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@csygit What exactly is your question?
What is your reason for amending? Are you using the 2019 software?
Hello Ludwig, Turbo Tax (TT) would not let me put enough words to properly describe it at first. I need to amend my 2019 return. A TT rep said it should start out showing you owe zero/get a refund of zero. Instead, it shows I owe over $2500. I noticed my deductions were $20k+ off from my original return, but I haven't changed anything. I called TT six times and no one could help me. I am having to figure out how to manually complete a 1040-X for an IRS Audit. Thankfully, so far, what they're wanting changed/verified is simple, it's just removing the American Opportunity Credit and replacing it with the Lifetime Learning Credit. How do I get the beginning of the amended return to zero and all my numbers corrected to match my original 2019 return and who would have changed it? It is just baffling!
Thanks for any help you can offer!
PS, I got a refund of $4474 for 2019, now it shows I owe $2593 or something like that, before I've tried to amend my return.
IGNORE the refund meter when you are amending a return. Only review 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. 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.
Also, I have canceled the amended return about 6-7 times trying to cancel it out and had a TT specialist rep on the phone with me for an hour yesterday and she couldn't figure it out either.
Thank you Critter, but I tried making the changes required and in the end it said I owed $4074 and it should be closer to $1k. I was told by TT the pay/owed meter should start out at zero. Not sure whether I should try just seeing through the entire amended return process and print it and see what it says?
Are you starting the amendment process with the return as filed as the base ? If not you must return the tax file back to how you filed it BEFORE you start the amendment process. So delete the 1040X and put the return back to "as filed" condition then only start the amendment process.
If you started amending your federal return by accident and would like to cancel the amendment, follow this process to correctly "unamend" your federal return:
State Amendments
The best way to "unamend" your state return is to go through your state return from the beginning and keep your eyes peeled for amend-related screens or questions.
The amend question usually appears right at the beginning or towards the end of the state interview (never in the middle).
Correct any entries that have to do with an amended return, e.g.:
If you still can't get rid of your state amendment form, try clearing your state return and starting over.
Use the FORMS mode to confirm you have the return back to the "as filed" state ...
This is my mini version of a tutorial that should be in the downloaded program:
Forms Mode lets you view and make changes to your tax forms "behind the scenes."
If you're adventurous, you can even prepare your return in Forms Mode, but we don't recommend it. You may miss obscure credits and deductions you qualify for, and you may forget to report things that will come back and haunt you later.
Forms Mode is exclusively available in the TurboTax CD/Download software. It is not available in TurboTax Online.
If you want to play around with different figures and tax scenarios without affecting your original return you can ….
Once you have filed successfully … you can shut off the auto updater function and then save the return & .taxfile.
It's always a good idea to make a backup copy of your tax data file, in case your original gets lost or corrupted. Here's how:
If you make changes to your original tax return file, repeat these steps to ensure your original and backup copies are in-synch.
AND save it as a PDF so you have access to a copy even if you don’t have the program still installed and operational :
AND protect the files :
*** Other clues to the downloaded program ***
In the forms mode ... double click or right click on a box on a form to data source it ... sadly it doesn't work on all boxes.
When you look at an onscreen tax form using Forms Mode, you might wonder why one figure is blue and the one next to it is red or black.
These colors indicate the source of that data.
Color | Meaning |
Blue | You entered this data, either in the interview or Forms Mode. |
Black | The program entered this data or calculated this amount. |
Red | This data has either been overridden or is invalid (for example, a ZIP code that doesn't exist). |
Red italics | You marked this amount as estimated. |
Black italics | The program calculated this amount from an amount you marked as estimated. |
Purple | This information has supporting details. |
Aquamarine | This data was transferred over from last year. |
Green | This data was imported from Quicken or QuickBooks. |
Yellow fields (Windows) | Yellow fields allow user input. Anything you enter here shows up in blue. |
I printed the return and it showed all the wrong numbers like I thought it would. : (
Okay, thank you Critter, I will look at what you shared. Thank you so much for your help. The only thing I touched was removing the American Opportunity Credit and adding the Lifetime Learning Credit. Then, when the numbers were wrong, I canceled the amended return and put everything back the way it was, adding back the American Opportunity Credit and removing the Lifetime Learning Credit and canceled it again. I've tried this many times now. Unfortunately, as I stated in my first message with the full explanation, the amount of itemized deductions went down by $19k+, which changed my taxable income by that much, which caused our refund of $4474 to us owing $2593 or so. This is why it's saying I owe $4074 after I make my needed changes. I should only owe about $1k after I make my changes. I guess I am just going to have to do this manually. I can't believe TT cannot help me with their own software. : (
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