Who is affected?
Generally, these are payments made by the spouse (second taxpayer listed) on a married filing jointly return submitted through their Online Account. Some other taxpayers may also be affected outside of this group.
No immediate action or phone call needed.
Taxpayers who receive a notice but paid the tax they owed in full and on time, electronically or by check, should not respond to the notice at this time.The IRS is researching the matter and will provide an update as soon as possible. Taxpayers who paid only part of the tax reported due on their 2021 joint return, should pay the remaining balance or follow instructions on the notice to enter into an installment agreement or request additional collection alternatives. Taxpayers can ensure that their payment is on their account by checking Online Account under the SSN that made the payment. Note that any assessed penalties and interest will be automatically adjusted when the payment(s) are applied correctly.
Additional information for tax professionals.
In general, when certain payments are processed, programming does not move the payment to the married filing jointly account when the payment is:
- Not electronic and is made by the secondary spouse.
- Electronic, is made by the secondary spouse, and posts before the joint return indicator is present to identify the primary taxpayer.
- Made by the secondary spouse using the Online Account (OLA) Make a Payment functionality.
