topic I previously put in my tax information this year but never paid the money I owed to the IRS. My IRS account says it hasn’t been filed, but it has. What do I do? in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

I previously put in my tax information this year but never paid the money I owed to the IRS. My IRS account says it hasn’t been filed, but it has. What do I do?

skye102tax — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 07:19:35 GMT

I paid TurboTax to file my taxes. The only thing I didn’t pay was what I owed to the IRS at the time. I logged into my IRS account and it says that nothing has been filed yet, however I’m having trouble accessing all of this. I don’t believe I have my former W-2’s, but I input them here online. I need this filed because of college. What should I do?

Re: I previously put in my tax information this year but never paid the money I owed to the IRS. My IRS account says it hasn’t been filed, but it has. What do I do?

xmasbaby0 — Sun, 18 Dec 2022 17:03:06 GMT

"I paid TurboTax to file my taxes." Paying your TurboTax fees did not file your tax return. Did you go all the way through the FILE section and actually e-file?

Did you e-file? Did you click a big orange button that said “Transmit my returns now?”

When you e-file your federal return you will receive two emails from TurboTax. The first one will say that your return was submitted. The second email will tell you if your federal return was accepted or rejected. If you e-filed a state return, there will be a third email to tell you if the state accepted or rejected your state return.

First, check your e-file status to see if your return was accepted:

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/efile-status-lookup/

If you did not e-file and did not mail it yourself, the return has not even been filed. The only way to file now is by mail. You can still print, sign and mail your tax return, and you had better pay the tax due as shown on line 37.

When you mail a tax return, you need to attach any documents showing tax withheld, such as your W-2’s or any 1099’s. Use a mailing service that will track it, such as UPS or certified mail so you will know the IRS/state received the return.

Federal and state returns must be in separate envelopes and they are mailed to different addresses. Read the mailing instructions that print with your tax return carefully so you mail them to the right addresses.

Where are you looking on the IRS site? And did you file by mail or did you e-file? If you owed tax due then nothing is going to show up on the IRS refund site. That site only shows information for returns when there is a refund owed to YOU. If you filed by mail, it could take months before a human opens your envelope and enters anything into the system.

As for TurboTax knowing if you paid---TurboTax never knows how, when or even if you paid your tax due. If you still owe money to the IRS, then you are late and will be billed for penalties and interest after they finally receive your payment. It is up to you to pay your federal tax due by mailing the IRS a check or money order or by paying on the IRS site.

https://www.irs.gov/payments

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-payments/help/how-can-i-pay-my-federal-taxes/00/26212

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-payments/help/how-do-i-pay-my-irs-tax-due-with-a-check-or-money-order/00/26403

Check your online account with the IRS here:

https://www.irs.gov/payments/your-online-account

Re: I previously put in my tax information this year but never paid the money I owed to the IRS. My IRS account says it hasn’t been filed, but it has. What do I do?

xmasbaby0 — Sun, 18 Dec 2022 17:10:44 GMT

And.....if you did not e-file and now need to mail the return---you need copies of your W-2's which you have to get from your employer(s) if you have lost them. TurboTax does not have your W-2's and cannot get them for you.

You might need to phone, drop in, email and/or snail mail an old employer to make sure they know where to send your W-2.

Re: I previously put in my tax information this year but never paid the money I owed to the IRS. My IRS account says it hasn’t been filed, but it has. What do I do?

Carl — Sun, 18 Dec 2022 19:15:28 GMT

Just a few things to clarify for others reading this thread.

I paid TurboTax to file my taxes.

What you paid for, was the use of the program to prepare your 2021 taxes. That's it. TurboTax does not file a tax return for anyone at any time under any circumstances. There are no exceptions.

Once you have paid your online fees for using the program to prepare your tax return, it's up to the tax filer to click that big orange "TRANSMIT MY RETURNS NOW" button, to actually e-file the tax return.

Unfortunately, the tax filing season for e-filing a 2021 tax return is permanently closed by the IRS at this time. So you have no choice but to print, sign and mail your tax return to the IRS. With the current backlog, you can expect it to take anywhere from 4 to 6 months for it to be processed.

I logged into my IRS account and it says that nothing has been filed yet,

As would be expected if you did not click that big orange TRANSMIT MY RETURNS NOW button. We're only human, and nobody's perfect. Got bit by that myself back in the late 90's.

The only thing I didn’t pay was what I owed to the IRS at the time.

If you owe the IRS for 2021, then your balance due has been accumulating interest since April 17th, 2022. I would suggest you go online and pay it now. You can do so at www.irs.gov/payments. Pay attention to the screens so that you pay for the correct tax year.

however I’m having trouble accessing all of this.

I do know that TurboTax shut down the online service around Nov 15, 2022 so they could prepare it for the 2022 tax filing season. It might be opened back up now (Dec 18, 2022). But I don't know if you'll be able to access the 2021 tax return without paying for the 2022 program first. I'm sure there's others reading this post that can confirm and help, one way or the other.

I don’t believe I have my former W-2’s, but I input them here online.

TurboTax does not receive, get, or maintain copies of W-2's, 1099's or any other tax reporting documents received by a tax filer. For a copy of your W-2 you'll need to contact the employer that issued it. Otherwise, you can get a copy of your W-2 from the Social Security Administration at a cost of $126 per request. See the information at https://faq.ssa.gov/en-us/Topic/article/KA-02501 for the procedure.

I need this filed because of college. What should I do?

The only thing you can do. File a tax return.

If your tax return is simple, you might want to just print the 2021 forms from the IRS website, fill them out, and mail them - once you find/get your W-2 of course. Get prior year tax forms at https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/prior-year