uh-oh did you find a mistake on your tax return that was already filed well bad news
you're a tax evading criminal now and it's just a matter of time before the irs finds you
and arrest you just kidding don't worry everyone makes mistakes and today i am
going to break down when you actually need to file an amended tax return and you'd actually
be surprised because not every mistake needs to be corrected let's go ahead and get started
hey you i'm crystal a cpa at life accounting where we help you to save on taxes and build wealth if
you're new to the channel welcome i'm glad to have you here go ahead and subscribe to the channel
so you don't miss out on future videos also hit that like button for me so others can benefit from
this video as well and if you have any questions or thoughts throughout the video or just simply
want to say thank you make sure to comment down below and i'll be sure to reply back sound good
alright let's dive in so as a cpa i've worked with countless individuals and businesses in
preparing their annual tax returns this also means i have reviewed their previously filed tax returns
and there are some very specific situations when filing an amended return is necessary in today's
video i'll be going over when you should file an amended tax return when you should
not file an amended tax return and five tips for filing an amended tax return starting first with
when to file an amended tax return the irs states you should file an amended tax return
if you entered your income incorrectly you did not claim credits you're eligible for you claim
deductions incorrectly or you claim the wrong filing status these are very broad reasons to
file an amended tax return but let's consider some specific examples of what these scenarios
look like entering your income incorrectly could mean that you received a w-2 or 1099
after you already filed your tax return sometimes employers and businesses are late with providing
workers with their w-2s and 1099s in which case the worker probably already filed their tax return
without this information and incorrectly reported their income or sometimes companies make mistakes
on the w-2 or 1099 that they file and have to re-issue a corrected one making it necessary for
you to file an amended tax return correcting the income you reported or maybe you started
a side gig and had no idea that you had to report the extra income on your tax return you
would need to file an amended return and include a schedule c to deduct your related expenses all
right so maybe your tax return error is not related to income and is related to
not claiming credits you're eligible for this one is a biggie because this could mean the irs owes
you a lot of money and the irs is definitely not going to inform you of those types of mistakes
so pay attention to this one and amend if any of these scenarios apply to you if someone else
wrongly claimed your child on their tax return this is a common mistake perhaps your ex-spouse
claimed the child but the child did not live with them for more than half the year both
of you would need to follow an amended return so the rightful spouse can claim the child or maybe
you're a student and are eligible for the american opportunity tax credit or lifetime learning credit
both of which are tax credits for qualified education expenses and in some cases could
result in a tax refund now not claiming credits correctly is one thing but incorrectly claiming
deductions is another this might be the case when you're filing your schedule c business return
you might have forgotten to include business expenses that you paid for with your personal
card for example or you realize that you did use a portion of your home for business purposes and
are eligible for the home office deduction i've personally seen business owners get back over five
thousand dollars by filing an amended return to include more business deductions than what
was originally reported of course these expenses were legitimate but were somehow excluded due to
lapse in their bookkeeping and lastly filing with the wrong filing status this one is a little
more straightforward perhaps you got married in november but because you were single for most of
the year you might assume that you should file a tax return with a single filing status that would
be false the irs considers you married for the entire year as long as you're married by december
31st and the same is true if you got divorced during the year if you're divorced by 1231
your filing status should be single for the entire tax year even if you were legally married for most
of the year to recap you should file an amended return if you entered your income incorrectly
you did not claim credits you're eligible for you claimed deductions incorrectly
or you claimed the wrong filing status but there are instances where you might catch a mistake
and do not have to file an amended return those include simple mathematical mistakes
most mathematical mistakes are caught by the irs when the return is processed the irs automatically
corrects these errors so you don't need to file an amended tax return or you forgot to attach a w-2
or other tax document to your return if you forgot to include a form or schedule to your return
this is not a big deal the irs will contact you if they need this information in order to process
your return or errors associated with a rejected return when a return is rejected the irs hasn't
accepted or processed your return yet so instead of filing an amended return you would just need to
correct the errors associated with the rejected return most commonly these types of errors are
related to identity theft or someone else already filing a return using your social security number
or dependent information issues if after considering all of these situations and you
conclude that amended tax return is necessary here are five tips for filing an amended return
one use form 1040x to file an amended individual tax return this form is much different from
form 1040 for your original filing it takes into account what you originally filed the corrections
and the differences between the two two if you're filing an amended return for a refund make sure to
do so within three years of the original due date so if the amended return is related to tax year
2020 you must file form 1040x by april 15 2024 to be eligible for the refund tax year 2020 returns
are due by april 15th 2021 and three years after that is april 15 2024. three if you're due a
refund with your original return wait to receive your refund before filing an amended return for
an additional refund it will just confuse things at the irs if you file an amended return before
your original return was processed four if you owe additional tax as a result of the amended return
file form 1040x and pay the taxes as soon as possible to avoid additional penalties
and interest payments can be made at irs.gov and five track your amended return status online
amendment returns can take up to 16 weeks i know i know a long time to process and up to three weeks
from the date of mailing to show up in the system but once a few weeks have passed you can track the
status using the where's my amended return feature on the irs website that's all i have for today's
video a complete breakdown of when you should file an amended tax return and when you should not
please don't forget to hit the like button for this video and i'll see you in the next one