Trouble amending 2023 tax returns online or on the desktop software

[OliveB]

Hi.

I am trying to amend my 2023 tax return from Married filing Separate to Married Filing Joint. I have completed the amending but there is no option to file online. It says I have to mail them in. I thought I was going to be able to file it online. The last time I amended a return by mail it took ages. Is anyone having this problem? Hoping there is a solution for this. The desktop version is Desktop Home and Business for Windows. I filed this return originally in TurboTax.

Thank you.

[DoninGA]

A 2023 amended return cannot be e-filed.  You will need to print, sign, date and mail the amended return to the IRS.

[rjs]

Any amended return takes ages to be processed, a minimum of 4 months and often longer, no matter how it's filed. The only difference between e-filing and filing by mail is the few days that it takes to get to the IRS.

Right now all IRS e-fling is shut down to prepare for filing 2024 tax returns. Nothing can be e-filed until the IRS reopens e-filing, which will be sometime in January. They have not yet announced a date. So it will actually be faster to mail your amended return now than to wait until e-filing reopens in January. But again, processing of any amended return is going to take a minimum of 4 months, and possibly longer.