Amending Your Tax Return: Ten Tips

You can fix mistakes or omissions on your tax return by filing an amended tax return. If you need to file one, these tips can help.

  1. Must be filed on paper. Use Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, to correct your tax return. It can’t be e-filed. You can get the form on IRS.gov/forms at any time. See the Form 1040X instructions for the address where you should mail your form.
  2. Amend to correct errors. File an amended tax return to correct errors or make changes to your original tax return. For example, you should amend to change your filing status, or to correct your income, deductions or credits.
  3. Don’t amend for math errors, missing forms. You normally don’t need to file an amended return to correct math errors on your original return. The IRS will automatically correct those for you. Also, do not file an amended return if you forgot to attach tax forms, such as a Form W-2 or a schedule. The IRS will mail you a request for them in most cases.
  4. Form 1095-A, Health Insurance Marketplace Statement, errors. Some taxpayers may receive a second Form 1095-A because the information on their initial form was incorrect or incomplete. If you filed a 2015 tax return based on the initial Form 1095-A and claimed the premium tax credit using incorrect information from either the federally-facilitated or a state-based Health Insurance Marketplace, you should determine the effect the changes to your form might have on your return. Comparing the two Forms 1095-A can help you assess whether you should file an amended tax return, Form 1040X.
  5. Three-year time limit. You usually have three years from the date you filed your original tax return to file Form 1040X to claim a refund. You can file it within two years from the date you paid the tax, if that date is later. That means the last day for most people to file a 2012 claim for a refund is April 18, 2016 (April 19 for taxpayers in Maine and Massachusetts). See the Form 1040X instructions for special rules that apply to some claims.
  6. Separate forms for each year. If you are amending more than one tax return, prepare a 1040X for each year. You should mail each year in separate envelopes. Note the tax year of the return you are amending at the top of Form 1040X. Check the form’s instructions for where to mail your return.
  7. Attach other forms with changes. If you use other IRS forms or schedules to make changes, make sure to attach them to your Form 1040X.
  8. When to file for corrected refund. If you are due a refund from your original return, wait to get it before filing Form 1040X to claim an additional refund. Amended returns take up to 16 weeks to process.
  9. Pay additional tax. If you owe more tax, file your Form 1040X and pay the tax as soon as you can to avoid possible penalties and interest from being added to your account. Use IRS Direct Pay to pay your tax directly from your checking or savings account.
  10. Track your amended return. You can track the status of your amended tax return three weeks after you file with ‘Where’s My Amended Return?’ It is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Russian. The tool can track the status of an amended return for the current year and up to three years back. If you have filed amended returns for multiple years, you can check each year, one at a time.

Each and every taxpayer has a set of fundamental rights they should be aware of when dealing with the IRS. These are your Taxpayer Bill of Rights. Explore your rights and our obligations to protect them on IRS.gov.

Additional IRS Resources:

IRS YouTube Videos:

No Author Biography has been linked to this Article.

Related Articles

Copy of Hildebrand-2016
December 5, 2021
Although a Chapter 13 debtor has the absolute right to voluntarily dismiss her Chapter 13 case, even after a motion to convert is filed, the Court retains the rights to impose restrictions on the dismissal. (Waites) In re Brittany Frances Minogue, 2021 WL 4453589 (Bankr. D. S.C. September 29, 2021) Summary Brittany Minogue filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 13...
Members
August 25, 2019
Employers who provide paid family and medical leave to their employees might qualify for a credit that can reduce the taxes they owe. It’s called the employer credit for family and medical leave. Here are some facts about the credit to help employers find out if they might be able to claim it. To be eligible, an employer must: Have...
December 13, 2020
By Margaret A. Burks, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Southern District of Ohio (Cincinnati) Chapter 13 works. Some people wish to continually criticize Chapter 13. They criticize the success rate. They criticize racial bias. They criticize how Chapter 13 works. They also criticize the fact that Chapter 13 appears less voluntary than it was before access to Chapter 7...
November 24, 2019
By Henry E. Hildebrand, III, Chapter 13 Standing Trustee (Nashville, TN) One of the most confusing elements in consumer bankruptcy practice is the effect of electing the option given in § 1325(a)(5)(C) or § 521(a)(2). Section 521(a)(2) requires every debtor to file a statement of intent that indicates whether the debtor intends to “surrender or retain” estate property which secured...
Members
April 25, 2021
By Pardis Akhavan, Resnik Hayes Moradi LLP (Encino, CA) The bankruptcy court in In re Ritter, 2021 WL 864092 (Bkrtcy C.D. Cal, 2021)(J. Tighe),denied debtors’ motion for an immediate discharge under Section 1328(i) ruling that Congress apparently did not intend that a chapter 13 debtor who obtains a loan modification should also receive a discharge, on that basis alone at...
Members
October 25, 2020
By Lawrence R. Ahern III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Part V – Consumer Foreclosure Procedures (Continued) Introduction In the world of consumer bankruptcy, trustees and debtors' counsel often are uncomfortable with the rules in Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). In this space, we have looked at several places where Article 9 meets the Bankruptcy Code. In...
Members
May 9, 2021
By Lawrence R. Ahern, III, Brown & Ahern (Nashville, TN) Introduction The Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York ruled last month, in a case styled In re Ajasa,1 that bankruptcy courts have subject matter jurisdiction to consider nationwide class actions that allege contempt of discharge injunctions. The broader effect of the opinion is that a discharge injunction...
Members
September 29, 2019
By Katherine B. Brewer, Esq. (Westerville, OH) One of the first things we focus on in law school (other than the Rule Against Perpetuities, which always brings back fond memories), is that our clients come first. We learn the complexities of the law, memorize rule statements, and read thousands of pages of case law in order to learn how best...
Members
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
April 24, 2022
In re Frank, 638 B.R. 463 (Bankr. D. Colo. 2022) A Chapter 13 trustee’s request to dismiss a Chapter 13 case upon discovery of an undisclosed asset held by the debtor cannot be granted after the debtor completes payments under the plan. (Brown) Case Summary John and Jessica Frank filed a Chapter 13 petition on April 8, 2018. Prior to...
Members
Copy of Hildebrand-2016
September 18, 2022
Insurance proceeds generated due to a totaled car treated under the “hanging paragraph” of 1325(a) covers the entire claim; interest, however, is not recalculated even though it was a higher rate than the interest paid under the plan. (Hanan) In re Pagan, 638 B.R. 887 (Bankr. E.D. Wis. Jan. 24, 2022) Case Summary Bankruptcy judges have been overheard saying that...
Members