When a tax return is rejected due to AGI, the IRS is telling you that the prior-year adjusted gross income you entered doesn’t match the figure in its records. The number functions as your electronic signature, and the match has to be exact: a one-dollar difference, a transposed digit, or a figure pulled from the wrong year will all bounce the return back. The fix is almost always simple. Look up the right number, enter it, and resubmit.
Why the Number Has to Match Exactly
You can’t physically sign an e-filed return, so the IRS uses your prior-year AGI together with your date of birth to confirm you’re the person submitting it.1Internal Revenue Service. Self-Select PIN Method for Forms 1040 and 4868 Modernized e-File The check is automated. No one at the IRS is deciding your figure is close enough, and the same verification runs whether you file through commercial software, a tax professional, or IRS Free File.
Figure Out Which Cause Is Yours
The rejection notice from your software will usually include a code. IND-031-04 means the primary taxpayer’s AGI didn’t match. IND-032-04 means the spouse’s AGI didn’t match, which is a common issue on joint returns when one partner’s prior-year figure was entered wrong.2Internal Revenue Service. IND-031-04 Once you know whose number is the problem, work through the likely causes.
A Typo or Rounding Error
The most frequent cause is just entering the wrong number. Transposed digits, misplaced decimals, and rounding when the IRS expects cents all trigger a mismatch. If your AGI was $52,347 and you typed $52,374, that’s a rejection.
You Used the Wrong Year
The IRS wants the AGI from the return filed for the tax year immediately before the one you’re filing now. For a return filed during the 2026 filing season, that’s your 2024 AGI. Entering a figure from two years back, or from the current return you’re trying to file, is a common trip-up.
Your Filing Status Changed
If you and your spouse filed jointly last year, the IRS has one combined AGI on file for both of you. If you’re filing separately this year, each of you still enters that full joint figure when the software asks for prior-year AGI, even if one of you earned nothing.
Going the other direction is simpler. If you filed separately last year and are filing jointly this year, most software asks for each spouse’s AGI individually. Enter whatever appeared on each person’s separate prior-year return. If one spouse didn’t file at all, enter $0 for that person.
You Amended Your Prior-Year Return
If you filed a Form 1040-X to amend last year’s return, do not use the corrected AGI. The verification system checks against your original, as-filed return. Amended figures, math-error adjustments, and any other IRS-corrected amount will all be rejected. Go back to the original return for the number.
Your Prior-Year Return Hasn’t Been Processed Yet
This one catches people off guard because they did nothing wrong. If the IRS hasn’t finished processing last year’s return, there’s no AGI on file to match against. Enter $0 as your prior-year AGI.3Internal Revenue Service. Validating Your Electronically Filed Tax Return You can check processing status through your IRS Online Account.
You’ve Never Filed Before
If you’ve never filed a federal return, the IRS has no prior-year AGI for you. Enter $0.3Internal Revenue Service. Validating Your Electronically Filed Tax Return This applies to anyone over 16 filing for the first time.
Where to Find the Correct Number
Your prior-year AGI is on Line 11 of Form 1040.4Internal Revenue Service. Adjusted Gross Income If you kept a copy of last year’s return, that’s the fastest source. Use the exact figure, including cents.
If you don’t have your copy, the IRS gives you a few ways to pull it up:
- Log into your IRS Online Account at irs.gov and look under tax records; the prior-year AGI is displayed directly.5Internal Revenue Service. Get Your Tax Records and Transcripts
- Request a Tax Return Transcript through the same portal or by calling the IRS. The transcript shows line items from the original return as filed and covers the current year and three prior years.6Internal Revenue Service. Transcript Types for Individuals and Ways to Order Them
- Log back into last year’s tax software. Most commercial products save the return and display the AGI.
If your own records and the IRS records show different numbers, use the IRS figure. That’s the one the verification system is comparing against.
Fixing It and Resubmitting
A rejected return hasn’t been filed. The IRS didn’t accept it, so for all practical purposes you never hit submit. Go back into your tax software, update the identity verification section with the correct figure, and e-file again. Resubmissions are usually accepted quickly, though the IRS doesn’t promise a specific turnaround.7Internal Revenue Service. Topic no. 301, When, How and Where to File
One thing to know: the Self-Select PIN isn’t a workaround if you can’t find your AGI. That method still requires either your prior-year AGI or your prior-year Self-Select PIN to authenticate you.8Internal Revenue Service. Topic no. 255, Signing Your Return Electronically Without one of those, it won’t help.
When E-Filing Still Won’t Go Through
If you’ve verified your AGI against an IRS transcript and the return keeps getting rejected, print it, sign it, and mail it to the IRS service center for your area. Paper returns skip the AGI check entirely. Processing takes longer, but the return gets filed.
The Deadline Doesn’t Pause for a Rejection
A rejection doesn’t extend your due date. If your return is rejected on April 15, you get a five-day grace period to correct and retransmit. A corrected return accepted within that window is treated as timely filed. Miss it, and the return is late.
Late returns accrue a failure-to-file penalty of 5% of unpaid tax per month (or partial month), up to 25%, plus a failure-to-pay penalty of 0.5% per month on any unpaid balance. More than 60 days late and the minimum penalty is $435 or 100% of the tax due, whichever is less.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6651 – Failure to File Tax Return or to Pay Tax
If you can’t sort out the AGI issue in time, file Form 4868 for an extension. It buys six months to file, though you still have to pay estimated tax owed by the original deadline to avoid interest. The extension itself can usually be e-filed without AGI verification, which gives you breathing room to figure out the mismatch.
When a Rejection Might Point to Identity Theft
Most AGI rejections are data-entry mistakes. But if you’ve triple-checked your number against an IRS transcript and the return still bounces, consider whether someone else filed a return using your Social Security number. A fraudulent return changes the AGI the IRS has on file, which blocks your real one.
Warning signs include IRS correspondence about a return you didn’t file, a persistent AGI mismatch you can’t explain, or unfamiliar income appearing on your transcript. If you suspect identity theft, file Form 14039, the Identity Theft Affidavit, and submit your legitimate return on paper alongside it.10Internal Revenue Service. Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit The IRS will investigate and then process your actual return.
Preventing This Next Year With an IP PIN
The best way to avoid AGI rejections going forward is to enroll in the IRS Identity Protection PIN program. An IP PIN is a six-digit number the IRS assigns you to enter at filing in place of the standard AGI verification.1Internal Revenue Service. Self-Select PIN Method for Forms 1040 and 4868 Modernized e-File It also blocks anyone else from filing under your Social Security number without the PIN.
Anyone with an SSN or ITIN can enroll. The fastest route is through your IRS Online Account. If you can’t verify your identity online and your income is below $84,000 ($168,000 for married filing jointly), you can apply using Form 15227, or visit a Taxpayer Assistance Center in person.11Internal Revenue Service. Get an Identity Protection PIN The IRS generates a new IP PIN every year, so you’ll need to retrieve the current one each filing season and include it on every federal return you file, including amended and prior-year returns. Entering the wrong one, or forgetting it entirely, will cause its own rejection.