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 Esme,
I would go back to your preparer and have her fix it.
So i just noticed that the lady i went to do my taxes with accidentally filled my taxes as single but i am married, where can i go to fix that, or do i just go back to her to get it fixed
Hi Jen,
Go ahead and file anyway. You’re just covering your behind. I file zero change amended returns all the time. That’s okay.
Hi Paul,
Okay so you’ve been waiting since February! What I would recommend is grabbing a good piece of identification, like your driver’s license or passport, your tax documentation, a copy of your return, and I would go to your nearest IRS office in person.
I sounds to me like you made a pretty big oops–but at least you recognize that you made a mistake. You’ve been trying to fix it from the beginning. It’s time the IRS helped.
Because of the gross overstatement of refund, it may have been thrown into the identity theft pile. There’s been a lot of ID theft this year and because of the big refund, that makes your return suspect. That’s why I say grab some ID when you go talk to them.
If that’s not an option for you, or you get nowhere when you go in person, then I suggest talking to the taxpayer advocate’s office. They are there to help when the IRS is too slow in responding–I think you’ve got a good case.
Here’s a link on how to reach them: http://www.irs.gov/Advocate/Local-Taxpayer-Advocate
The national number is 1-877-777-4778. But if you can find a local representative I think that’s always better. Good luck.
Hi Joanne,
You put your unemployment on the Social Security line. Oops. So do you need to amend? That sort of depends. If you hand wrote your return, and you computed the right tax, I probably wouldn’t even bother. The IRS got the right dollar amount and they’ll have the right documents. If you get a letter, I’d just call them and say “oops, wrong line.”
But, if you used computer software and it computed the income as social security benefits instead of unemployment, then you’ll need to amend because you’re going to owe some more tax.
I had Electronically Filed my 2013 tax return in February of 2014. After sending it out, I immediately noticed I made an error. (I put my gross wages as my federal tax withholding from one of my W-2’s). It was a real stupid mistake. Essentially it just showed more of a refund than I should have gotten, either way I am in a refund position. Regardless. I called the IRS SEVERAL Times (January through May) and they have told me not to do anything with my return and that they would catch it and fix the mistake before releasing the funds. Well It is now JULY 31st!!!!!! After several more phone calls the past couple of months, another agent told me that he was not sure why they had not released what my real refund should have been. He said it should be 3 weeks for it be processed. It has now been 5 weeks and still nothing.
What do I do now.?
I need help! I received a 1099-s from the sale of a house I inherited from my grandmother. I didn’t report the income on our 2011 tax return because I was told it was non-taxable income. The IRS accepted the return and we have not received a notice or anything. But I recently learned of this error because I made an unrelated mistake on our state taxes that year also (not a good year for me). I was going to amend our 2011 return before uncle Sam realizes I messed up and starts sending me scary mail. However, I did a new 1040 along with an 8949 and schedule doesn’t in preparation for the amended return and… The only change I have to report is a zero on line 13 of the 1040. We took a loss on the sale of the house and we can’t deduct it because we lived in the house for 6 months while it was on the market. Here’s my question: do I need to file an amended return to report a zero? None of the other numbers on the return will change at all. Help?
Hi Christopher,
So you accidentally filed a 2012 W2 with your 2013 taxes and you think I’ve never seen that before? Seen that? You bet I have. It’s actually way more common than you can imagine. It’s so easy to do. The W2s all look alike and an old one gets mixed in–seriously, it happens to lots of people.
Anyway, the best thing is to just file an amended return. In the explanation box just write: “taxpayer accidentally included 2012 information with the 2013 return. Those figures have been removed.”
If taking out the 2012 W2 changes any other pages of your tax return (like your schedule A or EIC, then you’ll want to include any other pages that were affected.
Dear Wonderful Tiffany,
On behalf of all the tax preparers who have said stupid things to clients, I apologize for the person saying your marriage wasn’t legal. That isn’t what the idiot meant. (I know, I remember the stupidest thing I ever said–I was trying to explain that a certain child did not qualify for a certain tax credit and the words I used were: “she doesn’t count”. I will never forget the look on the daughter’s face, and I had to do a lot of back tracking.
As many of my clients can tell you, you don’t need a social security number to be married!
Now, how to fix things. First–you are married. So you are either married filing jointly or married filing separately. If you have children and are living apart you might be able to file as head of household– but if you are living together, then you can’t.
And here’s the kicker–you filed as head of household and you have children. Did you claim EIC? You see, if one of the parents does not have a social security number then you can’t claim EIC.
Now, can your husband qualify for a social security number? If he can, then he should apply for one. Once he gets a social security number, you can go back and amend prior year tax returns to claim the EIC.
In the meantime, you’ll need to fix those tax returns. You might owe if you claimed EIC–technically its fraud to claim head of household when you’re married–but you didn’t know, you were told otherwise and you’re the one who’s coming forward to the IRS–don’t sweat that you won’t get hit with fraud penalties.
You will probably owe tax–that’s the bad part.
Now, you might reduce some of the tax by filing jointly. The married filing jointly tax rate is lower than the married filing separately rate. Your husband can elect to be treated as a citizen for tax purposes. But sit down with a professional, (one who deals with international issues) to make sure that is the best option for him.
One last thing–did you have a wedding? Is there a marriage license? Sounds like a dumb question but some people think they are common law married and they’re not. I had to deal with the reverse problem, a couple filing as married and finding out that they weren’t because the state they lived in didn’t recognize common law marriage. They were from a foreign country, back home they would be legally married but here in Missouri–no. So just something to check if that might apply to you.
I got married July 2013 to a man who is not a citizen of the USA. When I went to file my taxes I was told to file single or head of household because our marriage wasn’t legal because he doesn’t have a social security number. I went to three different people and was told the same thing even though he has a ITIN, so I filed head of household and use my maiden name because I hadn’t yet changed it. Now I’m in school and they are telling me that my marriage is legal (which I knew that from the start, but you cant tell so called experts that) Now I have to amend my taxes and file married before they can process my FAFSA. I was told that it shouldn’t matter because I have children and he didn’t file. What should I do? What is going to happen? Am I going to get in trouble for not saying I was married?
Hi Kelsey,
What your father needs is form 8379–that’s the Injured Spouse Relief. That allows him to still claim EIC and not have his share of the tax refund taken for your mom’s loans.
Here’s more information: http://robergtaxsolutions.com/2011/03/injured-spouse-relief/
Once the loans are back on track, you dad should be able to file his return without having the refund taken. But it’s always a good idea to check with the agency before filing to make sure he’s safe.
Good luck with college.
Hi Jan,
I have been selected for Verification for financial aid through my university. I was required to submit my family’s tax information from 2013- upon submission and review, my adviser and I realized that my father had an incorrect filing status. I asked him about it, and he was clueless- his preparer told him that he could file head of household when in reality he could not do so. He is married- but my mom is unemployed. Therefore, he would have needed to file married sep. or married jointly, right?
Obviously this is something that needs to be fixed in order for me to receive financial aid. However, I have a few concerns regarding the 1040x process as it relates to student loans. My mother has student loans that she defaulted on- but she hasn’t had a job either and cannot afford to pay them. My father does not want to have his refund withheld or his wages garnished so he would prefer to file separately until she can get her loans rehabilitated. If he amends his tax return from HoH to Married Filing Separately, should he include a check for the exact amount of the EIC? (That’s the only thing that changed; his gross income was under 8K for the whole year.) And, once her loans are rehabilitated, can he file jointly next year and then qualify for the EIC without it being withheld?
Thanks for your help.
Hi Jan,
Without seeing the return, I’m guessing that what happened is that the software set you up to file a form 8938–statement of foreign financial assets which gets filed with your tax return.
You wouldn’t normally have to file one of those for only $10,000 in foreign assets (although you’ll still want to file your FBAR.)
The 8938 is just a reporting form, there’s no tax associated with it. I wouldn’t bother doing an amendment as there would be no change in your taxes. And although you triggered a form in the Block software, on the actual form it has you list the dollar amount that you have in the account–not a check box item so they’ll see you don’t really have $100,000 or more of assets.
Take a look at the actual return–look for form 8938 (it will be at the back of the return) and read the actual numbers you input for the balances in the accounts. If you see the right numbers, don’t worry about it. If you accidentally typed in that you’ve got way more money than you actually do–then you might want to amend just so the IRS isn’t looking for your interest or dividend income on that amount.
Hi Rollin,
I would file the amended return. In the explanation box you will write: amending to correct form 8582, no change in tax. Attach a copy of the new 8582 form, you won’t need to attach any other schedules.
Hi Alex,
I apologize for responding so late. In your case, since you hadn’t filed the state return yet, you would not submit an amended state return, but submit the initial state return with the proper IRA deduction on it.
It seems a little strange, but you wouldn’t be the first person to file the federal and then amend it before actually filing the state return and you certainly won’t be the last.
Hi J,
I’m assuming that your return has already been taken care of by now. (Sorry I’m so late with this.)
My question is: if the father claimed the child and you’re living together, why does the preparer need the social security number? And why is he sending it in later?
If you’re not living together and the preparer is trying to split the refund–did the father only claim the exemption? (I sincerely doubt it.)
Something’s fishy. I’m assuming it’s all settled by now, but you shouldn’t have had a delay unless you were claiming the baby.
Hi Bob,
you mistakenly put an extra digit in the amount of babysitting expenses that you claimed on your taxes.
I would amend it right away. Yes, it’s already been a year, but it often takes the IRS three years to figure stuff like that out. Because you have to list your babysitters social security number (or EIN) it’s quite likely that she could get an IRS letter because of it.
If she does get one first, the just apologize and file the paperwork to make it right.
For what it’s worth, typing an extra digit is one of the most common problems I see on electronically filed tax returns.
Hi Simon,
If the IRS already accepted your return, it’s fine. I suspect the software may have shortened your middle name to an initial anyway.
Hi Will,
I have two different answers for you. If you had paid me, (me, Jan) to prepare your taxes for you, I would do an amended return and submit it, even though there is no change. Because I am one of those anal retentive accounting types and well, I just would do it because it would technically be correct and you had paid me to prepare your return correctly.
But, if it were my own personal tax return, (me, Jan the anal retentive accountant) I wouldn’t bother since it wouldn’t make any difference anyway.
I hope that answers your question.
okay I got a problem here, and you’ve probably never had an issue with this, but I still had my 2012 w2 form and accidently filed my 2012 info for my 2013 taxes, and now I am freaking out….what is the best course of action here?
Hi Jan,
First of all, thanks so much for answering all of these questions! I have what’s going to seem like a very silly question compared to most you’ve received, but here goes: I just discovered that I put my unemployment compensation on the wrong line (instead of 1040 line 19, I put it on line 20b, which is Social Security benefits). Should I file an amended return, immediately or later?
Hi ,
I recently filed my 2013 Tax return (efile using H&R block online service). But, under the Foreign accounts and Trust section I mistakenly chose foreign assets worth more than 100,000 option instead of foreign accounts over 10,000. IRS already accepted my return. How should I correct this?
Thanks!
Jan
I received corrected K1’s for past years. Now I need to claim more passive activity loss on Form 8582. It won’t affect my taxes for those years because I am not able to take those losses, however, I will want to take them when I sell the property. Do I need to submit corrected Form 8582 for those years? If so, do I need to file an amended 1040 even though my taxes won’t change?
I recently electronically Filed my sister-in Law’s federal taxes and she is due a refund but she owes on the state taxes. We discovered yesterday that I did not included her IRA contribution so I have completed the amended tax form for both the federal and state. The amended State 500x now shows a refund. My question is since she has not filed her State form 500X (Georgia) yet (she owes money on it) does she still needs to file the old form and pay the tax or can she send the amended State form instead and receive a refund?
Thanks
Ok so I e-filed with a preparer on 3/9/14 and he needed my daughters birth certificate since she was born in 12/2013 to complete it even though my boyfriend (her father) already claimed her..he filed my return without it and sent it l8r but I look on the IRS where’s my refund daily and it’s still not posted when I should expect my return even tho they say it tak3s 24 hours from the time it’s filed. Should I be concerned?
Looks like I will owe about $1200, should I ammend and pay ? Does that increase chance of an Audit? Or should I wait for her to recieve a bill and just pay it for her? She is a family member..She prob didn’t even report the $548 because it is under the limit but I put her SS# in the Child Care form.. Thanks, don’t want any future surprises for putting a stupid 3 after the correct amount.
I mistakenly put $5483 instead of $548 for childcare expenses on 2012 return! Will my babysitter recieve an underpayment/ under reporting letter from IRS? Can I ammend to prevent this it’s been a year. What should I do if she is contacted first ?Help!
I just fund out that my middle name is spell wrong, but first name and last name was correct. i already E-file my Fed Return and got accepted. i have not send out my state return yet. should i call IRS to collect my middle name or leave as it’s. can fix it on my state tax return and send it out?
Lots of great advice on here! I’m wondering – I got a W2C from my employer, which changed my Box 1 by $6. It was because they forgot to include the premium on life insurance over $50,000, they said.
Unfortunately, I had already filed my taxes and got my refund. The difference is $6 increased income – when I do the math and look at what the 1040X looks like, it does not change my tax at all and certainly does not change my refund or give me any amount due.
Do I really need to file the 1040X if there is no actual change in the tax? None of my credits or anything changed, it is just that a $6 increase in income did not change my tax at all from the tax tables.
Thanks for any thoughts!
Hi Jessica,
Get your 1040X all prepared and ready to go. Hold off on filing it until the last possible moment. You should be able to track the process of your refund at “Where’s My Refund?” on the IRS website.
I’m guessing that you’ll have the refund long before April 15th (unless the IRS is holding back because they think your boyfriend’s return is suspicious.)
Hey Jennifer,
Sorry I missed that ppost about the $1413 of cancelled debt. If that was the cancelled debt amount, that will count as income, that’s not the amount of tax taken out.
My boyfriend originally filed as “head of household” because he figured he qualified since I’m his dependent. While I still definitely qualify as a dependent, he realized he is not “head of household” but single. We still get a refund, but it is about $2000 less than originally thought. We have not yet received the refund. I know typically we would wait for the refund to file the 1040x amendment, but we want to get it in before April 15th. If we get the refund, should we send back the whole refund amount, or just the difference? If we don’t get the refund in due time, can we still amend before April 15th to avoid problems? Also, I know it takes some time for them to process the amendment; as long as they receive it in the mail before April 15th, are we okay, or is it based on the time it takes for them to process it? We just want to correct our mistake and avoid any extra fees.
Hi Eric,
You’ll need to file the amendment right away so that your ex can claim the kids. If you can’t afford to pay back the money, talk to the IRS about setting up a payment agreement. If you make arrangements, they won’t freeze your bank account.
Hello,
My ex decided that she wanted to claim the children, after I had already filed my taxes. She will claim the children and i will file an amendment. How long do I have to file an amendment to pay back the difference, before the IRS tries to freeze my bank acct or such.
The amount was 1,413 for a cancelled debt. Is this amount taken directly out of her refund or just worked in as additional income.
Hi Jennifer,
Well then having a loss–then you don’t have self employment tax so that could quite easily not change your refund. That makes sense.
About your friend with the 1099C. The cancellation of debt does not increase her earned income, but it does increase her Adjusted Gross income–depending upon her situation, that could even hurt her EIC.
Here’s a couple of thoughts there–
1. if the 1099C is from a foreclosure on her house–she may be able to exclude that income using a form 982.
2. Also, if the debt was cancelled in a bankruptcy proceeding–once again, the form 982.
Or, 3. If she was insolvent–meaning that she had more debt than assets at the time the debt was cancelled–she might be able to exclude that income with form 982 as well. The cancellation of debt insolvency worksheet can be a pain in the behind. If the debt was tiny–probably not much of an issue, but if the cancelled debt was pretty big and taking a chunk out of her taxes, she should look into the insolvency issue.
Here’s more information: http://robergtaxsolutions.com/?s=insolvency+worksheet
I forgot to tell u this number was reported as a loss. I also wanted to ask u about a friend of mine who received a 1099 c. She is self employed and doesn’t know whether to add this number to determine her earned income for the earned income credit or whether to subtract it.
Hi Jennifer,
You’re right that the IRS does usually correct those types of mistakes. My only concern is that you say it didn’t make a difference on your taxes. Usually, if you have a $504 dollar difference on your self employment, it should make about a $77 difference on your taxes for the self employment tax. (504 time 15.3% = 77)
I did it on the computer. It doesn’t make a difference in my refund. Some one told me the the irs usually corrects these types of mistakes, but I just wanted to make sure. My net profit on my c-ez says 2,856. However, I put the number for gross receipts on my c-ez which was 2,342 on the 1040.
Hi Jennifer,
If your net profit on your C-EZ doesn’t match the 1040, then you will want to amend. But before you do that, let me just run my “double check challenge” questions by you before you go through all that work.
1. Did you prepare the return by hand? If yes, and you just copied a number incorrectly, then yes definitely amend. If you did the return on the computer, I have more questions.
2. How much is the number off by? Subtract the number on your CEZ from the number on the 1040–the difference. Look at your paperwork and input screens to see if you have something that is equal to that number elsewhere.
Examples: another 1099MISC that wasn’t related to your business, a K1 formfrom a partnership, corporation, or estate that had self-employment income that wasn’t part of your C-EZ.
I’m guessing that you’ve just got a mixed up number and you need to amend. But there are other things that could go on that line which would change the number and I didn’t want to tell you to just amend when that’s a possibility.
Hi Kay,
If there is no mistake on the federal return, and your change doesn’t affect your federal taxes, then you only have to file the amended state return.
Hey I made a mistake on my taxes where my net profit on my schedule c-ez does not match the number on my 1040 for business profits/ loss. Should I amend my taxes?
Hello,
After e-filing my taxes, I noticed that I have made an error on my state tax. Since I used turbo tax, I prepared an amendment. For the federal tax, amendment shoes 0.00 since nothing was changed there. Only the state tax is changed. Do I still have to send the amended form to IRS? Thank you!
Hi Mauricio,
I think you’re fine. The IRS accepted your return as filed so I wouldn’t do anything. Do keep a copy of that notice with your taxes in case you get a letter from the IRS later asking about that W2. That’s your proof that you filed corrrectly.
But I wouldn’t send the IRS anything unless they ask for it.
My company was taken over by another company in 2013. Therefore, I received two W-2 statements for 2013. One W-2 was for 51 weeks with one company, and the second W-2 was for the final week of 2013 under the new company name. Yes, I know, why couldn’t they have waited a week?? Anyway, I e-filed already through turbotax, and I received my refund. Everything went smoothly. Today , my company notified me that they provided the wrong FEIN on the W-2 on the second W-2 ( which was for one week of earnings). However, I have already received my refund. Do I need to do anything? My incomes and refund ( the math ) are all correct, and should not be affected. Will I receive a letter from the IRS in the future?
Hi Jessica,
Usually, when you’ve made a mistake like that (spelling a name wrong or messing up the birthdate) you get a “reject” from the IRS. Once you get the reject, then you simply correct the mistake and hit the resend button.
My only concern here is why it’s taking so long to process. Usually rejects come pretty quickly. If this hasn’t cleared up by the time you read this post, I suggest that he call the IRS e-file office and get instructions from them about how to move ahead with this.
Or did you mean that you looked at the “Where’s My Refund?” site and it says “processing”. If that’s the case, that’s normal. The IRS is saying expect your refund to take 21 days. Now, I’ve noticed that most of my clients are getting their refunds much faster than that, but anybody with kids–especially families where the kids have been claimed by different family members in other years–many of those are being delayed. Bottom line is — if that’s the case, don’t panic until after 21 days.
Hi Joe,
I’m sorry, but filing an amended return isn’t going to fix that problem. If you take a look at the tax form, there’s nothing there about changing how your refund gets applied.
I tried to switch one of those refunds for someone before and the IRS said that he was SOL. (Okay, they didn’t say it that way but you get my drift.)
The one advantage that you might have is that it’s not April 15th yet. When I was trying to fix it, April 15th had already passed.
You will need to contact the IRS directly and explain the situation. If you do get lucky, and the IRS gives you back your money, please post what you did back here. You know that if it happened to you, it certainly happened to someone else too.
Fair warning, you’re going to be on hold for a long time and you’re also going to get bounced around to a couple of different operators before you get to talk to someone who can actually help you. Good luck.
Hi Christina,
Of course you can fix that. What will happen is that you’ll get your original refund for the one child. Your preparer will file the amended return and the IRS will send you the remaining difference once they’ve processed it. It will take a little longer to get your money, but you’ll still get it.
Hi I’m from ca, I had a tax person do my husband and i taxes, we’ll out process has been saying processing for the past week I looked at the papers and she spelt my husbands name wrong is that why? What can I do I’m freaking out cause I can’t call any one and the lady won’t call me back now.
I efiled on 02/07/2014, then after the IRS accepted realized that on the 1040 form, instead of selecting to Direct Deposit, which is how I always have my refund returned to me, it said that my refund was going to be applied to 2014 estimated tax (line 75). Is filing an ammended tax return the only way to fix this and get a return this year? Thank you!