How to File a Federal Tax Amended Return

Tax Return Amendment, Change

In order to make changes, corrections, or add information to an income tax return that has been filed and accepted by the IRS or state tax agency, you must file a tax amendment to correct your return(s). If you have prepared and eFiled a 2021 Tax Return via eFile.com, you can prepare your amendment right from your eFile.com account, and amendments are Free on eFile.com. Click on how to prepare and file a 2021 IRS Tax Amendment on eFile.com. If you did not use eFile.com, you can use our online editor to complete the Form 1040-X below, print it, sign it, and mail it to the IRS. If you need to amend your federal return, you should most likely amend your state return as well. Find out about state tax amendments and previous tax year amendments.

Amending Your Tax Return

We make it easy for you, and it's also free for you to prepare your federal amendment for the 2021 current tax year if you have e-Filed your 2021 current year federal return with us on eFile.com (amendment preparation from your account is not available for previous year tax returns). You can prepare your amendment from your eFile.com account, but you will need to do this by October 15 as you will not be able to do so after this date. Tax amendments for state tax returns can be completed from the respective state page(s).

• Generally, you must file an IRS tax amendment form and/or state amendment if you need to add more information or make corrections to an income tax return you already filed or e-filed. The return in question has to have been accepted by the IRS and/or state. See below when not to file an amendment.
• If you did not eFile your current tax year tax return via eFile.com, you can complete via our online editor, sign the form 1040X online, then print and mail your amendment to the IRS.

Important eFile Tax Tip: Your state tax return may be significantly impacted by changes you make to your federal income tax return. Generally, if you amend your federal return, then you should amend your state return as well; see state tax amendment forms. Please check if you might need to file a state tax amendment as well or first contact your state tax agency - state contact information is at the bottom of the respective state page.

When to File a Tax Amendment

If you are due a tax refund from your current year tax return, the IRS states that you should generally wait until you receive your refund before filing your amendment if you are claiming an additional refund. The IRS can take up to 16 weeks (or 4 months) to process amended returns. In order to claim a tax refund, a tax amendment has to be filed within 3 years you filed the original tax return (including extensions), or within 2 years of the date you paid the tax, whichever is later. After 3 years, you can no longer claim a refund and the money goes to the government. As of 2022, the deadline for 2018 Tax Year tax returns that result in an increased tax refund based on a tax amendment will be April 18, 2022. All prior tax years or back taxes can no longer claim tax refunds via a tax amendment.

If you owe taxes as a result of your amendment, you should file your amendment and make your tax payment as soon as possible to avoid further penalties and interest. If you owe taxes, you should file an amended return even if 3 years have passed. Refunds are forfeited after 3 years, but tax debts stay on the IRS books for a minimum of 10 years.

When NOT to File an Amended Tax Return

If your return is taking a long time to process or you are waiting on your tax refund for more than 21 days, you do not need to, nor should you, file a tax amendment. This will not speed up the process (and it might slow it down); a tax amendment is only made to change or correct something on your accepted tax return.

If you did not eFile your tax return, you may have made simple math errors or forgotten to attach certain forms (eFiled returns are automatically calculated and do not require paper forms to be sent in). The IRS will generally catch the mathematical mistakes and correct the errors while they process your original return. If the IRS wants additional information from you (i.e. a missing form or clarification on information included in the original return), they will generally send you a request via a letter in the mail. The IRS will NOT call you or email you.

If you eFiled your return on eFile.com, we will have already done the math correctly for you and made sure you had the proper forms filled out.

Tax Amendments and e-Filing

If you prepared and e-Filed your 2021 tax return on eFile.com, you can sign-in and prepare your IRS tax amendment right in your account. For previous tax years or back taxes, complete Form 1040-X. Some state tax amendments can be completed in your eFile.com account as well, but some cannot. Select your state(s), then complete and follow the instructions for the selected state(s). If you are amending IRS tax form 1040 or form 1040-NR by filing Form 1040-X in response to a notice you received from the IRS, mail it to the address shown on that notice. Otherwise, mail your 1040-X to the appropriate address listed here.

Important: The IRS has recently begun allowing amendments to be electronically filed for the current 2022 tax year. Contact us for the latest status on the ability to do this on eFile.com. State tax agencies do not allow tax amendments to be e-Filed. You will need to mail your completed, amended state return to your state in order for it to be filed.

Select from one of these options for instructions:

• Option 1: If you prepared and have successfully eFiled your 2021 Tax Return via eFile.com: Find step-by-step instructions on how to prepare an IRS tax amendment on eFile.com for Tax Year 2021. For state tax amendment instructions, please identify your state(s) here and read the amendment instructions by state.
• Option 2: If you did NOT efile your IRS accepted 2021 Tax Return on eFile.com: Instructions on how to prepare a 2021 IRS Tax Amendment.
• Option 3: Prepare a tax amendment for a previous tax year. Instructions on how to prepare an IRS tax amendment for back taxes.
• Option 4: State tax amendments for the current or previous tax years. Identify the state here, then follow the instructions by state.
• Option 5: To access the Form 1040-X to manually prepare, click to search for tax forms, then search for 1040-X and complete, sign, and download to print the form.

Refund From Amendment

Once you have mailed in your federal tax amendment Form 1040-X, it can take up to 16 weeks (or 4 months) from the IRS receipt date until the form is processed. You can check the status of your amended return on the IRS Amended Return Status tool by clicking the button below and clicking on What Is Your Federal Tax Return Amendment Status?

Check Tax Amendment Status

You can also call the IRS amended return hotline at 1-866-464-2050.

Note: The IRS "Where's My Refund" online service does not track the status of amendment refunds.

If you are amending a return in order to get an additional tax refund, you can go ahead and cash or deposit any refund you get in the meantime. However, do not file your amended return until after you have received the refund . It generally takes the IRS 16 weeks (or 4 months) to process an amended return, so you should wait at least 12 weeks before checking on the status of your new amended tax refund. Once your amended return has been processed, you will receive any additional refund you are owed.

If it has been over 16 weeks and you still have not received your amended refund check, you can find more information about your refund by calling the IRS amended return hotline at 1-866-464-2050, or click on the Amendment Status link above.

More than One Amendment

You can file more than one amendment, but if you file two or more amendments at the same time, you should use a different Form 1040-X for each tax year. Make sure that you enter the correct tax year at the top of each 1040-X form. Sign each amended return and mail each one in a separate envelope to the IRS. If you have more questions about tax amendments, please contact eFile.com.

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How to File a Federal Tax Amended Return

Source: https://www.efile.com/tax-amendment/

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