E file Reject for Dependent Social - But Which Dependent??

[scalloway]

My husband and I have 5 kids between us, I have two that I always claim on my taxes per my decree.  My husband has a total of three children:  he always claims his oldest son, his ex wife always claims their daughter, and then their third child alternates years between her and him claiming.   Ever since we got married 5 years ago, we get our efile rejected for dependent SS number being already used...but it never says WHICH dependent?  Neither my ex husband nor his ex wife are using our claimed dependents on their returns, we have good relationships and know they are being honest (plus in 5 years nobody has been dinged for using a dependent twice).  How can I figure out which dependent is kicking the rejection flag (and possibly being used for fraud), and how can I get it fixed?  We've had to mail paper returns for 5 years due to this and then wait weeks and this year MONTHS for a refund.   I'd just like to be able to e file and be done with it.  Thanks for any guidance.

[VolvoGirl]

See if this post helps for which ssn was rejected

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/after-you-file/discussion/how-do-i-find-out-which-ss-is-already-us...

[VolvoGirl]

And maybe you better double check all their ssn and birthdates with Social Security.  Maybe SS has one wrong.

[scalloway]

We double and triple check their SS numbers every year, so they are correct.  The rejection emails don't have the code listed that I can see from Turbo Tax (I have them all since 2017), just say a form letter style "oops it was rejected but click here and we'll help you fix it".  I also found my text message rejection alerts and no code there, either.  When I click on the drill down for e-file it just says "rejected" that I can see today.  But I'm sure that because I already printed my returns and filed, my view is different in my account dashboard...so I may have to wait for next year to see the reject code in real time and identify which dependent it is.  Thanks!! 

[VolvoGirl]

Well it could be just a mistake on someone else's tax return that you don't know.   Maybe they are typing a ssn wrong on their return.  And The IRS won't tell you.   

[GeorgeDenseff]

When this happens next year, if you can't see the reject code, call customer support and someone will be able to look at the code and see which dependent is having the issue.

[Opus 17]

This is what Turbotax say it should look like when you check your rejection message.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/rejections/help/how-do-i-fix-a-rejected-return/00/26136

You could also try calling Turbotax customer support, they might be able to look up the full code.

[fanfare]

Doesn't the text message tell you the ordinal number of the dependent that was rejected?

If not, try removing one dependent at a time, starting with those you know would be claimed by others according to  some rule.

If still rejected put back the dependent and try again with removing a different dependent.

[Opus 17]

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@fanfare wrote:

Doesn't the text message tell you the ordinal number of the dependent that was rejected?

If not, try removing one dependent at a time, starting with those you know would be claimed by others according to  some rule.

If still rejected put back the dependent and try again with removing a different dependent.

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NO, this is terrible advice.

This procedure will only allow you to e-file a partial, incomplete tax return that is missing a dependent.  You would have to wait for this first tax return to be processed and the partial refund to be paid, then you could file an amended tax return to claim the remaining dependent.   But, this amended return must be mailed, and amended returns take a long time to pay out—I just got my refund on an an amended return I filed 10 months ago.  You should file one correct tax return, even if you have to mail it.  

The customer said that the text message from turbotax only said their was a problem, and the detailed rejection code does not appear on in their tax file because they cleared the error code by printing their return.  I suspect the customer could get the detailed code by calling customer support.  If not, they can check the detailed error code next filing season. 

[fanfare]

OP says:

" I'd just like to be able to e file and be done with it.  "