File · Reject Decoder
Reject Decoder — what the code means, and the fix
An e-file rejection is not a penalty and not an audit — it is the IRS's computer saying one specific thing does not match. Here are the codes people actually get, in plain language: what each means, the fix, and who acts.
Education only — not personal tax advice. Personal questions route to a credentialed pro.
Figures verified against IRS sources · Tax-year tables 2016–2026 · Re-verified each season by the Update Engine · Last review: November 7, 2026
| Code | What it means | The fix | Who acts |
|---|---|---|---|
| R0000-902 This SSN already has an accepted return | The IRS e-file database already holds an ACCEPTED electronic return for this taxpayer's Social Security number for the same tax year. Until that is resolved, no second electronic return for that SSN can be accepted — which is why this one bounced. | First, check for a typo in the SSN and confirm nobody in the household (a spouse, a parent, another preparer) already filed. If YOU filed it, you are done — this rejection is just the duplicate. If you did NOT file any return yet, treat it as possible identity theft: paper-file the correct return with Form 14039 (Identity Theft Affidavit), and call the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit at 800-908-4490. | Taxpayer confirms; preparer checks the transmission history |
| R0000-194 Duplicate return for the tax period | A return for this taxpayer and tax period was already received — this transmission is a second copy of a filing the IRS already has (a double transmission, two preparers filing, or a resend of a return that was actually accepted). | Stop resubmitting. Pull the acknowledgment for the FIRST transmission: if it was accepted, the filing is complete and nothing more is owed. If the first was itself rejected for a different reason, fix THAT issue and retransmit once. Keep transmitting duplicates and each one rejects the same way. | Preparer / transmitter of record |
| R0000-500 Taxpayer name–SSN mismatch | The primary taxpayer's SSN and name control (the first letters of the last name, as the Social Security Administration has them) do not match the IRS e-file database, which is fed by SSA records. | Compare the entry letter-by-letter with the Social Security CARD — not a pay stub, not memory. Recent marriage, divorce, or hyphenated-name changes are the usual cause: the name on the return must be the name SSA currently has. Correct and retransmit. If the card itself is wrong, SSA must fix its record first; if it cannot be resolved in time, paper-file. | Taxpayer provides the card; preparer corrects and retransmits |
| R0000-504 Dependent name–SSN mismatch | Same name-control check as R0000-500, but for a DEPENDENT on the return: the dependent's SSN and name control do not match the IRS e-file database. The rejection detail names the dependent by the last four digits of their SSN. | Check that dependent's SSN and last name against their Social Security card — a child's name change, adoption, or a transposed digit is typical. Correct and retransmit. If SSA's record is the wrong one, the taxpayer contacts SSA (800-772-1213); an unfixable mismatch means the return goes on paper. | Taxpayer provides the dependent's card; preparer corrects |
| IND-031 Prior-year AGI mismatch — taxpayer | The identity proof behind the Self-Select PIN failed: the prior-year Adjusted Gross Income (or prior-year PIN) entered for the primary taxpayer does not match what the IRS has on file for last year. | Use the AGI from the ORIGINAL prior-year return — Form 1040, line 11 — exactly as filed: do not round, do not split it between spouses, and do not use an amended return's AGI. Lost the return? A tax return transcript from your IRS account (or Get Transcript) shows the AGI. A current-year IP PIN, if you have one, satisfies this check instead. If nothing matches, paper-file. | Taxpayer finds last year's return or transcript; preparer re-enters |
| IND-032 Prior-year AGI mismatch — spouse | The same identity check as IND-031, failed on the SPOUSE's side of a joint return. | If you filed jointly last year, the spouse enters the SAME full AGI from that joint return — the IRS expects the whole amount, not half. If the spouse filed separately (or not at all) last year, use that return's AGI — or 0 if the spouse did not file. Re-check, then retransmit. | Spouse provides last year's figure; preparer re-enters |
| IND-180 IP PIN missing or does not match | The IRS issued this taxpayer a 6-digit Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN) for this year, and the return either left it off or entered one that does not match the e-file database (the 'missing' sibling of this code is IND-181). A return that needs an IP PIN cannot be accepted without the right one — there is no bypass. | Enter the CURRENT-year IP PIN exactly as issued — it arrives on IRS notice CP01A, or the taxpayer retrieves it at irs.gov/getanippin. Last year's PIN never works: a new one is issued every year. Only the taxpayer can retrieve their own IP PIN. If it truly cannot be recovered before the deadline, paper-file the return. | Taxpayer only (retrieves the PIN); preparer enters it |
| FW2-502 W-2 employer EIN does not match IRS records | The employer EIN entered from a Form W-2 (box b) does not match the IRS e-file database for that employer — usually a transposed digit, an SSN typed where the EIN belongs, or a W-2 printed with the wrong EIN. The reject detail gives the last four digits of the EIN in question. | Check the entry against the paper W-2 itself and fix any typo, then retransmit. If the return already matches the W-2 exactly, the document is wrong: the taxpayer asks the employer for a corrected W-2 (W-2c), or the return is filed with Form 4852 as a substitute. If it still cannot be matched, paper-file. | Preparer checks the entry; taxpayer contacts the employer if the W-2 is wrong |
| F1040-164 EITC claimed after a prior disallowance — Form 8862 required | The return claims the Earned Income Tax Credit, but the IRS e-file database shows the credit was disallowed in a prior year. The IRS will not accept an EITC claim from this taxpayer again until Form 8862 (Information to Claim Certain Credits After Disallowance) is attached, showing the taxpayer qualifies now. | Complete Form 8862 with the facts that make the taxpayer eligible this year, attach it, and retransmit. One hard exception: if the IRS imposed a ban (2 years for reckless disregard, 10 years for fraud), the credit cannot be claimed at all during the ban — the return must drop the EITC for those years, and a credentialed pro should review the case before anything is filed. | Preparer completes Form 8862 with the taxpayer |
| Any other code A code not on this list | MeF carries hundreds of business rules, and new ones arrive each season. A code you have never seen is normal — it is not a penalty, not an audit, and not a judgment on the return. The rejection text always names the form, line, or record that failed its check. | Do not guess and do not keep retransmitting unchanged. Read the rule text, find the named field, and route the return to a credentialed pro or the transmitter's support desk with the full code in hand. If the deadline is close, the paper path protects you: a paper return postmarked by the later of the due date or 10 calendar days after the rejection notice is still timely. | Preparer routes to a pro — nobody guesses |
Meanings are summarized in plain language; exact rule text and code suffixes vary by tax year. When e-file opens here, the transmitter loads each season's official IRS business-rule set, and the decoder on a live rejection always shows that season's wording.
The clock on every rejection
A rejected return is an unfiled return — so the IRS gives a short perfection window, not a shrug. A timely-transmitted return corrected and retransmitted within 5 calendar days counts as filed on time; a paper return postmarked by the later of the due date (with extensions) or 10 calendar days after the rejection notice is timely too. (IRS Publication 1345 and IRM 3.42.5 (perfection periods for timely filed rejected returns), verified Nov 7, 2026.) Miss both windows and the late-filing clock runs from the original due date — which is why rejections here are routed to three people at once, never left in one inbox.
Stopping rejects before they happen is the other half: run the Error Shield checks before anything is filed, and read How E-Filing Will Work Here for the signature and identity system behind most of these codes.