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If you discover an error after filing your tax return — whether it means you owe more tax or you’re entitled to a bigger refund — you’ll need to amend your return.
Form 1040-X is the form to use to correct previously filed tax returns. Among other fixes, you can use this form to claim tax benefits you qualify for but neglected to claim on your tax return when you filed it.
The IRS lets you correct your tax return, but you will need to file a separate 1040-X for each year’s tax return that you are amending.
This X-file is normal — and straightforward
For a tax form, the 1040-X is pretty straightforward. Basically, the IRS wants to know what information you originally reported on your tax return, what your revised numbers are and why you are making the changes. The form is two pages long and includes a section in which you can explain why you need to file an amendment and provide supporting documents.
Filing this form helps with these common corrections, among others:
- Changing your filing status from single to head of household, such as in the case of a divorcee with kids who could’ve gotten a larger standard deduction and more beneficial income tax rates by filing as head of household.
- Changing from married-filing-separately to married-filing-jointly to get tax breaks you wouldn’t otherwise get. (But changing from joint to separate filing after a return’s deadline has passed is not allowed.)
- Claiming a tax credit you’re eligible for but neglected to claim, such as the earned income tax credit or the child tax credit.
Form 1040–X filing tips
- File a separate Form 1040-X for each year you are amending.
- You can now file an amended return electronically for tax year 2021 or later, and you may request direct deposit for your refund. Paper filing also remains an option.
- If you are mailing the amended return, mail each form in a separate envelope.
- Be sure to enter the year of the return you are amending at the top of the form.
- Explain in the space provided the specific changes to your return and reasons for each.
- Attach any forms or schedules affected by the change.
- Changes to your federal Form 1040 changes could affect your state taxes. Your state tax office will have information on how to correct your state tax return. See your state’s tax rates.
When to file, and not file, Form 1040-X
If you made a simple addition or subtraction mistake, there’s no need to amend your return. The IRS will inform you if your refund is wrong because its computers will detect the error and adjust your return automatically.
But if the error is something bigger — say you overlooked a Form 1099 for $1,500 you got from a freelance house-painting job — and you catch and correct the error first, doing so could save you from paying even more to the IRS.
The IRS may not penalize you for this honest mistake, but it likely will collect some interest on the proper amount you didn’t pay on time. The sooner you correct the error, the less interest you’ll be required to pay.
Time limits on Form 1040-X
The IRS generally gives taxpayers three years after the original return’s filing date to make changes with a Form 1040-X or within two years since you paid the tax bill, whichever is later. If you filed your return early, generally you get three years from the return’s due date to correct any errors.
For example, let’s say you filed your 1040 on April 15, 2024, and paid $400 of the $500 you owed. You paid the final $100 (plus penalties and interest) the following year, on Jan. 10, 2025. You have until Jan. 10, 2027, to amend the original filing instead of the usual three years (until April 15, 2027) you would have been given if you’d paid your taxes in full and on time.
If, however, the two-years-since-payment date arrives after the standard three-year time limit, the IRS says you can amend your return using the deadline that comes later. In the earlier example, let’s say you paid your tax bill on June 10, 2025. That would give you until June 10, 2027, to amend the return, almost two months longer than the original three-year amending option.
Similarly, if you paid your taxes late, but not that late (say, in our example, on Aug. 10, 2024), and the three-year grace period from the original filing date provides you more revision time (which it would, since April 15, 2027, is later than Aug. 10, 2026), you can take it.
Electronic and paper filing Form 1040-X
The IRS made a key change in 2023: You can now electronically file Form 1040-X. What’s more, you can request direct deposit for electronically-filed amended forms.
Filing your amended return electronically is similar to filing your normal return: You must sign the return electronically and use a personal identification number (PIN). An electronic return is only considered validly signed if it includes your PIN, last name, date of birth, adjusted gross income (AGI) from your originally filed tax return and your identity protection PIN (IP PIN), if you have one.
If you prefer to return Form 1040-X by mail, be sure to pay attention to the mailing addresses in the form’s instruction book. Amended returns don’t always go to the same IRS service center that processes regular returns.
Keep in mind that it takes longer — from eight weeks up to 16 weeks — for the IRS to process an amended return. You can check the status using the where’s my amended return tool on the IRS website to track its status.
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