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 Felipe,
Sorry this response is so late and out of order. I’m playing catch up with my mail box.
You want to amend your 2010 tax return to add a dependent. The dependent has an ITIN instead of a social security number. A few things to consider:
1. does your dependent live with you?
2. if not, is your dependent a qualifying relative that you can claim without him living with you?
The reason I ask is because there’s been a huge scandal at the IRS for allowing people to claim kids with ITIN numbers that should not have been claimed. So–make absolutely sure that you are allowed to claim this dependent before you do so. They’re going to see an ITIN number and it’s going to get special attention.
It you had it done professionally, you can probably have your preparer amend it for pretty cheap. That might be better for you than Turbo Tax.
Or, you can get the forms from the IRS website. But do check your preparer first. I usually charge $250 to do an amended return. But if you had your taxes done at a place like H&R Block or something like that, they generally will amend your return for the price of the additional form that’s required. So it might actually cost you less the the price of the Turbo Tax box. It’s worth asking about.
Hi Donna,
Amend the 2009 return. Pay the tax. If you are assessed a penalty, request a penalty abatement. The circumstances were beond your control.
Hi Kathy,
The IRS will keep your refund to pay the back debt.
So, did you owe $3000 when you filed your return with Block in 2010 or did the IRS change your refund? Block will not honor their peace of mind agreement if it’s an EIC claim, but if it’s their fault they should honor it. If you didn’t buy the peace of mind agreement, they at least cover the penalties if you contact them within 30 days of the IRS notice.
If nothing else, they usually will help you to make sure you really do owe the money. If your tax issue is not EIC and it is a Block mistake, you should go to the district manager and see what they can do. Maybe the can’t help–but just make sure you’ve checked.
Hi Ikbspcd,
Let me tell you about me. My husband has a W2 and I have a schedule C. I had to file my FAFSA on January 31st. Your friendly neighborhood accountant is really good at doing other people’s taxes, but getting my own done is a whole different story.
Anyway, I did my taxes as well as I could with all the other documents. Then I used my best estimates of my business income. Oh sure, I’ve got my check book accounts–its’ the mileage log and stuff like that that I drag my heels on. That said, I’m pretty sure it’s awfully close to last year.
So you do the FAFSA with your estimates. When your tax return is actually finished, you’ll send that information in. But this way you’ll get the FAFSA done anyway.
Hi. I haven’t filed my 2012 returns yet…getting ready to. However, just recently, I received a K-1 form for 2009 for my mother-in-law’s trust. She passed away in 2009. Never got one before this, so it kind of came as a big surprise. Apparently, my brother-in-law, who was named the trustee didn’t do things properly. Anyway, do I just need to amend my 2009 return? This year’s return would have nothing to do with this, correct? Or can I send them in together and have this year’s refund offset what I may owe from 2009? Also, how do I get out of having to pay penalties and interest for the last 3 years when it was not my fault? I want to make sure I do this right. Thank you.
We filed our taxes for 2012 on February 22, 2013. Our federal refund came out to be $5,299.00 and was shown as accepted the next day on the IRS website.
Today, March 10, 2013 I received a letter in the mail from the IRS. It was a CP22A Form stating that we owe $3,922.80 from our 2010 tax report. Both reports were filed by HR Block. Will we get our refund for 2012 or will it be deducted to pay the taxes we didn’t know we owed from 2010? Also, we had HR Block do our taxes in 2007 and 2009 and subsequently, we received notices almost a year later stating we owed $3,000 for one year and $855.00 for the other year. We went on a payment plan with the IRS and got caught up, but HR Block said there was nothing they could do about our situation. I am so frustrated and in panic. Please advise. Thanks so much.
Thank you so much for your posts and answers to everyone’s questions. It is very informative. So of course now, here is my question. My husband and I file jointly. I have a W-2 and his income if from a Schedule C for the business he has. This year, he is behind in preparing his accounting to generate his Schedule C. Understandbly, we could file for an extension. Unfortunately we have a child in college and I need my tax information for the FAFSA form for financial aid determination. Here are my thoughts: I can file separately (which will seriously affect my deductions/refund) and use that information as with the IRS Data Retrieval for the school or file jointly without the Schedule C, use the information with the IRS DAta Retrieval for the school and then amend my taxes once the Schedule C is complete. My biggest concern is getting some type of information to the school. What do you think? Am I setting myself up for further audit risk?
Hi BV,
Sorry for being so harsh. Here’s the deal:
EIC is for the parent that the child lives with. In your case, that would be you. The child tax credit goes with the dependency exemption, and if the court orders the exemption to go with your ex–then that’s where it goes. If it’s supposed to go with you, then it’s you. This post should probably help you: http://robergtaxsolutions.com/2011/11/split-exemption-claiming-one-child-on-two-tax-returns-%e2%80%94-the-legal-way/
Hi Cord,
You need to file an amended return. Get it done by April 15th and it will not go on your permanent record–your corrected return will be what’s in the file.
Hi Jennae,
The non-business miles won’t make a difference unless you are claiming actual expenses–which I’m guessing you’re not. Don’t worry about it.
Hi Beth,
First, the deadline for 2009 returns is April 15 2013. Since you’re only amending 2010 and 2011 you’ve got a little more time.
Personally, I’d file your 2012 return correctly–why bother to do it twice? If you need more time, just file an extension and get it all done.
Hey Nathan,
Well, I kind of doubt that it’s your W2. I’m thinking it’s more likely an issue with claiming your child and EIC. My first thought is: could anyone else have claimed your son? That’s more likely to cause your taxes to be reviewed so early.
The IRS will let you know why they held your return soon.
Most likely, if the problem is your W2, it wouldn’t get caught until much later in the year.
Hi Toshiba,
If your preparer put in the wrong information, you can amend and correct it.
Hi Al,
You should read this post: http://robergtaxsolutions.com/2011/01/my-ex-claimed-my-kid-now-what-do-i-do/
And you might want to read this too: http://robergtaxsolutions.com/2011/11/split-exemption-claiming-one-child-on-two-tax-returns-%e2%80%94-the-legal-way/
Hi Nunez,
If your name has an extra letter when you file, it will probably just get rejected. After the reject, just fix your name and re-submit.
Hi Lisa,
You’ll just have to contact the IRS and explain what happened with the name. You don’t really need to amend–because the return is correct. But they might have you submit forms to prove that her name is really what’s on the return.
Hi Crystal,
The thing that comes to mind is making a qualified distribution from an IRA–if you’re active duty then you don’t have to pay the additional 10% penalty. For that situation, you need to be active duty for 179 days or more. So, I’m guessing that she would need to say no. Sorry.
Thanks for all your good information! I have a rental property that went into service in 2007. For 07,08, and 09 a professional prepared my returns. Then in 2010 I decided to save some money and do them myself. It has come to my attention that depreciation and passive losses were file incorrectly since I took over (of course). I need to file amended returns for 2010 and 2011. But I just want to make sure (based on other advice you’ve given people) that I should go ahead and file 2012 and get my refund, then go back and file amended returns for 2010, 2011, and 2012? I know you can only file amended returns 3 years back so this seems to make the most sense to me. Also, would that have to be done by tax deadline? Thank you!
OH AN CAN THEY JUST FIX THE MISTAKE BY MATCHING THE INFO THE EMPLOYER SENDS IN ON HIS W2 STATEMENTS
HEY THERE SO I TOO COULD NOT GET MY W2 MY FORMER EMPLOYER ACTUALLY STILL WONT GIVE BE IT TO ME SAYS HE CANT GIVE ME ONE TILL THE ONE HE SENT OUT COMES BACK TO HIM ANY WAY I USED MY LAST CHECK STUB TO DO MY TAXES AN CLAIMED MY SON AN GOT THE EIC CREDIT NOW MY TAXES ARE BEING REVIEWED IS THIS BECAUSE MY INCOME WAS OFF MAYBE A FEW HUNDRD DOLLARS OR IS THIS MORE SERIOUS
What if the person that did my taxes put in the wrong information can I file a amended return I order a return transcript my refundsuppose to be way lower than what she provided
What if someone claimed your kids and they are not the custodial parents , and the noncustodial parent claim the same kids but has the release form (8332) from the custodial parent ,what will happen ?
hi i filed my returns efile and noticed after that my first name has an extra letter. what should i do?
My husband and I changed my daughters last name last year but not her social security card. When we went to h&r block we filled for 2011 and 2012 the guy put her new last name on the forms even though her social security card was not changed yet(we changed her name on her card the following Monday) well. Both got rejected and he fixed the e file one but the one we mailed in, the refund amount got adjusted to 5000 less. Is there anything we can do to get that money still?
Someone filed my return for me and informed me that they did a mix up and put a different w-2 as my employer and wages on accident and they didnt realize it until they efiled it. Im freaking out i need to know what too do is there a way i can fix this please help me.
I am partially self employed. I claimed mileage and then my tax preparer had me give my full mileage for the year and I accidentally gave a wrong number. I gave 112,000 miles and it should have been 60,000 miles. The work miles are correct its just the total miles for the year that is incorrect. I called and they said it would be fine as long as the work miles are correct. Should I do anything to correct the mistake?
Hi Jessenia,
Your boyfriend is not your son’s stepfather. To claim that is illegal! Be careful you could get into huge trouble for fraud.
Now, he’s definitely not the father either. So you need to change the returns. Your boyfriend cannot claim EIC for a child that is not his. Amend it right away.
Hi Christina,
I’m so glad that you didn’t file the first amendment yet. Make sure that whatever you do, file it correctly. You might want to consider having a professional look over it before you file.
Hi Deb,
It sounds like the change is insignificant. I doubt that you have to amend.
Hi Bridget,
After you get your refund, you will need to amend your return. Put the correct social security number down for your daughter. You will get the refund, it will just take a little while.
Hi Rocio,
To get your refund faster, file with the wrong name. Then call the IRS and speak with them about what you need to do to have the name corrected.
If you’re not in a hurry for your refund. Contact the IRS first. I’m guessing that you would have to file a paper return and the name issue would be fixed then. But do check first.
Hi Alisha,
Given your husband’s income level, you won’t qualify for EIC. I’m guessing that you’ claimed your child so for you, married filing separate probably is your best bet.
Hi Genesis,
Let me make sure I understand. You worked on a film and you listed the name of the production company for your income. Did you receive a 1099MISC from them? If yes, you really should list it on your return.
On the other hand–since you did report the income, it’s not going to change your taxes. But–the IRS will do “document matching” and that’s why you want to amend–to show that you received income from the “film” as opposed to the production company.
If you don’t change it, and you get a letter from the IRS–you’ll just have to prove that you wrote the wrong comany name down. I’d fix it now just to prevent the hassle later.
Mike,
You will send in the corrected W2, but you don’t need to send any other W2s. If your revised W2 causes any of your other forms to change, you’ll need to send and forms that change. For example: if you claim medical expenses, the deduction is based upon a percentage of your income–in that case you’d have to attach your new schedule A. But if none of the other forms are affected, you don’t need to send anyting else.
Hey Keesha,
That doesn’t make sense. Either you amend the return and attach the 8863 or you don’t need to. You might want to check with a supervisor–something doesn’t make sense.
Hi Tony,
If you are expecting a refund, wait until you receive the refund to file the amendment. If you’re not getting a refund, wait about three weeks before you submit the amended return.
Hello Jan,
My daughter is trying to file her taxes on turbo tax now and is at a road block . She is in the National Guard and that is her only income , there is a question about if she was active during the W-2 period and they said she was active during her basic and
AIT training (which was from July 2-nov 15 2012) but for the rest of 2012 she was just getting drill pay . So if she checks yes it’s right but also wrong at the same time ??? It makes a difference in the amount she will get back so she wants to make sure she marks it right . Thanks
Hi Dave,
That’s a really good question. When you file an amended return, you will write why you amended in the explanation box. Example: original return was missing the real estate tax deduction on Schedule A.
With the return you will attach a corrected 1040 (not the original that you filed before, but the new one that’s generated when you amend the return) and any schedules that changed with your return. In your case, that would be the Schedule A.
You don’t need to attach the W2s because the IRS already has them.
Hi Mayra,
Okay so your friend input wrong information about your W2, right? But I’m wondering about your daughter. I suspect that the reason your return was held up has more to do with her than with your wages. The IRS won’t have your wage information yet.
If they gave you a number to contact, you should call them. I would not amend the return yet. You will have to amend, but I’m guessing that you have a bigger problem than what’s on the W2. You’re going to want to see what the IRS has to say before you go sending them any other paperwork.
If you do get your refund, be sure to send back any of the overpayment with your amended return. And don’t let your friend do your taxes again.
Noah,
you’ve got a really important question here. It sounds like you’ve set up a direct debit–you really want to make sure you’ve got the money in your bank account to pay that because the IRS will take the money.
Filing an amended return can take 12 weeks to process so you really want to make sure you’ve covered that payment. The IRS will refund the money–but they are expecting to make that withdrawal.
Now one more thing–are you absolutely sure you are independent? If you are under 24 and you are an undergraduate student then it’s highly likely that you are a dependent of your parents. Just make sure before you amend your return, okay? Thanks.
Hi I live wit my boyfriend and I have 2 kids my first is 10 previous relationship n his son 1 year old.. wen we did his taxes the preparer did a mistake on putting my first son a his son and I told her couple times put him as step child when he gets the copy he realized she put both kids as his sons.. how can we fix that?? Would that be a problem?? Can we ammend it or wait for the irs to catch the big mistake? ? We don’t know wamhat to do 🙁
To be a little more clear, neither amendments have been sent to the IRS yet. I have been waiting to receive my original refund, which I have now.
Hi.. I did the paperwork for one amendment to my tax return, then realized I made ANOTHER mistake, so had to make another amendment. Does it matter which one is sent first? Can they be sent together? The first amendment I filed, I owe a small amount. The second amendment I filed, I am receiving a larger refund. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!
Hi, I already e-filed my return and now I got a corrected 1099-DIV where the total ordinary dividends, qualified dividends and nondividend distributions are little different. When I changed them in the tax software, the refund amount didn’t change. Do I still need to file an amended return? Thanks
Hi, when I filed with Turbo tax it was rejected because it said one of the social security numbers was wrong but when I sighed in to fix it, the site said that is my son’s, it was the only one that prompted me to go over and it was correct. So I filed it again and it was accepted and finally processed. They reduced my refund and I haven’t received the notice yet but it pointed me to the social security numbers. I finally discovered that one of my daughters’ social security numbers has one number wrong. We have five children, including a set of twins so things can get a little confusing from time to time, especially when trying to keep so many numbers straight. What do I need to do about fixing the mistake with the social security number and will I get the difference for my correct amount when I do?
hi last year when i did my taxes my sons name was registerd wrong but i didnt know till this year because they couldnt find him because of the his name was spelled last year so they told that i had to do it the same way as last year but im worried about on how his name is wrong what can i do fix it please help me.
Hi Louise,
you might have to file the amended return anyway–here’s why.
If you had qualified dividends–meaning they are taxed at the lower capital gains rate–it could be different from if you had regular dividends which are taxed like ordinary income.
Here’s what you do–enter the dividends without putting the qualified dividends in. If your tax still doesn’t change–then you don’t need to bother with the amendment.
If your tax does change, then you should. When the IRS does your taxes, they don’t give you the lower tax rate. Does that make any sense?
For example: depending upon your circumstances, you might have $2000 in qualified dividends but owe no tax on them, but clearly–$2000 of extra income would raise your taxes if it were regular income.
Then again, if your dividends were just $10–then it wouldn’t do anything to your return anyway. Hope that helps explain it a little better.
Hi Mary,
Even though the lady at H&R Block made a mistake, you had to sign the paperwork that said he was your son so it does looks bad. That said, did the child live with you? Are you entitled to claim him? If the only mistake is that it says son instead of nephew, then you should be okay.
If, on the other hand, you really had no right to claim him–you’re going to lose out on any refund that would be related to the child. I’m not sure just how far the IRS will go in prosecuting a fraud like that–if it is fraud.
But this is a warning to everyone–make sure you look at those tax papers before you sign them. Don’t let a preparer’s mistake cause you to get into trouble with the IRS. H&R Block does not guarantee EIC returns.
Hi Jan. I think I was overlooked when I asked you a question earlier, but I was wondering what I needed to do in this particular situaion I am in. I have already filed and received my taxes back. I filed married but separate bc. my husband is behind with his school loans. I didnt find out that we could have filed together on the Injured Spouse form until after I had submitted my taxes. You told me before that i would have to amend my taxes and then fill out an Injured Spouse form. We went to H&R Block to get this done, and the tax preparer told us that she didnt think that it would benefit us to do this because I only made $6500 for the 4months that I worked last year, and my Husband made $50,000. She said there would be a huge offset, and I could actually have to pay back, and that it was still not guaranteed that the refund wouldn’t be taken for his school loans. I was simply tryng to get it to where i could atleast get the full amount of credit for my son. I am assuming that because of the amount that I made, I didn’t qualify to receive the entire tax credt for him, so i only got a $532 credit . Sorry for the drawn out story, but basically I am just wondering if I should even proceed with trying to amend my taxes and then file a Injured Spouse, or Should I just leave everything as is? Thanks In Advance!!
Hello Jan,
I submitted my 2012 taxes by e-filing them. I had paperwork from employers, all expenses which includes mileage and so on. I work in the film industry and was paid by a production company by check. However when I did my taxes and submitted the company name alongside the amount I was paid, I gave the company name instead of the actual film production name. For example if I worked for MF Productions but was paid under the films name. Not sure if I made sense. I usually never have had this issue before but when I spoke to the producer today since he was sending out our paper work for taxes he told me I probably need to amend it. Not sure how to doit. So any help would be truly appreciated. 🙂 please and thank you.