Form 1040-X - Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return

If you have already filed a U.S. tax return and need to make an amendment, you use form 1040-X.

Due to the pandemic, the IRS announced a raft of tax reliefs. If you filed your 2019 tax return without claiming these extended tax benefits or recently enacted disaster tax relief, you may need to file form 1040-X to claim them.

When you file form 1040-X for a tax year, it becomes your new tax return for that year. It changes your original return to include the new information you provide.

You use the columns "Correct amount" and "Correct number or amount" to show the correct figures for the tax return.

Starting from January 2020, form 1040X was changed to form 1040-X - just in case you see both, they refer to the same tax form.

Part III - Explanation of changes

Under Part III of the form, you can explain why you are filing form 1040-X.

For example, you:

Received another form W-2 after you filed your return
Forgot to claim the child tax credit or forgot to claim the credit for other dependents
Changed your filing status from married filing jointly to married filing separately
Are carrying a credit to an earlier year
Are claiming a tax benefit from recently enacted legislation

HOW TO FILE AN AMENDED RETURN

Although you have the option to file the original U.S. tax return online, all amended tax returns are filed as paper returns.

When you package up your return for the IRS, if you check that you've attached all necessary forms and supporting documents for the amendments.

If your amendment gives a higher tax bill, you should include the additional tax payment with the return. You can also use online services for paying the tax.

For tax refunds, if you included the bank details for a U.S. bank account in your name on the amended return - if you don't have a U.S. bank, the IRS will send you a paper check.

When to File

You can file form 1040-X only after you have filed your original tax return.

Normally, for a credit or refund, you must file form 1040-X within 3 years (including extensions) after the date you filed your original return or within 2 years after the date you paid the tax, whichever is later.

If you filed your original return early (for example, March 1 for a calendar year return), your return is considered filed on the due date (generally April 15).

However, if you had an extension to file (for example, your U.S. expat tax return until June 15) but you filed earlier and it was received on May 1, your return is considered filed on May 1.

Tracking the amended tax return

You should generally allow 8 to 12 weeks for the form 1040-X to be processed.

You can use Where's My Amended Return on IRS.gov to track the status of your amended return.

It can take up to 3 weeks from the date you mail it to show up in the Internal Revenue Service system. You will need to provide the following information: