When to File an Amended Return | CPA Explains - YouTube

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  

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this video as well and if you have any questions  or thoughts throughout the video or just simply  

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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