CARL WATTS & ASSOCIATES

May 09, 2016

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Tax Form 1040X
Rest assured, a 1040X Form has nothing mysterious about it, but, sometimes, after you’ve already filed a tax return, new information comes to light that may change, in a meaningful way, your refund or the amount of tax you owe to the IRS. When that happens, you need to file tax Form 1040X as your escape card (or form, rather) in case you already filed a tax return with mistakes or omissions.

The IRS may correct mathematical or clerical errors on a return and may accept returns without certain required forms or schedules that should have been attached.

In these instances, there is no need to amend your return. However, you do need to file an amended return if there is a change in your filing status, income, deductions, or credits.

Some of the most common reasons to file an amended tax return include:

  • To report additional income and/or additional withholding from a W-2 or a 1099 Form;
  • To report changes in your above-the-line deductions (IRA contribution, tuition, health savings accounts, self-employment tax deduction, alimony paid, etc.);
  • To change your filing status (from married filing jointly to head of household, for instance);
  • To claim an additional dependent or remove one;
  • To claim or remove a tax credit;
  • To report a change in your itemized deductions or standard deductions.


There are several situations that may cause the changes above. You may have filed your return early, before receiving a late form (as is usually the case with Form K-1 or Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets) and the amounts you declared do not match and therefore impact the refund or the amount of tax owed.

You may have overlooked deductions you are entitled to or the IRS came up with a new tax break or tax regulations.

You may receive a windfall prior to the filing deadline and you decide to make a pension or profit sharing contribution for the previous year (such contributions can be made up to the filing deadline - including extensions).

You may have gone through a natural disaster (fire, flood), or a less natural one (divorce, business split) and later recovered accurate information from clients, vendors, banks, etc. which does not fit your estimates.

Your filing status or income may be impacted by a court ruling on your divorce or custody rights.

You may discover you made a worthless investment or have losses from a theft (you can amend for up to 7 years in the case of theft and some investment losses may benefit of the theft-loss rules if there are criminal charges filed with the police).

You may have received a second Form 1095-A, Health Insurance Marketplace Statement, because the information on your initial form was incorrect or incomplete. If you filed a 2015 tax return based on the initial Form 1095-A and claimed the premium tax credit using incorrect information from either the federally-facilitated or a state-based Health Insurance Marketplace, you should determine the effect the changes to your form might have on your return. Comparing the two Forms 1095-A can help you assess whether you should file an amended tax return, Form 1040X.

Below you can find some very helpful tips for amending tax returns:

  • Your Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return can’t be e-filed, it must be filed on paper. You can get the form on IRS.gov/forms at any time. See the Form 1040X instructions for the address where you should mail your form.
  • You usually have three years from the date you filed your original tax return to file Form 1040X to claim a refund. You can file it within two years from the date you paid the tax, if that date is later. That means the last day for most people to file a 2012 claim for a refund is April 18, 2016 (April 19 for taxpayers in Maine and Massachusetts). See the Form 1040X instructions for special rules that apply to some claims.
  • If you are amending more than one tax return, prepare a 1040X for each year. You should mail each year in separate envelopes. Note the tax year of the return you are amending at the top of Form 1040X.
  • If you use other IRS forms or schedules to make changes, make sure to attach them to your Form 1040X.
  • If you are due a refund from your original return, wait to get it before filing Form 1040X to claim an additional refund. Amended returns take up to 16 weeks to process.
  • If you owe more tax, file your Form 1040X and pay the tax as soon as you can to avoid possible penalties and interest from being added to your account.
  • You can track the status of your amended tax return three weeks after you file with ‘Where’s My Amended Return?’ It is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Russian. The tool can track the status of an amended return for the current year and up to three years back. If you have filed amended returns for multiple years, you can check each year, one at a time.

Form 1040X is a three column (Columns A, B & C) format. The first entry is a check box indicating the tax year the taxpayer is amending. These boxes cover the four most current years. There are also check boxes to list another year and/or a fiscal year which is for fiscal year filers.
 
The next entries request the taxpayer(s) name(s) and social security number(s). It is very important to list your name (or names) as it/they appeared on the original return and in the order (primary, secondary) it appeared on the name line of the original return. If the names are reversed or do not match IRS records the claim can be delayed or sent back to the taxpayer incomplete. The social security number is equally important because this is how the taxpayer(s) are identified on IRS records. Incorrect, transposed numbers will result in an incomplete claim and the entire claim will be returned to the taxpayer for correction.

If filing Form 1040X for a deceased taxpayer, enter “Deceased,” the deceased taxpayer's name, and the date of death across the top of Form 1040X, page 1.

If you are filing a joint return as a surviving spouse, enter “Filing as surviving spouse” in the area where you sign the return. If someone else is the personal representative, he or she must also sign.

The address section is very important because it will become the address of record and this is where any subsequent correspondence or refund checks will be mailed. Currently direct deposit of refunds is not available on an amended return.

Although the taxpayer’s phone number is not required, it is recommended. In certain situations the IRS might have a simple question that could be answered by a phone call as opposed to corresponding with the taxpayer.

You should make sure that the correct required forms are attached to the 1040X and are completed. Also a claim involving dependents/exemptions should have correct SSNs/ITINs or it will be an incomplete claim.

It is mandatory that the figures placed in Column A are the original figures or the original figures as changed by the IRS. Using any other numbers will cause the amended return to be incorrect and could cause delays in processing the 1040X.

Part III Explanation of changes is a key element in processing the 1040X. This is your chance to explain why and what is being changed and it can provide the tax examiner a clear view of what you are trying to accomplish.

The amended return cannot be processed unless it is signed by you under the “SIGN HERE” area.

Although all this may not seem too complicated, don’t underestimate the value of professional advise in all your dealings with the IRS.
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