I caught an error on my tax return before I mailed it and need to correct it. Do I still need to amend my return?

[natemhogan]

I worked last year as a bivocational pastor and received a W-2 that had $0.00 in wages (my income from this job was pre-designated as a housing allowance). I originally didn't input this correctly and forgot I needed to pay self-employment taxes on the housing allowance income since social security and medicare taxes weren't withheld and I did not request an exemption.

I never mailed the original return so I technically did not "file". However, TurboTax is asking me to "amend" my return. Do I really need to file both the original and my amended return at the same time?

[HelenC12]

No, don't amend if you haven’t actually e-filed or mailed your return yet. Just open your return and make any changes, and file when you're ready.

• One reason to amend your income tax return is if the IRS has processed it and you have to make a change that affects your refund or amount due, after the fact. 

[natemhogan]

The problem is that I discovered the error after I "finalized" the return (paid the TurboTax fees, etc) but before I actually dropped it in the mail. TurboTax is not letting me go back into the original return and is making me amend it. Help!

[DoninGA · Accepted solution]

---

@natemhogan wrote:

The problem is that I discovered the error after I "finalized" the return (paid the TurboTax fees, etc) but before I actually dropped it in the mail. TurboTax is not letting me go back into the original return and is making me amend it. Help!

---

To access your current or prior year online tax returns sign onto the TurboTax website with the User ID you used to create the account - https://myturbotax.intuit.com/

When you sign onto your online account and land on the Tax Home web page, scroll down and click on Add a state. 

This will take you back to the 2020 online tax return where you can make your changes before filing the tax return.