Tax season ended a couple of months ago, and many of us have started to think ahead and prepare for next year’s taxes instead. However, we might want to go back to our tax return and make sure we submitted everything properly and without errors. Even when the IRS processes and corrects and math error they might come across, we shouldn’t wait for them to make their adjustments and double check our income tax report. This is what you need to do in order to submit an amended tax return.  

First of all, we need to understand which scenarios would require us to submit an amended tax return to the IRS. The most common scenarios that require amending our tax return include filing our taxes using the wrong filing status, claiming credits or deductions that we were not eligible for, and forgetting to claim a credit or deduction to which we were actually entitled. If we find ourselves in any of these situations, we need to submit an amended tax return.  

We shouldn’t have to worry about this too much, though, since the process of submitting an amended tax return is quite simple. The IRS has made available a specific form we need to fill especially in these situations. This is Form 1040X Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, which you can find in the IRS website. You will find the instructions to follow, and in most cases, supporting information might be needed from you. So, make sure you have every paper and document you need before proceeding.  

One of the most common concerns for taxpayers who submitted their income tax return with an error is being subject to an IRS audit. However, we need to remember that they use software that is designed to spot any red flags on tax returns but amended tax returns are reviewed by IRS agents personally. Therefore, the chances of being subject to an audit might be slightly higher.  

Nonetheless, when we submit an amended tax return because of an accuracy situation, we shouldn’t really worry about being audited. Say you forgot to report investment income as part of your original income tax return, and then submit an amendment to correct this error. The IRS would see this but wouldn’t really subject you to an audit. On the other hand, if we didn’t include taxable income and didn’t submit an amended tax return, the IRS might flag you and an audit would happen.  

Whichever the case may be, we recommend going over your income tax return and making sure everything is correct and complete. If you have any questions about it, contact your tax advisor and go over the report together. Otherwise, we might find out we had a pending balance once the IRS notifies us, which would make us subject to penalty fees and interest charges.