What if IRS Rejects your eFiled 1040 or an Extension after the Deadline !

Federal tax returns and extensions have to be filed by midnight your local time on the normal due date of the return, i.e  April 17, 2018. It may just happen that your e-filed 1040 return or an extension is rejected by IRS before the deadline. That situation is quite perplexing. You may be wondering what to do now because the deadline to file tax return or extension has gone.

Don’t worry! Perfection Period is here!

The perfection period is a grace period of five days for 1040 returns and Form 4868 extensions. So for the tax year 2017, for which filing deadline is 17th April 2018, the perfection period will end on April 22, 2018. You should note that the grace period of five days is available to only those who filed their tax return timely.In that case, that you had filed and for some reason, your efiled return or extension was rejected by IRS, you can retransmit within those five days of grace period.If you transmit after the perfection period, your filing will be regarded as late filing.

Can you file a paper return after the efiled return was rejected?

Yes, you can file a paper return keeping in mind following important points  :

1. The return or extension must be filed by the later of the due date of the return or ten calendar days after the date the IRS gives notification that it rejected the return.
2. The return or extension should include
   1. an explanation of why it is being filed after the due date, and
   2. a copy of the electronic rejection notification.
3. A return or extension must be signed by the taxpayer and preparer.

If you want to read more on the aforesaid topic, follow  IRS publication Pub. 4164h  page 30 of Pub. 1345