Filed my return twice -- now what?

[bswanston1993]

I mailed in my federal and state returns three weeks ago because I was submitting form 7202, which at the time could not be efiled. Today, I went back into my TurboTax account to get some information and ended up efiling my returns. (Apparently the IRS has made Form 7202 available for efiling. I didn't know this, so I assumed it wasn't possible to e-file my returns, and I was careless.)

My efiled federal return has already been accepted. The IRS is having big delays with paper returns, apparently, so I expect they will simply reject my paper return when they finally get to it. California has already accepted my mailed state return and issued my refund, so I'm hoping they will reject the efiled one.

However, part of me is concerned that something worse will happen. Can someone alleviate my worries, please? Is there anyone I should contact to notify about my double-filed return? Any steps I should take to make sure my refund goes smoothly? I know I can't be the only one who made this mistake.

Note: My mailed and efiled returns were identical.

[Irene2805]

Don't do anything.  The IRS and California will continue to process your e-filed return and issue your refund (if there is one).  Sometime in the future you may get a letter from the IRS or CA FTB about your mailed returns if they don't check the e-file records.  Just explain that you e-filed your return and tell them to ignore the mailed return.  They'll just go away.

[bswanston1993]

@Irene2805 Thank you so much! To your knowledge, is it likely that my refund(s) will be delayed because of this? I suppose my federal refund would have been delayed anyway given the paper return, but I'm just not sure what to expect here.

[TiffanyL]

@bswanston1993, this would be something that you would need to speak with the IRS directly about. We would not have that type of information.

[Irene2805]

Your refund should not be delayed because of the double filing,  The processing of e-filed returns is pretty automated--done mostly by computer. So the timing of your refund should not be affected.  You can check the IRS tool for the status of your refund:  Where's My Refund

It may take the IRS a few months to get to your paper-filed return.  The e-filed and paper-filed returns are handled by different departments in the IRS, and I'm not sure how much interaction they have with each other.  If they send you another refund (from your mailed return) just send it back to them.  

[peppervick]

they sent me a rejection on one ,how do I let them know it was a mistake

[DawnC]

You don't need to communicate anything to the IRS regarding a rejection.   When your tax return is rejected, the IRS does not get it - the return stays in your TurboTax account.   Once you fix the issue, you re-submit it.   Only 1 tax return can be accepted each year and they don't care about any of the rejections - they don't even know about them.   

Your tax return can be rejected ten times before it gets submitted but the IRS only knows about the one tax return that was accepted.    @peppervick

If you e-filed a return that was accepted and you mailed the return also, expect a delay, but there is nothing you can do about it now.