Bug report - joint return w/deceased spouse efile rejected by IRS

[CharlesL]

This is still a problem in May 2021.

I ended up having to file by mail because Intuit / TurboTax can't resolve this simple problem (that must be happening literally tens-of-thousands of times a year).

[rich141]

2021 Federal filed with no problem.. Attempted to file an amended Federal and has been rejected due to my wife passing away in December 2021.  Opened amended return as directed and there is no information as what to do.

[CarissaM]

It would be best to follow the instructions here to contact us by phone, so we can look into this. @rich141

[Guy Smiley]

No, the problem is NOT fixed. It's 2023, and while my return was accepted by the IRS and e-filed I had to amend when I came across a 1099-MISC for my deceased spouse that I somehow missed in my mail. 

When I amended (A big pain itself as my spouse was NOT self-employed and TT didn't give good info on  how to work around that) the IRS has rejected my amended return twice now, all for this ridiculous, supposed "LOCKED" SSN for my spouse. 

The reject emails from TT say they can fix it, but when I go back in no fix is presented. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do here. Print it and mail it, I guess. What a pain. I may have to have find an alternative to TT next year. Always a problem somewhere. 

[Guy Smiley]

So.. Why was my initial return accepted with my deceased spouse's SSN, but now the amended one is not?

In spite of your reject notice email saying you can solve the problem, no fix or instructions how to fix are presented. This is unbelievably frustrating given the cost of using TT. 

[rjs]

@Guy Smiley  TurboTax doesn't lock the SSN. The IRS locks it. It will be locked no matter what tax software you use. There is nothing any tax software can do to unlock it.

[hawkeyejock]

2023 - this bug is back. I'm trying to file an amended 2023 return - yes, already - and the IRS keeps rejecting the return with TT error is "IND-941-01 - The Spouse SSN in the return has been locked because Social Security Administration records indicate the number belongs to a deceased individual." The IRS accepted my initial return. I think this issue is because the Amended return procedure within TT does not appropriately capture the status of the deceased spouse and therefore does not fill in "Filing as surviving spouse" on the 1040-X nor transmit the status correctly. When will Intuit fix this problem for good? Only God knows.