Realizing that you made a mistake on your taxes after you’ve already filed is a scary feeling. Here you were just trying to save money by doing it yourself and now you have a big mess on your hands. Don’t worry, most tax mistakes can be easily corrected by filing an amended tax return. Use Form 1040-X to change your filing status, claim a missed tax deduction, report forgotten taxable income or add a dependent. There’s no need to file an amended tax return for miscalculations and clerical errors. The IRS will correct those mistakes for you and adjust your refund accordingly.
You have 3 years to correct your mistake
The IRS limits the amount of time you have to file an amended return to claim a refund. Typically, you must file within 3 years of the original due date or within 2 years of paying the tax, whichever is later. If amending your return results in a higher tax bill, you’ll be charged penalties and interest going back to the original due date. So, the sooner you file, the better. Keep in mind, if you correct your federal income tax return, chances are you’ll need to amend your state return too.
How to amend your return
If you filed your original tax return with ezTaxReturn, you could amend your return with us too. We make it as stress-free as possible by guiding you step-by-step and completing the right tax forms. Taxpayers expecting a refund from their original return should wait until they get their money before amending their return. There’s a possibility that the IRS may catch your mistake and adjust your refund before releasing it to you. Amending it too soon may cause unnecessary complications. If you’re ready to get started, sign into your account and click the “Amend my return” link found on your myAccount page. Make sure you download a copy of your original returns first because they will no longer be available once you start amending them.
If you didn’t use ezTaxReturn to file, you’ll need to download Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return from IRS.gov and mail it to the appropriate address.
Checking your amended tax return status
You can start checking your amended tax return status about three weeks after filing. The best place to find the answers you need is the “Where’s My Amended Return?” tool on IRS.gov. To check your amended tax return status, you’ll need your Social Security Number, date of birth and zip code. Pack your patience because it’s going to be a while before your return is processed. Typically, it takes about 16 weeks for an amended tax return to be processed. However, that has now increased to 20 weeks due to COVID-19 processing delays. There’s no need to file a second return or call the IRS if it feels like it’s taking forever, you just have to wait it out.
