The amount I entered in Box 1 on my TurboTax return is incorrect. It shows it to be about $500 more than what it should be. Will this affect my being able to get my return on schedule?
It may delay your refund by a couple of weeks. If the amount of wages, salaries, etc. entered on your tax return does not enter Box 1 of your W-2, it also won't match the amount in the IRS records. This will result in the IRS sending you a letter proposing a change to your tax return. If you agree, you won't have to do anything. The IRS will then make the adjust and send you your refund (which in your case should be a little higher than what is on your return.
I was told that I would just need to wait until my refund was sent to me and then I would go back and do the amend. If that is the only amount that is incorrect would that not fall under a simple math issue that the IRS could correct for me? Seeing as every other amount is correct and matching with my W2?
The IRS will correct it, but since it changes what you filed, they will send you a letter. You will not need to amend.
So they will correct that amount and send me my refund on schedule? And they will also send me a letter in the mail telling me why the amount is different from what I expected? It won't delay my tax refund since they are correcting it for me?
The IRS will either :
1) correct the issue and process the return ( a notice of the change should be mailed) - additional time for processing may be added
2) send the return back for a correction or send a notice asking you to explain the difference ( delays in processing will happen)