Rejected 2019 return based on my deceased spouse's agi

[coach1946]

I have had the same issue helping my son-in-law file their joint return.  his wife, my daughter, died in December 2019.  They filed a joint 2018 return.  This is clearly a Turbotax issue.  Turbotax not only is saying the IRS is asking for the "Spouse's Prior Year PIN".  There is no provision for entering one for the deceased spouse in 2019.  Only the spouse doing the filing for a joint return.

I have tried refiling about 5 times over the last two days.  I GIVE UP.  I guess print and mail.  (:

[XSummer]

As I think everyone is aware, this is a bug in TurboTax. I tried four times with different changes and got the same rejection and I know all the info is correct. Due to current travel restrictions and the fact that I am helping my mother in law whose husband died last year, e-file was really the only way to go. As others have suggested I redid the taxes using FreeTaxUSA and both Fed and State were accepted. No issues at all.

I have a suggestion for where TT should start looking for their software bug. FreeTaxUSA requires that you enter the last year AGI and Pins for both the surviving spouse and the decedent. TT only asks for the surviving spouse’s Pin as the previous poster states, you have no option to add the descendants Pin in TT. This is where I would start looking because clearly it has nothing to do with the IRS or the SSN being locked. My mother in law checked the IRS web account and they have my father in law as deceased so clearly the SSN is locked yet we were still able to file the taxes. 

One warning, although FreeTaxUSA is very similar to TT in terms of the layout and incremental steps to fill in data, it is not as user friendly for complicated situations such as having a home office and business expenses. You can easily import your 2018 TT .pdf and it worked flawlessly with almost all prior year info populated and available for comparison but not all past year carry overs for some obscure items always populate automatically. So you need to pay attention during the interview questions to ensure you don’t miss manually entering some items. If you have already done your 2019 taxes in TT you can just follow along in FreeTaxUSA and fill in everything.  It’s a bit of a pain, but the Federal is free and state only costs $14.99. If you have a fairly simple return, it should only take 30 minutes or less.  

TT was very good about refunding my $24.99 for the failed state e-file purchase, as you would expect no less. But all in all a very disappointing situation from a company whose software I have been using since the early 90s before they were acquired.

[Vicky59]

Hi all

This seems to be a widespread problem. My husband passed away in Feb 2020 and my 2019 return was rejected saying his AGI did not match. Checked with 2018 and everything is correct. I already paid 24.99 for state efile and it looks like I will have to file by mail. This needs to be looked into. If there is a death and this is a computer issue with Turbo Tax, H&R Block or IRS, there should be a warning not to efile if there is any death involved. It would save people alot of frustration at a time when it is already difficult. 

[johnbea123]

I had the same problem. I tried everything they said to do AGI was correct the zero did not work. Here is the other problem I paid turbo tax did mail out my tax paperwork only over a week ago. Tried calling IRS even went I online at irs AGI matched. I always use turbo tax but due to this I don't think I will anymore. Figured I just better mail them out. Problem again my bank info changed received stimulus check at old bank acct number and due to Corona 19 May take months before processed

[j25borg]

I have the same problem. Its clear TT doesn't know what they are doing on this and has no intention of fixing it. I even got the transcript so I know for certain the info I have is correct. I'm not even going to bother trying anymore. Time to switch to a different product for the rest of my life. BY TT. 

[standarded]

There is an issue in Turbo Tax if you try to e-file and you lost your spouse in 2019. They deny it, but there is something going on. My 2018 AGI was correct, verified from the IRS. I re-filed my e-filing using FreeTax USA and both my federal and state returns were accepted with no issues. Turbo Tax is refusing to refund my credit card, saying that if you use the program you are on the hook (even if it does not work). Poor business practices.

[standarded]

My wife passed away in 2019. Same issue. Turbo Tax e-filing rejected, FreeTax USA e-filing accepted with no issues AND THE SAME EXACT DATA.

[Capt Heller]

**bleep** good reply. Had same problem & think I have been able to refile  E.  Why does IRS want ,Ok I think it stops all sorts of thieving **bleep**.=Hope so...

[Nightowl00]

You can protest the charge through your credit card issuer.

[VictoriaD75]

Often, when a taxpayer is deceased, the Social Security Administration puts a stop on the SSN associated with the individual. This will result in an automatic rejection of an efiled return that includes the deceased individual. These returns must be printed and mailed for processing. 

[melasteele3]

If that is true, why are so many Turbo Tax users reporting that when they efile with the same tax data using a competitor's product, like FreeTax USA.com, the return is accepted by IRS in minutes?  I don't believe the frozen social security number is the issue.  I know for sure you do not need to print and mail!  My spouse passed in January 2019, the mortuary notified Social Security and they reclaimed her January Social Security deposit within days.  No question in my case, that's not what is going on with the "Incorrect AGI" reject. 

Mel "Retired CPA"

[PaulLindner]

I'm not sure why people keep responding with canned answers here.  Are people paid to answer questions or something?  At the very least they could scroll back and read before posting....

[DRad1219]

Is there a way to go back and unflag that the spouse is deceased?  The IRS already know he is so this may just be a way to bypass the TT issue.  

[Anniebeau]

I too am very disappointed and frustrated that TurboTax  has not fixed this issue that occurs with a recently deceased spouse. I twice spoke with them but their reps could only acknowledge that it was an issue and nothing could be done except to send the IRS a paper copy.  Shame on them for not correcting what has been a known issue for at least a few years.  At the very least they should offer a full refund.

Following the suggestion made by others as I researched this issue online, I just successfully efiled through FreeTaxUSA.  I paid 1/10 of the TurboTax price only because I wanted online chat help or else it would have been totally free to file.  Prior to submission that program brought up a place to enter the AGI from last year and to enter the pins for me and my deceased husband.  I suggest you try that program.

[krhodes95]

Word for word, this is my exact problem. And my exact thinking as I looked at the date of your issue as well as others. My mother owes state taxes that she will pay interest on if she doesn't file today, and the state return is rejected because the federal return is rejected, which is also something that Turbotax should make clear from the beginning rather than waiting until you get to the filing step to find out you can't efile state without efiling federal first! I spent two hours last night trying to e-file and kept getting rejected. And she lives two hours away in a rural area, can't get around well enough to leave house and drive somewhere to get it printed. Frustrated doesn't even begin to describe my mood.