Did you file your taxes early, thinking you had all your paperwork in order… only to receive a new W-2 or student loan interest statement in the mail?
No problem! It’s not too late to get your tax return corrected. How do you do it? Simple. Just fill out and file an amended tax return. It’s called form 1040X and you can download it here or visit the local office where you had your taxes prepared. Trust us – it’s not as scary as it sounds.
Filing an amended return – a 1040X – allows you to correct any errors made on your tax return and collect any refund amount that may be due to you. So what kind of circumstances would warrant filing an amended tax return?
According to the IRS, you should file an amended tax return if you find errors in how you reported your filing status, dependents, total income, deductions, or credits. For example, if you receive a W-2 or 1099 after you’d already filed your taxes, or if realized – too late – that filing Single and filing Head of Household aren’t the same thing(!), you should file an amended tax return to correct the error.
For simple mistakes like math errors, you shouldn’t have to worry about filing an amended tax return. When it comes to simple math errors, the IRS is able to (and often does!) correct minor mistakes. If you’re still worried, you can always give the IRS a call to make sure the error was corrected.
It’s also important to remember that if you’re filing an amended tax return that is going to net you a bigger refund, you should wait until you’ve received the refund for the first tax return before you complete the 1040X and filing the amendment. It makes record keeping much easier.
For those who owe, filing the 1040X as soon as possible is your best bet. This will help you limit any interest or penalty charges from the IRS if your payment comes in late. Remember that even if you file for an extension, you will accrue interest on any tax not paid by the due date! (that’s April 15th, for those keeping track!)
For more IRS tax tips about amended returns, click here.
Tags: Tax Tips
This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 1:44 PM and is filed under Tax News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
