Rejected 2019 return based on my deceased spouse's agi

Yes, if your wife passed away in 2019, you can file a joint return. 

You wife AGI is the same as yours if you filed Married filing jointly in 2018. You can't use the PIN instead of the AGI. 

If the AGI from Form 1040 line 7 was rejected and you confirmed the number with the IRS, your only other option is to print and mail in your return.

Thank you MayaD for such a clear cut answer. I have printed my returns and sent them. I gave a thumbs up the same day but I don't think it registered.

I've had the exact same thing happen.  I file my parent's tax returns and my dad passed away in 2019.  Tried yesterday to submit my Mom's (married filing jointly) return three times and all three times I got the error message:  IND-031-04 The primary taxpayer's AGI or self-select PIN from last year does not match IRS records.  The 2018 AGI in Turbo Tax is correct.  I have always filed their returns electronically using Turbo Tax so I'm not sure how the IRS could have a different 2018 AGI than what I have in Turbo Tax that was submitted to the IRS last year. Seems to me that maybe what is being passed from Turbo Tax to the federal government (during the eFiling process) is maybe missing one or more fields for the deceased taxpayer.  As you go through the review steps prior to submitting, never does Turbo Tax ask for the self-select PIN of the deceased person - just the surviving spouse.  I checked the underlying worksheet in Turbo Tax and made sure the prior year PIN numbers are there and they are.  With a number of people encountering the same problem, I'm hoping Turbo Tax will take a look to see if there is a programming problem.  This is very frustrating.  

My condolences to the passing of your wife. I am having the same issue. This is more than likely due to an error by Turbotax e-filing a Married Filing Jointly tax return with a deceased spouse because the input AGI is not being detected by the e-file system. Some say that you can change the AGI to $0, but that did not work in my case and probably will not work for anyone else's until Turbotax fixes the issue. 

Folks,

I have the same issue. My mother-in-law’s 2019 efile is reject based on an incorrect AGI from last year's return. My father-in-law passed away in April 2019. I double checked their filing jointly 2018 return and the AGI is correct. We tried submitting twice. No luck. We even tried an AGI of zero, thinking possibly it was trying to match an AGI figure to my mother-in-laws SS number that might not no longer be linked to her late husband. No luck either.  

Unfortunately, your only option may be to print and mail in your return. 

This article will give you instruction on how to print and mail your return.

Same thing happened to me - very irritating that TurboTax can't fix this.  Filed joint return every year, including for 2019.  Wife passed away in early 2019 but still filing join return.  AGI number from 2018 is correct.  Also rejected my state return because they won't accept that unless federal is accepted and I paid to submit that one on-line.  So I guess the only solution is to mail in both!  Based on comments they've had this issue for years - needs to be fixed.  And there is no way I can see to correspond with an actual turbotax person.  AARG!

Thank you for the advice.  At least I know that it's not just me.  I'm filing the tax return for my parents, and my dad passed in March 2019.  The 2018 AGI is correct, but the efile keeps getting rejected.  Very frustrating.  I will be paper filing both returns!

I'm in the same boat - this is something that TurboTax needs to fix!  Paper filing is not an easy option, since they live in another state - it would be MUCH MORE complicated!! I file my parent's tax returns, and have done so with TurboTax for many years. My dad recently passed away.  Tried to submit my Mom's (married filing jointly) return two times and both times I got the same error message as others about a mismatched AGI or self-select PIN. I have always filed their returns electronically using TurboTax and I verified the AGI is correct. I suspect as others have that what is being passed from Turbo Tax to the federal government (during the eFiling process) is missing the PIN or another field for the deceased taxpayer.  TurboTax never asked for the self-select PIN of the deceased person - just the surviving spouse.  This is very frustrating and needs to be fixed. Just replying that we need to file a paper copy is not acceptable.

I also tried with H&R Block and was rejected for same reason so it's not Turbo Taxes programing.

Also tried with H&R Block and was rejected for same reason so it's not Turbo Tax issues.

Time-saving Tip: If what you entered is correct and you continue to get a reject, you won't be able to e-file. There's probably a data mismatch at the government, or some other situation beyond your control that prevents your return from being e-filed. In this case, your only option would be to print and mail in your return.

This article will give you instruction on how to print and mail your return.

My husband passed away in 2019. My return was rejected due to spouse's AGI. I tried the trick with entering 0, but that didn't work either.
Here's what worked. I filed my return via FreeTaxUSA using exactly the same information. My return was accepted in just a couple of hours.
***TurboTax has a problem and is giving us excuses and lies instead of fixing it.***

I called Intuit and they told me to fix the issue, I needed to enter the deceased DL or State ID. I did so and resubmitted only to have the return rejected. I feel like it is a Turbo Tax issue that needs addressed because I also have my transcript and the AGI matches what was entered. In this era, we should be able to e-file the return and not have to snail mail stuff.

If you have confirmed that the AGI is correct and it is still rejected by the IRS, then the IRS database may be in error.

This is not an uncommon occurrence.

The tax return will have to be printed and mailed to the IRS.

See also this TurboTax Best Answer.

Thanks dianalarose!  I had same issue with turbotax and H & R Block.  IRS rejected returns multiple times using the 2018 AGI (confirmed it was correct with IRS) and 2018 PIN.  ALL rejected as "no match".  Your wonderful suggestion to use FREETAXUSA worked like a charm.  TurboTax, H&R Block and very possibly others, need to tweek this are of their returns programming.  It's so hard to loose your spouse and THEN have to deal with these type failures.  Thanks again for your help.  You're an angel!

Glad it worked for you! Too bad TurboTax continues to blow smoke instead of admitting it's their problem and fixing it.

I have the same problem. I am also frustrated in that I cannot e-file my returns, which will delay my refund. I also paid the $19.99 fee to e-file my state return. It has already hit my credit card as a pending charge. Will TurboTax refund this fee? I would certainly expect hem to do so, but it's not clear of I need to contact someone to make sure this happens.

I have used TT for a long time and last year was the first time the return was rejected.  The “Help me fix it” did not work and I got zero support from Intuit.  I ended up having to file by mail.  This year I had high hopes but guess what, other file rejection with the bad pin or agi info.  I am sure this was because of a deceased spouse like many other people here.  I took a chance and tried to use FreeTaxUsa as mentioned in this thread by dianalarose. It took me an hour to create an account, input all the info again and transmit the return.  Low and behold I already have an email confirmation that the return was accepted using the same agi and pin that I tried in TT.  So the theory that a locked SSN is causing the problem is just bullsh*t.  TurboTax needs to step up and fix the problem.  I likely will not be using TT next year.  Thanks to dianalarose for posting a great solution.

Thank you very much for posting your solution.  I had the exact same problem and FreeTaxUsa worked for me as well!

Sure glad I found all these comments.  I have been using Turbotax for years and thought I was going crazy. So very frustrating.  My husband passed away in 2019 and I was e filing.  I did everything I could to correct the rejected e file. I gave up and decided to mail in.  I did contact a person and their solution was to get a transcript ( what a hassle with that ) or just to mail it in. So, I just decided to mail in.  I think Turbotax has a problem and should really check into this. 

I concur with dianalarose, dutchess2carr, and Tromance - and THANK YOU to all three for exploring other solutions and posting about FreeTaxUSA, which worked beautifully and all the efiling data Federal and state data was quickly ACCEPTED.  FreeTaxUSA is a far better, and clearly more reliable tax product.  On Friday, 2/28, I was in despair regarding the repeatedly rejected federal and state return issue via TurboTax despite ALL info, including the prior year AGI, being 100% correct.  There's enough pain and stress when a widower has to prepare and submit the tax return with the word DECEASED at the top, when his wife always prepared the returns.  Being flippantly told to "mail it in" after wasting $70 on this broken program is unconscionable.  TurboTax: how about first owning up to this very serious problem, AND then informing the community that you are committed to FIX it.  Especially for people going thru enough grief right now - the last thing we need is even more pain, work, delay and frustration.

I have had the same exact issue trying to file my parents return when my mother passed away in May of 2019.  My father owes money and I submitted his credit card information through turbo tax to pay his taxes and the fee as well as the state filing fee of 24.99.  Since his return has been rejected, those charges won't go through will they? I need to if we need to write a check and I don't want to be charged something that we didn't get to use.

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