How to amend a tax return (Form 1040-X)

When you need to amend

You amend a return to change something that affects your tax. According to the IRS, for example:

• You left out income, such as a Form W-2 or 1099 that arrived late.
• You need to change your filing status.
• You want to add or remove a dependent.
• You missed a deduction or credit you were entitled to, or claimed one you were not.

When you do not need to

• Math errors: according to the IRS, the IRS corrects them itself and lets you know by mail.
• A form or schedule you forgot to attach: the IRS will generally ask you for it by letter.
• If you received a letter or notice from the IRS about your return, read what it asks for first and answer that letter. Often that is enough, with no amendment.

How long you have

If the correction gives you a refund, according to the IRS you generally must file Form 1040-X within 3 years after the date you filed the original return, or within 2 years after the date you paid the tax, whichever is later. After that, the IRS can no longer give you that refund.

If the correction means you owe more, it pays to amend and pay as soon as you can: IRS interest keeps running on the unpaid balance.

How it is filed and how to track it

• You file one amended return for each year you correct.
• Form 1040-X compares, line by line, what you originally reported, the change and the corrected figure, and asks for a short explanation of why.
• According to the IRS, Form 1040-X can be filed electronically for recent years with software that supports it; it can also be mailed on paper.
• If the change affects your state return, you may need to amend it with your state too.
• You can track your amended return with the IRS "Where's My Amended Return?" tool. According to the IRS, processing can take several months.

What Vordana Tax does, and does not do

Vordana Tax works with 2025 returns. In the other tax situations section there is a step to amend a return (Form 1040-X): you enter the figures from your original return and the program compares them, line by line, with your return's corrected figures, and shows you the net change and the additional refund or additional amount you owe.

Vordana Tax does not print Form 1040-X or e-file it: what we file with the IRS is the original return, Form 1040. To amend, you copy those figures onto Form 1040-X and file it with the IRS yourself, following the form's instructions.

Questions