TurboTax rejected AGI: how to fix it and resend

Why TurboTax rejected your AGI

A TurboTax rejected AGI notice comes from one of two IRS codes. Intuit describes IND-031-04 as the primary taxpayer's prior-year AGI or self-select PIN not matching IRS records, and IND-032-04 as the same mismatch for the spouse. Nothing else on the return is wrong; only the signature check failed.

Consumer tax software signs your return with the self-select PIN method. IRS Publication 1345 says that method needs your prior-year AGI or prior-year PIN so the IRS can confirm who you are. If the number differs from what the IRS holds for last year, even by a dollar, the whole return is rejected.

Where TurboTax asks for prior-year AGI

The first time, TurboTax asks for last year's AGI in the File section, as part of signing the return. After a rejection, Intuit's fix path for these two codes goes straight to the same field:

1. Sign in and select Fix my return.
2. Choose Fix it now or Revisit on the Let's fix your returns and then refile screen.
3. Enter last year's AGI exactly as filed, without splitting it between spouses.
4. Confirm the entry on the screen that asks you to verify it is last year's AGI.
5. Select Continue to refile and send the return.

Desktop users follow the same screens inside the program. If you are in the phone app, Intuit says to leave it, open a browser and sign in to MyTurboTax.com to make the change.

Finding last year's AGI for TurboTax

In the 2027 season you will sign your tax year 2026 return with the AGI from your 2025 return. On the 2025 Form 1040 that number sits on line 11a and repeats as line 11b at the top of page 2. Older forms put it on line 11, which is why some instructions still say line 11.

• Filed with TurboTax last year: Intuit says to go to Tax Home, scroll to Your tax returns & documents and select View adjusted gross income (AGI).
• Filed elsewhere: read line 11a of your 2025 Form 1040 or 1040-NR copy.
• No copy at all: sign in to your IRS online account and pull a tax return transcript, which shows the adjusted gross income line. A transcript by mail takes 5 to 10 days.

Rounding: a worked example

TurboTax asks for whole dollars. Intuit's rule is to round up at 50 cents and down at 49 cents. An AGI of $48,612.50 becomes $48,613; an AGI of $48,612.49 becomes $48,612. If your return already showed whole dollars, type it exactly as printed.

When to enter zero as prior-year AGI in TurboTax

Zero is not a guess or a workaround; the IRS and Intuit both name specific cases where it is the correct entry.

The late-processing case explains most rejections where people are sure the number is right. Intuit's help pages say that if your prior-year return was processed after about mid-November (one article says mid-December), the IRS may not have that AGI on file for matching, so 0 is the entry to try next.

E-file rejected but AGI is correct

If a transcript confirms your number and TurboTax still gets IND-031-04, work through these checks in order before you give up on e-file.

1. Confirm last year's return was actually accepted. A mailed or late return may not be on record yet; Intuit suggests contacting the IRS to confirm.
2. Make sure you used the original AGI. On a 1040-X, the original figure is line 1, column A.
3. Retry with 0 if last year's return was filed or processed late in the year.
4. Check the spouse entry. On a joint return last year, both of you enter the same full AGI.
5. Check whether you have an IP PIN. If you do, it replaces the AGI check, and leaving it out causes a different reject.

Keep an eye on the calendar while you test these: a first submission sent on time stays timely through the fifth calendar day after the due date, as explained in the guide to resubmitting a rejected return.

If the TurboTax wrong AGI reject repeats: IP PIN or mail

The IRS says that if you have an Identity Protection PIN, you must enter it when the software asks, and it serves to verify your identity instead of your prior-year AGI or PIN. The six-digit IP PIN is issued each year on notice CP01A or through the Get an IP PIN tool. Setting it up in TurboTax is covered in the IP PIN guide for TurboTax.

Without an IP PIN, the last option is paper. Select File, choose to print and mail, sign the printed return and send it with your W-2s. A return first transmitted on time is still timely when mailed by the later of the due date or 10 calendar days after the rejection notice; add a short note explaining the rejection.

Spouse AGI on joint returns

IND-032-04 points at the spouse's entry only. The common causes differ by how you filed last year:

• Joint last year, joint again: both spouses enter the same total AGI from the joint return. Do not divide it and do not put 0 for one spouse.
• Separate last year, joint now: each spouse enters the AGI from the return that spouse filed.
• Spouse did not file last year: the spouse enters 0, unless the spouse is under 16. Pub 1345 says a secondary taxpayer under 16 who did not file the prior year cannot use the self-select PIN, so that return has to be mailed.

If the federal return is rejected, a linked state return is denied too. Once the corrected federal is accepted, send the state again; see TurboTax state return rejected. For a wider explanation of the signature screen across products, see prior-year AGI or PIN.