My initial return had me getting a refund but my amended return now has me owing taxes. Is this automatically adjusted in my automatic payment on April 15th?

[ghertog]

I did not receive the refund yet. So, will I get that automatically deposited and then have my bank account debited for the larger amount I owe (refund + additional tax owed) on April 15th?

[Critter-3]

Do NOT file the amended return until the original refund is in hand ... then you can decide if you want to have the amended return's balance due debited from your bank account  or you want to mail in a check or pay the IRS online.  

Review  the form 1040X carefully …

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. If you paid nothing already then this line should be zero.

On line 18 should be the amount of your original refund you received.  If you have not received your refund yet then you need to wait for it.  If the refund changes from what you expected then this line must reflect that change.

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

[Opus 17]

The calculation on the amended return assumes that you received your original refund, if you claimed one.

Don't file the amended return until your refund is actually paid, in case the IRS delays your refund or adjusts your tax return in some way. 

[CarissaM · Accepted solution]

Your refund would still be processed and sent to you. 

You would be required to make the payment of the taxes owed by April 15, 2023. 

[ghertog]

Thank you for your quick and helpful response!

[ghertog]

Thanks much for your response and help!

[ghertog]

I just received the full amount I was expecting to have refunded on the original return. So I sent in my check for the amount owed on the amended return. Thanks much!

[SForrestLO]

You're welcome. 

@ghertog

[JE867]

I started an amendment for a return where I was receiving a refund back from both federal and state.  IRS and state "accepted" my returns.  I started my amendment and my state "counter" went to zero but my federal went way into negative territory.  I continued on and entered additional 1099-DIV income that I'd forgotten.  The state now shows I owe (checked it all - looks okay) but federal still shows big negative number.  I went through it with a fine tooth comb and all the calculations appear correct EXCEPT I see that line 16 on the 1040X shows that I paid several thousand dollars with my return (I did not -- I'm still waiting for my refund).  I have not made any EFTPS payments either.  Where is Line 16 getting the number from?  I am tempted to override this with a zero --- wondering if there is an error?  Thank you!

[RobertB4444]

You should not be amending your return until AFTER you have received your refund.  You don't give the reason why you are amending here but it is very possible that the IRS will catch the error that you are amending the return for and adjust the return for you.  That's a good reason to wait.

Another reason to wait is that the TurboTax system assumes that you have already received your refund as well.  It is setting you up to pay that money back if you shouldn't have gotten it in the first place.  That could explain the large amount you seem to be owing with your federal amendment.

@JE867 

[ghertog]

Thanks much. Clarifies things for me. Very helpful.