Amending your US Personal Tax Return
Taxpayers are allowed to amend their previously filed tax returns if they find that they had errors on them. Additionally, taxpayers may be subject to penalties if they fail to follow the laws regarding tax filings and payments.
Amending Tax Returns
The taxpayer is allowed to use Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, to correct errors or omissions that were submitted on a return. The correction may result in the taxpayer receiving an additional refund or owing additional taxes.
For instance, if a taxpayer discovered that she had failed to include in her income the $1000 additional income that she earned as a one-off freelancer, she should file Form 1040X for the same tax year to add the $1000 reporting to her total income for the relevant tax year.
A return may also be amended if a more advantageous way of preparing the return is available. For example, a taxpayer might have originally filed Form 1040 using the standard deduction. When he found that he had not reported all of his income, he also discovered that itemizing deductions would reduce his tax liability. He may claim his itemized deductions on Form 1040X. He would additionally complete Schedule A and attached it to the amended return.
Taxpayers must include with their amended 1040X return any form, schedule, or statement that changed or might have been required had the original return been filed using the current method.
Due Date for Amending Returns Using Filing Form 1040X
Generally, taxpayers must file an amended return within three years of the date the original return was filed, or within two years of the date, the original tax was paid, whichever is later.
If a return is filed on or before the filing deadline, the IRS considers April 15 to be the filing date.
If the IRS granted the taxpayer an extension, taxpayers must file the amended return by the date the return was filed during the extension period. Alternatively, taxpayers should use the April 15 date if they filed the return after the extension period expired.
Example: Megan wants to amend her 2018 income tax return. The original return was due April 15, 2019. Megan filed her return on April 2, 2019. Megan must file her amended return no later than April 15, 2022.
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