Entering your prior year AGI is a new IRS requirement for electronically filed returns. The best way to find your AGI is by finding your last year’s tax return. You can see the instructions here: https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900840-how-do-i-find-last-year-s-agi .
Tips and less common situations:
- Did you amend your tax return last year? If so, make sure you are using your AGI from your original tax return, not the amended return. If the only form you have is the 1040X, this would be line 1, column A.
- Did you file last year’s return late or was it processed late (after mid-November 2016)? If so, you can enter zero as your AGI and then e-file again.
- Did you round the cents when you entered your AGI? If you rounded up, try to submit rounding down to the nearest dollar, and if you rounded down, try to submit your AGI again rounded up to the the nearest dollar
- If you are still having trouble we suggest that you double check the number on your tax return with the IRS to make sure that your copy is the same as IRS records. You can do so by requesting a transcript here: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript. You’ll need to request a “tax transcript” for the year “2015”.
- Getting your transcript online is the fastest way (around 15 minutes according to the IRS). It requires you to have the following: SSN, date of birth, filing status and mailing address from latest tax return, access to your email account, personal account number from a credit card, mortgage, home equity loan, home equity line of credit or car loan, and a mobile phone with your name on the account.
- If you can’t get it online, you can also request a transcript by mail, which takes 5-10 days. This option requires fewer steps for authentication.
If you still can’t find your AGI you can always print and mail your tax return(s) instead of electronic filing. You don’t need to provide your AGI to print and mail.
