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What Happens When the IRS Has an Incorrect Birthdate?

2 min read

2 min read


Your date of birth is an important piece of personal information used to identify you in all types of situations — including filing your taxes. If the date on your return doesn’t match the date on government records, your taxes will be rejected. It’s possible the IRS has an incorrect birthdate on file for you, but the answer might also be as simple as a number that was incorrectly entered as you were completing your return.

Because the IRS has strict rules for e-filing returns, this is something that needs to be corrected before you can successfully file your taxes. Fortunately, we’ll let you know if you get a rejection from the IRS for the wrong date of birth on your tax return, so you can then take the steps to correct the issue.

What If I Have the Wrong Date of Birth on My Tax Return?

If you have the incorrect birthdate on your tax return due to a typo, you can correct your return and re-file:

  1. Go to the Overview of the H&R Block Online product.
  2. Go to Check Status or Next Steps.
  3. Choose Details about the Rejection and Fix Issues to correct any problems.

After you’ve updated your return, you can choose Continue to File. If that’s not an option, it means there are still issues that need to be corrected. Choose Next Issue to fix any remaining problems.

Once you’ve corrected all the issues, we’ll ask you how you want to re-file your return. Go ahead and choose the e-file option. Follow the additional steps on the next few screens to re-file your rejected tax return.

Correcting the Social Security Administration or IRS Wrong Date of Birth Information

If the information, including your date of birth, is correct in the online product, then it’s likely that the Social Security Administration (SSA) or the IRS has the wrong birthday for you. If this is the case, you’ll need to work with those offices to update your information.

You can contact the SSA at 800-772-1213 and the IRS at 800-829-1040 to correct an incorrect birthdate. If you confirm your date of birth is on file correctly with these agencies, you’ll need to print and mail your return with an explanation of the issue; you can’t e-file your return.

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