When you have a tax “oops” you fix it by filing an Amended Tax Return, form 1040X.
Mistakes happen. You file your return and later get a W2 in the mail for a job you had forgotten about. Maybe your investment firm sent you an amended 1099 because your interest income they reported was wrong. Or maybe you were talking to a friend and learned about a deduction that you should have been claiming for the past three years and you’d like a refund. What do you do?
It’s easy, you need to file an amended return, the form is called a 1040X and you can find it on the IRS website: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040x.pdf.
An amended return can’t be filed electronically like a regular return. You must mail it in and it’s going to take about 12 weeks to process. That’s a bummer if you’re expecting a refund, but that’s the way it works. If your regular return had a refund, make sure you wait until you’ve received the first refund before you file the amended return. (If they start processing the amended return before your original refund gets paid, it can mess up you getting the original refund. You don’t want that to happen now do you?)
If you have more than one tax return that needs to be amended, you must file separate returns for each year and mail them in separate envelopes. For example, say you found out that you had missed a $1000 deduction on your Schedule A every year and you’re in the 25% tax bracket. You can’t just put $3000 on this year’s return for a $750 refund. You’ll have to amend 2010, 2009, and 2008 separately and you’ll receive three checks for $250 each. It’s too late now to claim a refund that should have gone on 2007.
When you amend your tax return, you’ll have to send in the schedules of anything that changed. In the example above, the thing that changed was on the schedule A, so that form would also have to be attached. Don’t attach any forms that didn’t change. Warning: for many folks, a change in one part of your tax return can cause a change somewhere else-most notably on your schedule A. Before you actually mail anything in, go over it carefully to see if you have any unexpected changes.
When you file a 1040X, make sure you check the box for the tax year that you’re amending. That’s a pretty common mistake. The IRS can’t process the return if they don’t know what year it’s for.
When not to file an amended return: You don’t need to file an amended return for a basic math mistake. The IRS will automatically fix that for you. You also don’t need to file an amended return if your original was missing a schedule. That’s where you get a letter from the IRS saying that you claimed something on your return but that you’re missing the supporting documents. A common example of that would be a capital gain of $2000 on your return, but there’s no schedule D to back it up. You don’t need to amend the return, just mail them the schedule D. The IRS will ask you for whatever schedule they’re looking for, you won’t have to guess at what’s missing.
I’ve talked a lot about filing an amended return because of a refund. Sometimes when you file an amended return you’re going to owe. If you have a balance due, mail the payment check with your 1040X. The IRS will probably send you a bill for interest and maybe even penalties depending upon how much you owed. Be prepared for that.
Often times, people are thinking about filing amended returns because they received an IRS letter. Sometimes, you don’t need to amend, just pay the tax. Sometimes, you really need to amend because you shouldn’t have to pay the tax but you need to submit more information. Sometimes, you don’t need to amend and you don’t need to pay the tax—the IRS made a mistake and they just need to have it pointed out to them. Before you start writing that check, get a professional opinion–you want to pay your fair share, not more than you owe.
Hi Angela,
So, has the IRS contacted you yet or not? If the IRS told you you owe, then they’re going to take that money out of your refund. At this stage, even if you send it in right now, it probably won’t be processed in time to stop it. You refund will be delayed, but you’ll still get it.
If the IRS hasn’t contacted you, they probably don’t realize that you made a mistake yet. In that case, efile your return, get your refund, and then pay your 2011 taxes as soon as possible. You’ll probably have to pay a little penalty and interest, but it shouldn’t be too high.
Hi Jo,
Yes, amend the return, and pay the $28. You’ll probably get a notice from the IRS charging you interest. It’s just a small amount but you’ll probably get a notice anyway. Just pay it. That’s it.
Hi Laurie,
If you had amended before April 15th you would have avoided all interest and penalties. You will be subject to a late payment penalty–that will be 1/2 of 1% per month. You will also be subject to interest on the amount due.
Here’s what I suggest. File the amended return and pay the balance due. Not penalties and interest. You will receive a notice form the IRS telling you how much more you owe. They won’t excuse the interest, but if you’ve never had a problem before, they will “abate” the penalty. You’ll call the IRS and request “an abatement of the penalty.”
Now–something to think about. Did the IRS say you owe $2000? Or is that how you figured the tax? The reason I ask is because the IRS always figures the tax on social security payments wrong when they send out those little letters. So if the IRS said $2,000 — you’ll owe less.
Hi Brian,
So now you know why your CPA takes so long to get your taxes done. There’s a lot of issues with those passive activity losses. Also, while you’re at it, you’ll want to take another look at your depreciation. I find that a lot of folks doing their own rental real estate returns get into trouble of the depreciation also.
So, you’re going to want to go back and amend the 2010 return so that you can pull the figures forward to 2011.
A little trick that I like to do–and yes it takes more time, but it does help–go back and re-imput your 2009 tax return. Make sure that it matches up to what you CPA did–your federal numbers and the state numbers. All the forms should match exactly. If you input everything correctly–it should all match up. (I’m making the assumption here that your CPA did prepare your return correctly. You’d be wasting your time if he did it wrong.)
Anyway, once you’ve got the 2009 perfect, then you “update” to the 2010. All your carryforwards will go into your 2010 return. Okay, so that advice is a day late and a dollar short–this won’t work for you because you’ve already input the 2010 return.
But, since you are amending, do double check for all the “carry forward” items. Most tax programs have a print out of things that need to be accounted for during the next year. Not all accountants give that to their clients, but they should.
Hi Abby,
Let me make sure that I understand everything:
1. you filed a return in 2009 and there’s a mistake on it claimng an education credit.
2. The IRS contacted you saying you don’t get the credit, you agree.
3. You go to Liberty to prepare your amended return taking the credit out and they say that that IRS now owes you even more money?
4. But the IRS says you owe $900.
Right?
I can’t see your tax return, so I’m working off my gut reaction, okay? My gut says, that you owe the IRS $900. But, before you write a check (or make an installment agreement) contact your Liberty Tax person and find out why she thinks the IRS owes you money. My guess (and remember, I’m guessing) my guess is that you would of had a refund whether you claimed the education credit or not and that’s what the Liberty person was looking at. (Meaning, she looked at the quick and dirty screen shot and didn’t open your return when you called her.) But that the amended return shows that you owe an additional $900.
But I wasn’t there and I don’t really know.
On the plus side, be glad you only owe $900. It could be much worse. One thing to check–how much tax do you owe? You probably got hit with late payment penalties. You can’t get out of the interest you owe, but if you’ve never had a tax problem before, you may be able to request a one time abatement of penaties. That would reduce the total amount you owe. Good luck.
I forgot a w-2 from last years taxes 2011 wages at 799.25. I have the paper work form 1040x but I forgot to send it out and we owe 229.07 from 2011. What do I do for this year? I know I get a refund and I count on it every year to pay bills. I just don’t want to mess this year up.
Hi, my son is going through the assumption process for my mortgage on my home since I got remarried and he wants the house. upon submitting the documentation
to the mortgage company we discovered he filed on line his 2010 tax return with his 2009 w2 it was emailed to him from his company. We know we need to file an amended claim, and send 28.00 back from his refund. is this all we need to do? We would have never known if the bank hadnt pointed this out.
Hi,
Last year I did my taxes for the first time since my tax person retired. I forgot to add my social security disability income to my taxes. Should I fill out a 1040X? When does interest and penalties get applied? If I had filed a 1040x before April 15th would I have avoided penalties and interest or just penalties? I received a refund but I owe some of it back. Can you explain how penalties work with the IRS? Since I will only owe less than $2000 back, would I still be hit with a lot of back interest, penalties, etc?
Thanks
Hi,
Nice info here on your site!!
I have a rent house that I started renting in 2007, had a regular CPA do my taxes starting then and all was ok, but every time I took my taxes to him it took about 2 months just to get my taxes done.
For 2010 year I did them myself so did not have to wait 2 months for my refund, then had him do them again last year (2011) but another 2 months so not going back again.
I did them in 2010 with TurboTax and was all ok and got my refund back right away, however looking at getting my taxes ready for 2012 I see there is an issue with the 2010 taxes I did.
On my 2009 returns Form 8582 Passive activity I have 6,384 in Unallowed Losses in worksheet 5, but somehow I did not claim that when I did the taxes in 2010, which shows blank for 8582 1C (Prior years unallowed losses)
My 2011 return now shows 873 for 8582 unallowed losses, I will have over 10K in passive losses for 2012 that I cannot use yet because it was not rented but is now back to renting, how can I amend my taxes to add the 6,384 that was suppose to be carried to my 2010 return so I can use it later?
Thanks,
hi i filed 2009 tax return and got thr refund. the irs audited us and said where your documentation for going to college. i did not go to college this was a mistake on turbo tax online in 2009. so i amended the return and now they say we owe 900.00 . im really confused can you help me out. i had liberty tax do my ammend and they said irs owes me money for 2009 what should i do???/
thank you
Hi Asmeaabate,
Sometimes this happens. I have a client that the IRS had his last name first and first name last for several years. He finally got it fixed about two years ago.
Basically, the problem is with the social security office, and you’ll have to correct it there. But, in the meantime, keep filing your tax returns and use your middle name to make sure that the IRS accepts it. Do that until the Social Security office fixes your name.
Hi when I write my correct name it’s rejected but when I change it like last name withe meddle name it’s go thru ,I did this for there years ,it’s gone be a problem for me. ?My socal is correct
Hi Jasmin,
That’s pretty much it, file amended returns for both 2009 and for 2010. Now here’s your problem–the IRS will hit you with penalties for 2010 because you shouldn’t have gotten that refund then. You will want to request an abatement of penalties, with the explanation that it was an honest mistake claiming the tax credit on the wrong year. They might not buy it, but it’s worth asking for anyway. (If you don’t ask, you’ll definitely have to pay extra.)
I just got a letter from the IRS wanting me to pay almost $2000 due to payment/income info not matching entries on my 2010 form 1040. While reviewing the letter I noticed they are questioning me being a student and that I should not have had the education credits. I was gathering all my receipts and student info, when I realized my tax person had filed my student expenses on the wrong year! They were supposed to be for 2009 not 2010. What can I do to fix this? Do I have to file amended returns for both 2009 and 2010?
Hi Carry,
It’s funny, you shouldn’t be able to file with your child’s name spelled wrong, but every so often, something like that gets through. Basically, when you file for this year, spell her name correctly and efile. It will probably go through, but you’ll know within 24 hours if it gets rejected.
If that happens, try again with the incorrect spelling and see if that works. If it does, you’ll want to contact the IRS later with the correct spelling. But I’m guessing the the correct spelling will work.
My daughter’s last name was spelt wrong on my 2011’s income tax return. her last name is roque and it was spelt rogue. will that be a problem on my next income tax return filing? thanks
Hi Heather,
I honestly don’t know. I’m not sure what that letter means. If you want, you can scan it and email it to me to look at. But from what you stated above, I’m clueless. Sorry.
we just recived a letter from my husband job say that we can lower the amount of taxable income we recived by 3500.00 due to a debt reduction payment they were taking out for the year. I question is will we this help us to recive a new refund amount or will it affect us at all?
Hi Melanie,
I’m so sorry to be answering this a day late for you. I was doing tax returns too. The good news is, there’s nothing wrong with your grandmother’s tax return. There’s no income showing up because on the California return it only shows taxable income. If your grandmother’s only income is from social security, then it won’t show up because it wasn’t taxable on the federal return.
You know the penatly for filing late is a percentage of the taxes owed–I’m guessing your grandmother owes nothing so there’s no penalty. You’re good.
Hope you didn’t lose any sleep over that one.
Hi,
I filed an extension for my grandmother back in april. She was missing some info needed to complete her taxes. She is legally blind and asked me to help her so I’m doing that using turbo tax. Unfortunately, I dropped the ball and waited till last minute to complete this. When trying to complete everything, Turbo tax gave me a few areas with errors and said to go through starting from the beginning- I did that multiple times and everything was entered correctly. Brief background- she only receives SSA, so she didn’t have any W-2’s. anyhow, it wouldnt let me E-file these returns so I sent them to myself at my office to print and mail out today (October 15th) and as reviewing them I see that her SSA income isn’t listed at all on the CA540 forms, its only listed on the 1040A. I thought everything from federal continued over to state when you entered that info!! I don’t know why this is happening! I have no access to her paperwork or the Turbo Tax program to make these changes before 5pm today. What should I do? She doesn’t owe anything and won’t be getting a refund either. Would it be better to send them a day late? Or send them as is and wait for them to come back to us for more info? Please help!
Hi Jesenia,
If you don’t have children, I doubt that you’ll owe more filing jointly. Kids could mess that up though — it all depends upon your income and other things.
Now, as far as shopping around–ideally, everybody who prepares tax returns should do the job the same and you should have the same refund or balance due no matter where you go. If you’ve just got W2s and basic documents–that should be true. If you’ve got self employment–you’ll have more variations.
Now, here’s something you should know: if you go to a professional tax office and say, “I want to see what my refund will be before I decide to hire you,” you’ll be shown the door. Generally, people who say that intend to stiff the tax preparer and we work hard for our money. Some companies will allow you to do that–and your name will stay in their computer records for years with you labeled as a “deadbeat”. (I know I used to work there.) You don’t really want to do that.
What you can say, and should ask about is:
1. Are you an Enrolled Agent, CPA, or Registered Tax Return Preparer? That shows some level of expertise at least.
2. If you’ve got a complicated issue–by all means ask if they know how to handle it. That’s a fair question. (I had a client come to me for a cancellation of debt–I was the 5th preparer he had called, some people won’t touch those.)
3. Ask what the cost of amending your return will be. Generally, I charge $250 (just to give you a ballpark estimate.) If someone already prepared your return, they should be able to fix if for much less. If your return is really complicated and they didn’t prepare the original–it could cost more–basically because those of us who fix bad returns go in and look at everything because we’re not allowed to knowingly submit bad returns. No one wants to lose their license over someone else’s mistakes.
Good luck.
Hey, so I filed as single accidentally for my 2011 taxes. However, I had just gotten married. I know I should amend and file as married but separately or jointly, but I think I;m going to owe a lot of money!! Can I get an estimate from different places to see if maybe i don’t have to pay as much? Or will it be the same with every tax preparer?
Hi, Thanks for the advice! It seems to be the hypen!! I’ll ask him to reissue it, and if I don’t hear from him, I’ll just attach a note as you suggested, with the EIN, not the SS.
Hi Marianne,
When there’s a mistake on your 1099MISC you should contact the company that issued it and ask for a correction. If they won’t (or can’t) do it, make sure you attach a note to your return explaining that there’s a mistake. You don’t need a full blown letter, just a note like: 1099misc–social security number incorrect.
I’m a little more concerned about your EIN number. You’re right–it is your EIN number that goes on line D of your Schedule C. And if Turbo Tax is saying it’s not valid–that tells me something is wrong. Lots of tax programs have sub programs to weed out bad EINs and Social Security numbers. EINs only start with certain numbers (and those numbers tell you things too!)
Anyway, first, I’d check my original EIN document to make sure my number was correct. I’m guessing it is, doesn’t sound like a mistake you’d make. I’d also check the “dash or no dash”. In my software I never have to put a dash in. But sometimes I use the IRS software and half the time I do and half the time I don’t. (Totally messes me up.) So I’d check that also.
Quite frankly, if this is your only 1099–and you don’t have any other 1099s that use your EIN–then you can just leave it blank and use your social security number. But–I think it’s important to get your EIN number straightened out.
Possible problems: your EIN is for a corporation and you’re filing as a sole proprietor? Or something like that. I’ve never known the IRS to cancel an EIN so I don’t think that’s the issue. You might want to try calling the Turbo Tax hotline–although I doubt it’s a bug in their system, maybe it’s happened to other folks and they’ll know how to solve it. And there’s always the last resort call to the IRS–checking to make sure your EIN is still working.
Wish I had a more solid answer for you. I’m just playing guessing games. Sorry.
I did some consulting work for a business and I was preparing my taxes and just noticed that the 1099 MISC has 2 things wrong, one it lists my social instead of my EIN and secondly, the first 3 digits of my social are wrong. Do I need to get him to reissue this? Can I just correct it on the form myself? My other question is Turbotax shows an error “Schedule C-line D-EIN is invalid – please enter a valid EIN”. Isn’t this supposed to be MY EIN, not the company EIN I worked for? I’ve tried both and neither seem to work. Thanks for the help!
Thank you so much for your response! I do not have an IRA, and I haven’t contributed to my 401k since I retired (semi I guess) in 2004 so it puts my mind at ease to know I don’t have to do an amended return. Thanks again!
Hi Nadine,
That’s a good question–the right answer is “it depends”. I’m guessing in your case, probably no, but let me explain, just in case you’re the exception.
So you got a new “corrected” W2 but the only change is that they checked box 13. The only thing that would make you need to amend your tax return is if you claimed a deduction for putting money into an IRA account. Since you said you were a retiree–I’m kind of guessing that you didn’t put money in your IRA–but I could be wrong.
The thing about the box 13 is that it lets the IRS know if you had a retirement plan at your work. If you did, and if your income was over a certain amount, and if you contributed to an IRA–the IRA might not be deductible. If you didn’t have an IRA–you don’t even have to think about it. If you did have an IRA, it still might not be a problem–but you’d want to check, just to be safe.
If you do wind up having to adjust your federal tax return, make sure you check your state return also. For most states, a change in the deductible IRA would change your state income also.
If you did not make an IRA contribution–you don’t have to do anything at all.
I filed my taxes back in April and I just recently received a letter with a corrected W2 from my employer. I am a working retiree at the company I retired from, and they forgot to check the “retirement plan” in box 13. The accompanying letter states I “may” have to file an amended return although it also states this will not affect my federal, state wages or tax withholdings. Should I, or do I need to file an amended return?
Hi Douglas,
That was an oops! I had a client do that before too. Stuff happens. You will have to amend your return and you will wind up paying back the portion of refund you got on your IRA. I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll never make that mistake again.
I sent in my 2011 taxes both state and federal. I always wait to fund my IRA after I finish my taxes but before the April deadline. This year I claimed the IRA deduction on my taxes but forgot to transfer the contribution befor April 17th. I am expecting a refund and I know this my either significantly reduce the refund or put me into the Owe catagory. What can I do?
Hey Jas,
Since you haven’t filed California yet, don’t send an amended, just file it correctly. That’s all you need to do there. As for the federal, wait until you receive your refund before sending in the amended return.
Hello,
I efiled my 2011 federal returns and realized that the data transferred from 2010 turbo tax was wrong. I have a printed copy of the 2010 returns that was filed. I realized that my 2010 AGI was incorrect because of the import from my bank and doing it manually caused a duplicate entry on the dividends. The tax due from state was 60 from the transfer but in actual was only 30 which was what I paid to California state. In filing an amended return with Turbo tax, it does not allow me to change the tax info or the AGI from 2010. Can I start a new return with the correct 2010 info? I have not filed the California state returns yet? Do I send in the original return to file the state and then amend it or just send in the correct amended return but not mentioning that it was amended? Do I wait to file the amended immediately or wait until I get a check refund from IRS. I should get a lesser refund with the amended. Thanks!
Hey Sammy,
You’re absolutely right, you need a form 1040NR. The Block person who did your return did not know any better. H&R Block will honor their mistake and fix it for you, but you might have to go to one of their premium offices to get someone who is certified in NR returns.
Call the Block district office phone number in your packet that they gave you and speak with the district manager. She will know who in her district can fix your return for you. They should fix it for free because the mistake is theirs. If they won’t fix it–call their national number 1(800)HRBLOCK and let them know what happened.
I know they will fix it for you–I used to be the H&R Block person who would have to fix those types of mistakes so I know the process.
Also–make sure you get someone who knows what they’re doing. You’re on an F1 visa–so you want to make sure they check for a tax treaty (could reduce your taxes). Good luck.
@Karen,
If you and your children all lived with your brother–and he claimed them as his niece and nephew–then that’s okay to do.
But you say that he didn’t get the refund he was expecting–did the IRS send him a notice saying they were holding back on his refund because someone else claimed the kids? Or could it be an entirely different problem?
I suspect the the kids’ dad claimed them on his tax return also and that’s what’s causing the problem. Does the Dad have any legal right to claim them? (Like a court decree giving him the exemption?)
I don’t have enough information here to help you. I think you need to have someone take a look at the paperwork and figure out what the real problem is before you try to fix it. But an 8332 is not the answer no matter what the issue is. Good luck.
I’m a student in US and I have a F1 visa. I went to one of the H&R Block stores for filling my tax forms and they filled out resident tax from for me! They got me refund but i know it’s not correct and I should fill out 1040nr form. What should I do now? Do I need to fill 1040x and send the check back to IRS? When should I send new tax forms, 1040nr?
We live with him and I didn’t work this year. When he did his taxes he claimed my kids on his taxes as his niece and nephew. But I didn’t know if I need to sign a release for him to do that. I’m so confused.
@Karen–
You’ve got an even bigger oops there. You can’t sign an 8332 for your brother. That’s illegal. You can only sign an 8332 to the children’s father.
So what’s going on?
Do your children live with your brother? Did they live with him for over 6 months? Do you have any income? Only one of you can claim your children–you don’t qualify for the split exemption. You might want to get some professional help with this, an 8332 would be a really big illegal mistake.
I forgot to sign and give my brother the form 8332 when he claimed my children on his taxes. He didn’t get the refund he was expecting for caring for my kids this year. Does he need to amend…or can I sign and send the forms in for him?
Hey Dave,
You’re doing everything right. Just wait until you actually receive your refund before you send your amended return in.
The IRS is experiencing delays with the refunds. If you’ve got a problem, it’s not your wife’s w2–it’s just the standard IRS problem. Don’t worry about it. The IRS doesn’t have your wife’s W2 information in their system yet.
Hi, After my taxes were e-filed, I realize that I did not include my wife’s income and taxes paid from a second W2. I was execting a refund direct deposit a few days ago but have not received it. I have already filled out the 1040x, and while I still am due a refund its less than the original. I am waiting for the original refund so I can send them back the difference. Could the delay be that they found the error? Will they fix and send the correct amount or something else? The 1040x assumes I received the refund and owe the difference. What should I do?
Thanks
Hey Melanie,
Why don’t you just ask to to fix it? And why isn’t she e-filing your return anyway? If you paid her money and she’s not e-filing–that’s suspicious–professionals who prepare 10 or more returns are required by law to e-file. (And we’d better have your name spelled correctly or it will be rejected.)
Anyway, a handwritten return you could just correct, but if it’s typed–then it really should be redone.
Hi. I just noticed that the lady that we filed our 1040 tax paper mispelled mmy name. She put a “d” instead of an “r”. Is it okay if I use white out and hand correct it? Or print out a few “r”s and glue them on? Thank You.
Hey Jamie,
Something’s not making sense and you probably need to go ask your preparer about it. (I might be perfectly clear to him.) What I don’t understand is–why you have passive activity loss limitations on a sole proprietorship. Sole proprietorship income/losses are reported on schedule C–they don’t have passive lose limitations. Passive loss limitations usually affect partnerships and rental real estate.
If you’ve got a partnership or rental real estate–the passive loss limitation makes sense–your income is probably too high to claim the loss unless there’s an offset of passive income elsewhere. (You can take those loses in a later year when you dispose of a property or your income drops.)
Take your return back to your preparer and ask him to explain it to you. I’m guessing that’s it’s probably right, but he should be able to explain exactly why he has those numbers the way he does. If he can’t explain it–well then you probably need a new preparer–but most likely he knows exactly what he did and why he did it.
My husband and I just did our taxes with a preparer. I think there is a mistake. We filed the form 8582 (Passive Activity Loss Limitations) along with our Form 1040. We started a business in 2011 and have not received income from, but instead, we have paid out and have losses in the amount of -$1,369. In Part II, it states to “enter the smaller of the loss on line 1d or the loss on line 4”. We have “0” on line 1d, but we do have -1,369 on line 4. Well, our tax preparer did not put anything for line 5 in Part II. I am confused why he would do that because -$1,369 is the SMALLER amount and is smaller than the number “0”. Therefore, I believe -$1,369 should be listed on line 5, right? Then on line 10 of Part II states to “enter the smaller of line 5 or line 9” (we have “0” listed on line 9), but he still has nothing typed on line 10 and I believe it should also say -$1,369. Now, skipping to Part IV, Total Losses Allowed (Part III does not pertain to us), line 15 says to “add the income, if any, on lines 1a and 3a and enter the total (we have made no income, so he did that part right). Then there is line 16, “Total Losses Allowed From All Passive Acitivities For 2011. Add Lines 10, 14, and 15.” Well, originally our preparer ALSO has put nothing on line 16, but I believe it should still state -$1,369 because it IS a loss. Don’t we get a credit of some sort for having losses on our Sole Proprieter business? Our tax preparer originally put down in the end that we did not have any losses, be we DO have losses that result in the amount of -$1,369. Is he right, or am I right? What do I do if he is wrong?
Esperanza–
Oops! I just gave a speech about how easy it is to do that. First, wait for you tax return to be processed. If you’ve got a refund coming–don’t file an amended return until after you get your refund.
Once you’ve got it, you’ll want to file a form 1040X–your software program probably has it in there. Once you click on the x–(don’t forget to do the state too, for some states it will change your numbers, other states it won’t affect it at all) go make the changes to your form 2441. Print and mail the 1040X with the form 2441 and a check for whatever amount you owe.
It’s no big deal–you’re not a criminal. These types of mistakes happen all the time. You caught it right away and you’re going to fix it right away.
People always ask me, “Will it make me look bad?” No–it won’t.
I filed my tax return by e-file and after printing and review it.. I notice that I had made a mistake regarding payment to my child care provider. it should of being $300, but I added an extra 0,( $3000).
How do I correct this error?
Hi Matt,
If your name, Social Security number, or address is incorrect, you can make the correction on your W2. Make sure you tell your employer that there’s a mistake so that he can fix it, but you can still file your tax return.
Never file a tax return with partial information. (That’s a pretty big no-no in the IRS’s eyes.)
i worked two jobs this year .I got my w2 from the job i worked earlier in the year and my social security number is of bye one digit ,How do i fix this and can i file the w2 from my other job in the meantime
Hey Goober,
No problem. Seriously, this kind of thing happens all the time. (I meant making a mistake on a tax return, not the IRS refund page going down, that was creepy.) This won’t affect your refund or your ability to receive it.
And–I don’t wan’t you to amend your return until after you actually have your refund in your hands. If you mail in your amended return before the IRS is done with what you’ve already sent, it can really mess things up.
After you get your refund, (save a little money to pay the extra tax) and then mail in your 1040X with a check to cover the difference. It’s not a big deal at all. I do this all the time for people. File the amended return by April 15th so that you don’t pay any late penalties.
Don’t feel bad, it was an oopsies, that’s all. No harm, no foul.
Hi,
I E-filed my taxes over the net on Thursday, and then on Monday evening (now) I find the IRS had accepted the return, along with a unreported 1099 in my mail box. You see, my Dad died in 2010, and his life insurance paid me 9,648 in 2011. The $648.00 of that was interest, and I did not know I had to pay interest on it, and my E-file return did not include it. The IRS website has not updated today (due to technical problems), and we are waiting with baited breath.
What do I do now? Should I immediately re-file a corrected return, or stand by and respond to what develops? We are due a refund of about 2300.00, and we were really counting on it.
Now what?