As careful as you try to be when filling out your tax return, you may later discover an unintentional error. It may be a missed 1099 or other income, an expense or deduction you forgot about or a credit you didn’t realize you qualified for. In fact, some people choose to hire a tax preparer for fear that they will make a mistake on their taxes. Even if you’ve filed your tax return, it isn’t too late to fix your mistake with an amended tax return. Here are some tips to help you submit an amended return correctly.
Form and Timeline for Amended Tax Returns
If you found a mistake on your 1040 tax return, you’ll need to file Form 1040X, which is the Amended US Individual Income Tax Return form. It will allow you to make the corrections where needed. You will submit this return form to the IRS based on the instructions from the form. It can take up to 16 weeks to process the form once it’s been received.
Some amended returns take longer than 16 weeks. The form may have errors on it, not be signed or be incomplete in some way. You may have the form returned with a request for more information. If your tax return was impacted due to identity theft, the process will also likely take longer.
All amended returns must be completed by hand and mailed. There is no option to electronically file an amended tax return. You can ask a tax preparer to help you with this task.
When Do You Need to File an Amended Return?
While the most obvious reason to amend a return is if you need to report additional income, there are other times when you may need to make changes as well. Here are some instances when this would be the case:
Don’t file an amended return just because you added or subtracted incorrectly. The IRS will make any corrections needed for these situations.
How Long Can You file an Amended Tax Return?
You have up to three years to file an amended tax return if you want to receive a refund. Beyond that time, you’ll only receive a refund for the previous two years if you overpaid. You can’t get more money for credits that you failed to report. If you need to report extra income, you can do that at any time.
The IRS may audit your tax return during that same three-year period. It can go back even further if you have the return was under-reported by a large amount.
How Do You Amend Your Return?
In addition to reporting the changes on Form 1040X, you’ll also need to complete a new tax return by using Form 1040. You may also need to complete other schedules.
You’ll need to fill out the long form even if you originally used Form 1040A or 1040EZ. You’ll need to include all documentation and forms because the IRS will go over your amended tax return closely.
Make sure to fill out page two of the Form 1040X completely. It asks for you to explain your changes. Be concise but provide all the necessary information. You should basically tell them what changes were made, why and what documentation you are providing to support the changes. Don’t forget to include the year at the top of the return. This form is a generic version which can be used for any year. You’ll want to make it easy for the IRS to know which return it goes with.
You can hire a tax preparer to help you with your amended return. They will need to sign it along with your signature. Your accountant can make sure the amended return meets requirements so it can be processed faster.
While it’s important to review your original return before you send it to avoid any errors, sometimes mistakes happen. In this situation, an amended return should be filed as quickly as possible to ensure you get the correct amount of refund or pay the amount due.
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