Do I need to amend?

Amending your return means filing a new form, 1040X. This is only required in certain situations.

In other situations, you can change your original return and you should not file a new form.

• If you haven’t e-filed or mailed your return yet, just open your return, make any changes, and file when you're ready. If you already printed your return, follow these steps to make changes.
• If your tax return hasn't been processed yet or your e-filed return is still pending, wait at least until the return is accepted before amending. It’s recommended that you wait a few weeks after acceptance to ensure the IRS has processed the return before amending.
• If your e-filed return is rejected, just make your changes and then resubmit or mail your return.

Don't amend if:

• You received a government notice that doesn't specifically tell you to amend (for example, math error corrections or request for additional forms). Just follow the instructions in the notification.
• You entered the wrong bank account to get your refund.
• You want to make changes to the amount you claimed for Advanced Child Tax Credits on a 2021 return. The IRS will internally adjust your refund.
• You want to make changes to the amount you claimed for the Recovery Rebate Credit. The IRS will internally adjust your refund if you claimed the Recovery Rebate Credit but didn’t qualify or overestimated the amount you should have received. If a correction is needed, the IRS will calculate the correct amount of the 2020 or 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit, make the correction to the tax return, and continue processing it. There’s no need at this point to amend your return, unless you didn’t claim the Rebate Recovery Credit at all, and were entitled to claim it.

Amend if you already mailed your return (or the government accepted your e-file) and:

• You need to report a tax form you forgot about or received after filing (most commonly a W-2 or 1099).
• You received a corrected tax form after filing (the corrected box is checked) and the new info changes your refund or tax due amount.
• You forgot to report income or claim dependents, deductions, or credits.
• You accidentally claimed dependents, deductions, or credits you're not eligible for.
• You made an error that affects your bottom line, such as reporting income or deductions in 2024 that should've been claimed in a prior tax year (in that case, you'll need to amend all affected tax years).
• You need to change your filing status (for example, you want to change from Single to Head of Household).
• We instructed you to amend because of a program error (uncommon).