Tag: amended returns

Posted on by Jan Roberg

Where’s My Amended Return?

Day 222 (Or is this Day 1 now?) - Oops!

Photo by Kate Sumbler on Flickr.com

What do you do when you file an amended tax return but you haven’t heard back from the IRS? Well now you have access to an online tracking tool to let you know what’s happening. It’s called “Where’s My Amended Return?” Okay, so the IRS isn’t so great at catchy names, but that’s probably what you’d type into Google if you were researching it right?

And the best part is, it’s not that difficult to use. Here’s a link to get you there: http://www.irs.gov/Filing/Individuals/Amended-Returns-(Form-1040-X)/Wheres-My-Amended-Return-1

If you don’t want to do this on the internet, you can always call them. The number to follow up on an amended return is: 866-464-2050. That is a toll-free number, I recommend not calling when you can click the link and get the information much faster. Save calling the IRS for those times when you absolutely need to.

In order to access the amended return information (whether you call or use the internet) you’re going to need to provide the following information: social security number (if you’re married filing jointly you’ll need the social of the primary taxpayer–the primary is the person whose name is on the top, not necessarily the one who makes the most money. You’ll also need your of birth (or the primary’s) and your zip code.

The “Where’s My Amended Return?” website will only access information on 1040Xs for the current three eligible years. If you amended old tax returns or you have Net Operating Loss Carry-backs–this website won’t have any information for you, you’ll have to call the IRS directly for that information.

While this new web tool is good for most returns, there are a few other things you won’t be able to get information on: injured spouse claims, returns with foreign addresses, and business returns are not available here. Also, if your amended return was re-routed because of some special circumstance; such as you amended your return because of a CP2000 notice (that’s one of those IRS nasty little ‘whoopsie we think you made a mistake’ letters.)

Even though there are many types of returns that aren’t listed in the “Where’s My Amended Return” website, it’s the best place to start. Any time you can get an answer from the IRS without having to actually call and wait on hold it’s a good thing.

Generally, you’ll have to wait at least three weeks before you can access information from the “Where’s My Amended Return?” website. Most amended returns take 12 weeks to process and some can take even longer. If you’re looking for a refund, think in terms of waiting at least three months before you’ll see the money.

Of course, if you owe, you should pay right away, because the debt will back date to the date the original return was due and the IRS will start charging you penalties and interest from that point in time. For what it’s worth, they do pay you interest if you have a refund coming.

Amended returns are not the fastest thing happening at the IRS, but at least now you have a tool for tracking them.

Posted on by Jan Roberg

Bad Calls

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Photo by Otto Greule Jr at Getty Images

Let me start with full disclosure:  I am a card carrying member of Cardinal Nation.    As I write this I am sitting on the sofa wearing my St. Louis Cardinal’s jersey hoping to type this out before the first pitch of the game.   So forgive me if it’s considered blasphemy but, the infield fly rule called against Atlanta during the 2012 Wild Card Play-Off was a bad call.  (http://www.nesn.com/2012/10/infield-fly-rule-prompts-criticism-of-umpires-call-for-instant-replay-in-mlb.html)  Hopefully we would have still beaten the Atlanta Braves anyway, but we’ll never know.

 

Another bad call occurred in week 3 of the 2012 NFL season featuring the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks—a Hail Mary pass was thrown and members of both teams caught the ball while the replacement officials gave conflicting rulings. (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1346952-packers-vs-seahawks-the-replacement-officials-finally-broke-the-nfl)  That was a horrible call.

 

Sometimes tax preparers make a bad call when they do your taxes.  We’re not perfect either.  The other day I got a phone call from a woman who needed help.  The IRS was going to garnish her paycheck and she needed some help stopping it.  After I got the immediate problem taken care of, I asked her some questions about her tax return.  After getting enough details, I realized that the woman’s previous preparer had missed a pretty major deduction.  I recommended that she amend her return and have it done correctly, it would seriously help with her tax debt.  You see, when you make a bad call on your taxes, unlike some of the referee calls in sports, you have a three year period to make it right by amending your return.

 

The woman asked me what I’d charge to fix her taxes and she was a little shocked by the price.  She told me that her other preparer at “Brand X Tax Company” had only charged her half that much so she wouldn’t hire me.  Ahem.  I used to work for “Brand X”.  I know their billing practices and they charge by the form.  Had the preparer done all the forms that this woman needed to correctly file her tax return, the price would have been much closer to, if not more than, what I was charging.  But besides that, we’re talking about reducing her tax burden by a few thousand dollars.  Really I’m not all that expensive.  So now who’s making the bad call?

 

I remember a few years back, an elderly woman came into my office with an IRS letter.  It said that she owed about $10,000 and she didn’t know what to do about it.  As I looked at the letter and then at her return, I realized that she had a bunch of stock transactions that hadn’t been reported on her tax return.  Although the IRS said that she owed $10,000, when I checked things out, she really didn’t owe anything at all, she just needed to have her tax return done correctly.

 

When I told her the cost, she too was shocked, “But my other lady only charged me $20 to do my taxes,” she said.  “But your $20 tax return is going to cost you $10,000,” I replied.  She was smart, and now her taxes are done correctly.

 

Here’s the big hint—if you get a document that says “Important Tax Document”, you probably need to report something from that paper on your tax return.  If you give your preparer that piece of paper and she ignores it, that’s a red flag that something’s wrong.  Shame on her.  If you don’t give that paper to your preparer, then it’s shame on you.

 

Preparers can make mistakes.  (Even me, that’s why I have my staff review my returns just like I review theirs.  We’re all human.)  If you get an IRS letter, the first thing to do is to contact your tax preparer and give her a chance to fix it.  She might not have even made a mistake; sometimes it’s an IRS mistake.  They’re human too—(some of them.)  But if your preparer can’t or won’t help you when there’s a problem, it’s time to make the right call and move on.