Tax Education Series #1: Amended Tax Returns

Hello everyone,

Many people have been asking me with a lot of different tax questions lately so I've decided to start a series of blogs dedicated to this topic.

Let's say that you are a US resident who normally file an individual tax return. You have filed it and the IRS has notified you that they have accepted your return. But what if you found an error, or that you forgot to include a tax deduction for a large church donation? Not to worry, you can file an amended tax return!

By using Form 1040X, you can make changes to your federal tax return and recalculate your tax liability (or refund) and here is the best part: you have plenty of time to do so. In general, the IRS gives you 3 years from the date of your original tax return filing, or 2 years after the date you paid the tax (which ever comes later). One caveat: you cannot e-file an amended return, sorry! You must print it and mail it in.

You can also file an amended state tax return (each state has its own amended tax forms). Normally, you would want to attach a copy of your amended federal 1040X to your amended state tax form (it will probably be a requirement from the state anyways).

If you have questions, feel free to reply and I would be happy to help. Thanks for reading and have a good night.