I owe money on my amended return. Does that mean I should've owed money on my initial return? Or does it just mean that my initial return should have been less?

[PaulaM]

Why did you amend your return?

If you filed your return and later amended and now owe additional monies, it means that your original return under reported your tax liability.

For example: If you forgot to include a form (W-2, 1099-Int, 1099-R, etc) then the addition of this income on your amended return will increase your tax liability.

Comment back if you have additional questions/comments.

[oops14]

Hi Paula. Thanks for your reply. Yes, I understand that much. I had a 1099-r sent to the wrong address and found out about it after I filed. My initial refund was 1200. On my amended return I owe 400. Does that mean my initial return simply should have been 800?

[PaulaM]

Yes, exactly. Had the 1099-R been included in the original return, then your income items would increase and result in a lower refund. In your case, around $800. You are paying back an excess refund amount.

[oops14]

Perfect! Thanks Paula!!!

[PaulaM]

You are welcome 🙂

[rvicencio1983]

So if I never received my 9350 refund and it says I owe 4300 will that be adjusted? 

[CatinaT1]

Not sure exactly what your question is.

The online link is your best option to track your refund.  I have attached a link with more answers from the IRS as to why your refund may be taking longer to process.

Federal refund questions

There is a delay in processing the returns as the IRS is not processing paper returns at the moment due to Covid-19 and social distancing policies in effect.  

IRS operations

[angealmonte]

Why do I get owed money when amending my tax return? 

[AnnetteB6]

Amending your return is a completely separate return from your original one that was filed. 

When you start an amended return, the refund or balance due amount is set to zero.  Then, depending on what changes you make, you may owe some taxes as a result of the change, or you may be entitled to a refund.   The bottom line result on an amended return typically reflects only the changes that you are making by amending your return. 

@angealmonte

[SF365]

With that being said, if my original return was 6540, which has been approved but not processed and not received, then I file an amended and it says I owe 595, will it be reflected in my overall return once it's processed? Or do I have to pay the 595 in order to receive the original (minus the 595) return amount?

[Critter]

The original return and the amended returns have totally separate processing paths ... your original return has been ACCEPTED (not approved) for processing ... once the return has completed processing then the IRS may APPROVE the refund for dispersal. 

Until you get the original refund you do not know for sure if the IRS will adjust the return and send a different amount.   It is imperative that you do  NOT mail in the amended return until you get the ORIGINAL refund ... once you have the original refund in hand only then should you mail in the amended return ... if you have a balance due on line 20 a payment must be sent with the 1040X which represents the excess paid to you on the original refund.

 Look at the form 1040X …

Column A should have the figures from the original return, Column C the corrected figures and Column B the differences between the other 2 which needs an explanation on page 2 of the form 1040X.

If you completed it correctly you will see an entry on either line 16 OR 18:

On line 16 should be the amount you paid with your original return. 

On line 18 should be the amount of your original refund you received.

Then you will see your extra refund on line 22 OR  the new balance due you need to pay on line 20.

[SF365]

Thank you so much for your quick response.

So, to throw a wrench in all of this - my return is still processing due to a Code 570 (Additional Account Action Pending), then a 971 (Notice Issued) and we underwent a 60-day review dated 3-16-20. It is, of course, past the 60-day mark. Now, I completely understand what with covid that things have been slow. That being said, does the process you outlined still stand if my return was "under review?" 

I suppose I'm asking about the processing of a return. If there is an action like the 60-day review on my account, will they still process the original return? There was a hiccup with my husband's income info where part of his income wasn't reported properly to the IRS (we're currently working on getting that sent over). I ended up receiving a W2 I didn't know I was receiving (long story short - a company I worked for 2 months was shut down by FBI - **bleep** owner ran off and we never heard from him after that - didn't know if we were getting W2s). So TL;DR: Our return understates my income and overstates my husband's income. 

Once that is updated, is it likely that they'll then issue the original refund so I can then submit the amended? 

Of course, if this is one of those situations where there are too many moving parts, and you're not sure, that's totally acceptable. There's not anyone I've spoken to at the IRS who can give me a straightforward answer aside from "file your amended as soon as you can."

Thank you!

-Steph

[Critter]

Again and still ... do NOT NOT NOT amend the return until the IRS has finished doing whatever they are doing with your return.   Column A of the amended return MUST reflect the original return figures  OR  the IRS corrected figures and until the IRS completes the review you will not know what those amounts will be. 

This may be one of those times when paying for some professional assistance may be needed depending on the final outcome of the situation.  Wait until the dust settles before you stir the pot again. 

[Bestvalue888]

Hi Paula, I have a question to ask about this topic. I forgot to report 1099-B on 2021 tax return so I am doing the amended tax now to report it. My original tax return, I paid a check of $8100 ($8000 tax owe plus $100 penalty). The amended return shows amount owe is $10,000.  So, do I include a check of $2000, or a check of $1900 ($10,000 minus $8100 paid)?  I am sort of confused how to handle the payment I should be including. Thanks.