A miracle! TurboTax has informed me that my federal tax return has been accepted.
Now I await word from the IRS.
Entering the IP PIN I acquired yesterday into the "other tax situations" page seems to have done the trick.
I must say that, after having had four e-returns rejected by the IRS, I have noted many misleading instructions by both the IRS and TurboTax that could be corrected for the benefit of future filers.
To repeat, TurboTax Premier says that when I enter my five-digit PIN I "can make up any number."
This is not true.
The "Let's Take a Look at Your Return" page on TurboTax suggests I consult irs.gov/get-an-ippin to get a new PIN. But the PIN offered there is a six digit PIN, not a five-digit PIN. Until someone told me to enter this second PIN on the "other tax situations" page it meant nothing to me.
I feel fortunate one of you advisors suggested this use of this IP PIN.
I don't recall any advice last year to cling to last year's five-digit PIN for dear life. I was just lucky to find it again.
The IRS is worse. To name one misleading bit of advice, on an irs.gov page entitled "Validating Your Electronically Filed Tax Return," it says, "If your 2020 tax return has not yet been processed, enter $0 (zero dollars) for your prior year adjusted gross income (AGI)."
I did enter my AGI on my return, but evidently it was accepted anyway.
There must be steps TurboTax can take to make this painful, uncertain process easier.
Please.
Meanwhile, pending official notice that my e-return has been accepted, I am grateful for your intervention.
David Lewis
