 

[GolfBall]

Thanks for your reply. The following are the values on my 1040-X.

Line 17: 786

Line 11: 0

Line 18: 777

Line 22: 9

Line 23: blank (no number)

[GolfBall]

NCperson - Thanks for your help. Still can't seem to "fix" the issue. Maybe an "undocumented" feature in TurboTax because the numbers seem OK. The FixIt button doesn't fix anything and has no suggestions and clicking "Review" doesn't do anything helpful. I may fiddle with it for a little while and try another electronic submission. If that fails again then I will just submit the amended return on paper. I must admit that I've been a little disappointed in the 2021 Windows desktop version of TurboTax.

[GolfBall]

fanfare - Thanks for the info. It may indeed be a bug. I may see if I can put zeroes in the "appropriate" blank fields of the 1040-X and see if that fixes anything. Else, I will just print and paper submit the amendment. Easier than continuing to wrestle with 2021 Windows Desktop TurboTax Premier. I've been using TurboTax for a few years but I may check out the competition for next year. This year has not been a good TurboTax experience for me for a variety of reasons.

The best thing about TurboTax this year has been the helpful people on the Community Forum.

[NCperson · Accepted solution]

@GolfBall - for what it is worth

Note that the IRS is going to put more emphasis on efiled returns (and I suspect amendments) in the near future as they have been stating publically this is their "pain point" in processing returns timely (as hard as it is to believe they are just starting to process 2021 paper filed returns next week!).  So the IRS will be finding more ways to permit efiled returns and amendments so that the paper flow is reduced. 

The IRS does test and oversees the changes made by the DIY firms (TT, H&R Block, Taxslayer, etc.) so it is possible this issue is a 'handshake issue' caused by the IRS and not TT.  

Lastly, the pandemic has caused a lot of changes to tax returns over the past 2 tax years.  Now that it is all behind us and assuming Congress is not going to implement anything material between now and year end, the software itself should "settle down" at all DIY firms as the complexity caused by the pandemic changes (stimulus, child care credits, EITC credits, IRA distribution rules, unemployment, Premium Tax Credit, etc.) either get eliminated or go back to pre-2021 rules. 

[GolfBall]

@NCperson

Thanks for the information. I imagine the last 2 years have been hard on the tax software people and the IRS. Must be incredibly complex for both having to update the software every year with the latest tax rules and also have it communicate accurately between Tax software and IRS. I think the last two years have been difficult for a lot of us. This forum has been very helpful to me.