When should I amend now that I qualify for the eitc?

Yes. If your tax return contains unemployment and a credit, the IRS will adjust both. See IRS to recalculate taxes on unemployment benefits; refunds to start in May  If your return has unemployment but you now qualify for an additional credit, then you should amend your return.

 

Here are some credits for which you may now qualify:

• Do I Qualify for the Credit for the Elderly or Disabled?
• Do I Qualify for the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit?
• What are the qualifications for the Earned Income Credit?
• What are Education Tax Credits?
• What is the Child and Dependent Care Credit?

 

 

In addition, you may need to amend your state return. See Do I need to amend my state return to update my unemployment?

 

 

Once your original return is accepted and the finances are settled, you can file an amended return. 

• Save a copy of the original return before doing an amended return. See: 
  • how to file an amended return. The program will remove the $10,200 of unemployment and change things for you.
  • I need to amend my state return.
  • Can I e-file my amended state return?
  • Can I e-file my 1040X to amend my return?
• Track amended return status online. Taxpayers can track the status of their amended tax return in English and Spanish using Where’s My Amended Return?  Amended returns take up to 16 weeks to process and up to three weeks from the date of mailing to show up in the system.

 

@AmyCNo one else seems to know the answer so I thought I would try you in desperation. Used TT FreeFile online edition to file 2020 return, which was fully processed by IRS, and now started  to amend 2020 return because there's an additional retirement savers credit newly available because of the unemployment exclusion. We already got the IRS recalculated unemployment refund of $456. But when we go to amend on TT online to add/claim the savers credit  the TT online draft 1040-X does not reflect on line 18 the unemployment refund already received after we filed. And so the draft amended return is asking for a larger refund ($656) than we are due now ($200). None of the linked TT instructions address how to fix this. Do you know how to fix that using the online FreeFile? Many thanks.