When Should You Amend Your Tax Return?

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A few years ago, after preparing my taxes, I realized I left off some income I earned that year. As a sole proprietor of a personal finance blog, I would receive several 1099-MISC forms each year from various vendors. A 1099-MISC is to freelancers what a W-2 is to a full time employee( a statement of income that is sent to you and filed with the IRS). I knew that since I left it off, it would only be a matter of time before the IRS checked the numbers and saw a mismatch. The solution? File an amended return.

It’s not that uncommon to forget something on your taxes considering how complicated they can be. Perhaps you didn’t record all of your deductions and credits or you entered the wrong filing status. A 1099-INT from one of your banks gets lost in the mail and delivered a few months late? If you make a major mistake, it becomes necessary to file an amended return. Here are some situations that call for filing an amended return:

  • Change in filing status
  • Inaccurate reporting of number of dependents
  • Mistake in reporting your total income
  • Error in figuring deductions and/or credits
  • You e-filed, have one of the above situations, and you received confirmation from the IRS or state taxing agency that your return was accepted

There is an exception to the above rules.  Let’s say you e-filed your tax return, but it’s rejected and you discover you made a mistake that usually calls for an amendment.  If the return is rejected, you can fix the error without an amendment, because the IRS did not accept your return.  If you missed the e-file deadline, print and paper file your corrected tax return.  Also, be sure to pay attention to your state tax return.  In some cases, it may be accepted although the federal tax return was rejected.  If that is the case, you will need to amend your state tax return.

There is usually no need to file an amended return if you have made a calculation error. Normally, the IRS will fix these minor mistakes (this is most common with paper returns). Additionally, if you forgot to include documentation, such as a W-2 with a paper filed return, the IRS will request the documentation.

How to File an Amended Return
If you need to file an amended return, you should use Form 1040X. You can file an amended return for multiple years, but you need a separate Form 1040X for each year, and each return should be filed separately. As you fill out the form, understand that Column A should include original figures, and Column C should show the new figures. The difference between the two should be listed in Column B. If you are listing changes on various schedules, such as Schedule A or Schedule C, you will need to include them with your Form 1040X.  There is no need to worry about the complicated calculations, TurboTax does the behind the scenes calculations for you when amending your return.

When you are claiming an additional refund, you should wait until your original refund arrives before you file your Form 1040X. You can cash your check, but you still should wait until your current tax return is resolved. That way, you know where you stand. In order to qualify for an additional refund, you will need to file within three years from the date of your original return, or within two years of paying your tax (whichever is later).

If your mistake resulted in under-paying your taxes, you should file your amended return as soon as you possibly can. The longer you wait to file your 1040X, the more you will pay in interest fees and penalties, if you owe. Unfortunately, there is no way to file your 1040X electronically but this may be offered sometime in the near future.

One important thing to remember when amending your tax return is to always keep a copy of your original filed tax return and create an amended tax return from an additional copy.

You can correct mistakes on your tax return with the help of an amended return; just make sure you follow proper procedures.  For more information on amending your return see Amend a 2010 Tax Return.

221 responses to “When Should You Amend Your Tax Return?”

  1. My 76 yr old father lives with me and I pay over half of all of his expenses. He does not have any taxable income. However, he filed his taxes for this year, 2013, and they have been accepted by the IRS. Problem is, he claimed himself and I will be claiming him this year as a dependant. I have NOT filed my taxes yet. Do I go ahead and claim him and file and let the IRS catch the mistake? (duplicate claim of dependant) OR do I ammend his return before I file my taxes?

  2. Hi Lisa,

    My mother has been using the same tax preparer since I was a little girl and now I’m 24 and just graduated from graduate school and work all of 2013 and I filed my taxes with my dependent and it was rejected. So I called my mother to ask if I was claimed on her taxes as a dependent and she says no way because she knows I worked all year and have a dependent. She immediately calls her tax preparer and they have indeed filed me on her taxes like the other 23 years and now we are trying to figure out what’s the next step to have me removed so I can be able to file own taxes. Could please kind me in the best direction?

    Kind regards

  3. Just e-filed 6 days ago and in reviewing my printed 1040 I realized that both of my children, who are no longer full time students and cannot be claimed are claimed on my return due to the software I used carrying over my filing info from the previous year…when should I file a 1040x, I have already created it and it shows that I owe the difference between the incorrect 1040 and the corrected one even though I am still owed a return overall…what should I do??

  4. hi i didnt put my apt number on my taxes on turbo tax and on rent part it was 4406 instead 3406 for address but it still got accepted now it is being dirrect deposit do i have to ammend it because i really cant afford to wait four more weeks after i amend it

  5. The tax preparer e filed and put my name were my son name gose but she put the correct Ssn andbirthdate I file my son every year will I need to file a amendment

  6. I filed my tax return e-file and completely forgot thatbi was under a temp agencybfor the month of Jan before i got hired permanent in Feb. My return has already been approved by the irs what should I do,and will have i have to wait before touching my deposit.

  7. I live in Tennessee and have filed my taxes which have been accepted by the irs. However, on turbo website it stated that my state tax is incomplete. I dont believe tn has a state tax. Do I need to file an ammendment or will it be fine as is?

  8. hi Lisa ,I was in 2 resource studies ,made 600.00 from each study. now they want be to claim it. One 1099r only has my name on it.And the other 1099 has miss spell my lst name and wrong ss number.when i call the study group they have no ideal , they every did 1099 before . Do i have to file them.i did my taxes already.thank you.

  9. My employer had the wrong Social Security number for me and I did not realize it until today. I have already filed my 2012 tax return, not realizing that the SS# was incorrect. What do I need to do to correct this matter?

  10. Hi, this is my first year filing my taxes myself. I got my 1098-t for school but nothing from my loan service. I forgot to put how much I received I. Student loans but then I was told that I didnt have to put that. I also had money from my birthday and Christmas that was spent on school expenses but I did t k ow where to put them. I think I really messed up on my return. Also I mailed in my tax forms for the year before the same way. I didnt work but I received grants and gift money I used on school. I dont want to get in real trouble for filing wrong and not reporting everything correctly. What should I do?

  11. Hi I efiled my 2014 tax return on the 25th of january and realized that my property tax info I entered was wrong I put 0 that I paid this year due to I was with Bank of America and sometime in June they decided to switch me over to Nationstar so I used the tax info that Bank of America sent me and realized I needed to wait for nationstars tax info what should I do? Amended them? I paid my property taxes all the 2013 year which was included in my mortgage payment. Or could I wait till next yr?

  12. I got married last year, but my idiot husband accidentally went ahead and filed his taxes as single last week and it’s already been accepted by the IRS. Can we edit it to change the status to married filing jointly? I haven’t filed my taxes yet because I was waiting on documents and wanted to figure out what to do about my husband’s situation before I did anything.

  13. I efiled my taxes on Jan 15th 2014 using my last pay stub of the year. My Federal return was accepted by the IRS on Jan 26th 2014. My actual W-2 was mailed and I received it on Jan 29th 2014 and when I looked at it I realized that I put the wrong number for the AGI I was off by almost $6000 because of how they had the numbers on the pay stub. I know I need to amend this but will this prolong the processing time in which my return is deposited? I heard the first batch of returns will be directly deposited on Feb 5th 2014…not sure if this is true or not but as of now the WMR site shows it’s still processing.

    • Hi Tiffany,
      The IRS matches up the amounts they receive on W-2s to what is on your tax return so they will most likely catch the error and adjust your tax return and refund amount, which could prolong the processing of your tax refund. If they adjust your tax return and refund amount they will send you a notice. If it is not caught you should amend your tax return once your tax refund is processed.
      Thank you,
      Lisa Greene-Lewis

  14. When I did mine I accidentally put my address in for the employers address? I have already filed and have no idea what I do.

    • Hi Jillian,
      I think you will be OK as long as your address is correct on first page of your 1040.
      Thank you,
      Lisa Greene-Lewis

  15. I just e-filed my fed return a few days ago and completely forgot to include a 1099-MISC for $1326.27.The IRS had already received and is processing my return. Do i just wait til I get my full refund before I amend? I don’t want any confusion that would result in the delay of my refund. Any help would be much appreciated.

    • Hi Christina,
      Yes you can wait until your refund is approved. When you check the status on IRS Where’s My Refund? Tool, your final status update will be “Refund Approved”, then “Refund Sent”. The IRS usually matches 1099 and W-2 copies that they receive to your tax return. If there is a discrepancy, they usually adjust your tax return and your tax refund. If so, you will receive a notice from the IRS. Also please see more information regarding refund processing
      http://blog-turbotax-intuit-com-develop.go-vip.co/2014/01/31/wheres-my-tax-refund/
      Thank you,
      Lisa Greene-Lewis

      • Does the IRS match every single return to its income info they have? Or is it a random thing they do? I typed the wrong number when putting in my income and filed it before I realized. I recalculated and it comes up to a 5$ difference that they would owe me. WMR still says “processing”. I’m worried this will delay my refund.

  16. HI. I worked in two states last year but realized, after I submitted my fed & state, that I forgot to submit one of the states. It was for just one month..January 2013…should I ammend my return?

  17. Hi, I filed my taxes on turbotax and was accepted but I forgot to add my federal income tax. I went back and fixed it on turbotax and it said I had my returned fixed. I dont know if its coming or not now. I have an amendment 1040x form coming but I dont know what to do.. wait for something that may not be coming or send in the 1040x form when I get it and they will fix it? Please advice will be much appreciated.

  18. I already filed with turbotax, and I just received a 1099-R from MERS. Gross distribution was 3431.28 and Federal amount withheld was1029.38 along with 145.83 withheld for state. Federal has already been accepted but state has not. Do I need to amend them, and how would this affect my return as far as waiting? Thanks so much 🙂 Great blog! Seems very helpful!!

  19. I need to amend my last year return 2012, because I forgot to add a FORM 1099 that I received after I filed last year. Amount is $2000
    Where would I add this amount on FORM 1040X?

  20. i already filed my taxes and they were accepted but just got a 1099 for a forgiven debt for 800 do i need to amend this?

    • I have same question but mine was for a student loan for over $7000.00/ My refund I claimed is being direct deposited today. Do I wait for letter or file amendment now?

  21. My husband and I filed our taxes on Friday then Saturday he received a W-2 for a small amount of just over $1,000 that we were not aware of. IRS and state have already accepted our return. Should we just wait before trying to amend anything?

    • Hi Jenny,
      If your tax returns were accepted by the IRS you can amend your tax returns, but the IRS may just make an adjustment on your tax return. If they do adjust your tax return they will send a notice letting you know that they adjusted your tax return.
      Thank you,
      Lisa Greene-Lewis

      • My husband and I both claimed our child. His taxes have already been accepted, but he has agreed to let me claim the child. Does he need to do an amendment or can the IRS make any adjustments for him?

        Also, when can I file and claim our child on my taxes?

  22. I filed my taxes last Wednesday but just remembered that I have a W-2 from another job. My return was accepted for federal but mailed in my WI form. Im not sure what to do?!

    • Hi Andrea,
      You have to make sure it’s IRS acceptance. If it is IRS acceptance you should amend your tax return. If you are rejected by the IRS you can go in and fix your tax return.
      Thank you,
      Lisa Greene-Lewis

  23. I just filed my taxes for this year and used my AIG as I couldn’t get my e-filing number. I just discovered that my taxes from last year were rejected! The e-mail notifying me must have been sent to my junk mail. I used H&R block last year and Turbo Tax this year. I have a copy of last years taxes and forms that I submitted..do I amend it or what? Last year was my first time filing.

    • Hi Margaret,
      You will have to mail in your 2012 taxes you don’t need to amend it just send it in since you cannot fix a 2012 tax return and resubmit it for e-file.
      Thank you,
      Lisa Greene-Lewis

  24. Hi,

    I filed 2013 return and was accepted by IRS. Today, I received a 1099-INT from mail on $50 interest that I totally forgot. Do I need to file an amendment over a couple extra dollars of tax?

    Thanks,
    Ken

    • Hi Ken,
      You can wait and see if the IRS adjust your tax return since if it is a small amount. The IRS will notify you if they adjusted your tax return.
      Thank you,
      Lisa Greene-Lewis

  25. I efiled my return on the 31st but after reviewing it I noticed on box 12 I accidently put code D instead of DD…will it get rejected? ? What do I do??

  26. I filed my state and federal taxes earlier this week, and the yesterday I got a 1099 for $12.00 of interest. Do I need to send an amended form, because it changed my amount due for Federal taxes to 2 dollars more than what I sent?

    • Hi Mike,
      No you don’t need to file an amended tax return for that small amount. First wait and see if it is accepted by the IRS. If it is rejected you can fix your tax return. If it is accepted the IRS will just adjust it for that small amount. The IRS will send you a notice that they adjusted your tax return.
      Thank you,
      Lisa Greene-Lewis

  27. I took a refund of my public retirement because I found another job. Can I defer paying this on my current taxes? This income puts me in a different tax bracket.

  28. I am a caregiver and has been working for this person for 5 years and was paid with a personal checks. The client passed away last year 2013 and now I received W-2 for the last 5 years. What should I do because I have never received any W-2 yearly or ever informed by the family of this. Is this even legal? Please help me of what to do in this matter. Thank you!

  29. I recently found out that Married filing seperately is better for my wife and I. I realized this would have benefited me greatly the last few years. However, I read somewhere you can not amend a return to change filing status from filing jointly to filing seperately. Is this true ?

  30. My Daughter filed her taxes and forgot about a W2 which she just received. The Taxes were approved and are in the processing stage. The amount of the W2 is for $157.00. Should she file an amendment or should she just wait and see what happens?

  31. I was a contract employee and filed my taxes without a W2 using turbo tax. The amount was correct, but apparently my boss did not know that according to the IRS i was employed by the payroll company…. I filed it as if i was employed by the employer and used their Employer ID and Address. If my return has been accepted, and the amounts are all correct, is it necessary that i file an amendment? I really need my return as soon as possible… I have a surgery i need to pay for.

  32. I submitted my taxes . After I did this I get a 1099-c in the mail that I knew nothing about. It is for a debt 10 years ago but they paid it this year. I did not know I owed this and never received anything from them. Can I wait and see if my tax form is accepted or rejected and hope it is rejected so I can fix this. Can I wait to get my refund and just ammend my return and pay any difference after I get my refund as I did efile and have an direct deposit ?

    • Hi Teresa,
      Yes, you should wait and see if your return is rejected. If it is you will be able to go ahead and fix your tax return.
      Thank you,
      Lisa Greene-Lewis

  33. TurboTax Lisa
    I forgot a w-2 with $30.05 in income & 1099 misc. $1400.00. My fed has been accepted per TurboTax but State has not. I click the Amend button and it is changing my original return and not giving me 1040X. also this income will result in my refund being reduced. what is my next step.

    • Hi Ken,
      First make sure it is accepted per the IRS. If you receive IRS acceptance then you can amend your tax return if the IRS rejects your tax return then you can fix it. If you received IRS acceptance meaning they processed your tax return and approved your tax refund please follow these steps
      https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894381
      Thank you,
      Lisa Greene-Lewis

  34. i filed my taxes with turbo tax, and that night I so tired that I submitted it Single instead Head of household and by the time I realized it had already submitted it. if I amend it is there going to be any delay?

  35. I filed my taxes and both have been accepted. Today I received a revised W-2 stating that I earned about $450 more in my total wages. The taxes taken out are only off about $50 fed and $20 State, Should I bother to amend my returns or is it not worth the hassle?

    • Hi Anthony,
      You can not amend your tax return until you receive IRS acceptance. If your return is rejected you can just go in and fix it. If it is accepted the IRS will adjust your tax return for these amounts and send you a notice letting you know the amounts were adjusted.
      Thank you,
      Lisa Greene-Lewis

  36. Hi,
    I left off a payers identification number from my 1099-misc, and completed the e-file before I remembered it. Will this omission be an outright rejection from the IRS, or will they request the information from me?
    If they reject it is the turn around for the updated refilling a drawn out process or does it happen quickly if I submit a new e-file?
    Thanks in advance.

  37. Hi, I failed to input a payers federal identification number on my 1099-misc before mop letting my e-file. Do you know whether this omission is something that the IRS will reject outright or just request the information on?

    Thanks in advance.

  38. I was waiting on a EIN, from a 1099-misc, got the information, and completed and filed without adding it! Will the IRS reject it, or just request the information?

    Thanks!

  39. ugh! i filed my taxes and rec’d a refund – i later rec’d a 1099r for an early withdrawal from my 401k – i know i need to an amended return? but will i end up owing double tax?

  40. i used my last paycheck to file electonically i entered the wrong amounts by about 300$ on line 3 on w2 form will the irs fix it or am i going to have to file amended return and wait forever for refund.my efile was already accepted

  41. I submitted my taxes before receiving my W-2. It has been accepted by the IRS. I recently received my W-2 and I noticed that I didn’t include Box 12 DD that reports health care coverage. Do I need to amend?

  42. I submitted my taxes before receiving my W-2. It has been accepted by the IRS. I recently received my W-2 and I noticed that I didn’t include Box 12 DD that reports health care coverage. Do I need to amend?

  43. I e-filed my fed and state taxes earlier this week when I got (what I thought was) the last of my W-2’s. Sure enough, I got another that I had completely forgotten about. Wages earned for the forgotten W-2 was only $80. Should I still file amended fed/state returns or is the amount so small as to not be significant?

    • Hi Mark,
      For that small amount you can wait and see if the IRS makes an adjustment on your tax return. If they do they will let you know.
      Thank you,
      Lisa Greene-Lewis

      • I filed my taxes on the other day and I file under my married name and didn’t even think about my social security card not changed from my maiden name. What should I do? Do I need to call them or amend the taxes after I get an email?

  44. I realized when doing 2013 taxes that I made $2000 ira contribution, not the $3000 I claimed on my 2012 tax return. Is it to late to amend it?

  45. I have a question, after e-filing I was looking at my w-2 and realized that the amount in line 1, 3, and 5 are not the same. I put the amount from line 1 on my w-2 down for 3 and 5 too. Will I need to file an amended tax form? Thanks

  46. I filed married filing jointly as soon as my social security disablity SSA 1099 came in and his W-2 came in. It was accepted by the IRS on Jan. 27, 2014. The next day I got a 1099-C out of the blue and had not expected it, much less even heard of it! It was for forgiveness of a federal student loan due to permanent and physical disability on me for over $7,000. From what I have read it must be included in income and that knocks us into a new tax bracket. After playing around with a dummy turbotax I find it leaves us with almost $700 in a refund as opposed to almost $4000. (EIC and Child Credit). Since the return was accepted does this mean they will catch it before refunding the money and if not do I sent a check when filing ammended? Does Turbotax charge me antoher fee for ammending if that is what I have to do? I already know it can’t be e-filed if I have to ammend. So confused and freaked out.

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