Do I have to wait until the refund is sent BEFORE I can amend 2021 income? Filed and Fed

[DoninGA]

An amended return, Form 1040-X, can only be printed and mailed to the IRS if the original tax return was not e-filed. The IRS will take up to 16 weeks or longer to process an amended tax return.

Before starting to amend the tax return, wait for the tax refund to be received or the taxes due to be paid and processed by the IRS.

The federal amended tax return, Form 1040-X, for tax year 2021 is estimated to be available in TurboTax on 02/24/2022

[bluedeb]

You don't have too but, the IRS does suggest you wait until your return is fully processed before you amend your return.  If the IRS (& State if any) shows your refund is approved, then your return is fully processed.

[Mike9241]

the reason to wait until the original return is processed is that the IRS may make changes that would make your amended return incorrect and then you might need to amend the amended return.