“Don’t worry if you made a mistake on your tax return or forgot to claim a tax credit or deduction. You can fix it by filing an amended return.” – The IRS

Made an error on nonresident alien income tax return? Don’t worry, fixing it is not as difficult as you might think!

US tax can be tricky – especially if you’re a nonresident who is not familiar with the American tax system. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) knows the tax code is complex, and that people make mistakes.

A tax return can be considered ‘incorrect’ or ‘incomplete’ for a variety of different reasons. Simple things like forgetting to sign a form to big issues like misreporting income or incorrectly calculating a deduction can all affect the validity of a tax return. While making a mistake on your return is not necessarily a big deal, it is important that you rectify the situation by filing an amended tax return, where appropriate.

If you realize that you made an error on a tax return you already filed or you have come across new information (for example you received an additional W-2 or 1042-S), simply file an amended tax return to make a correction.

In this article we’ll cover:

• When you should amend your tax return;
• When’s there’s no need to;
• How to amend a tax return;
• Can I e-file form 1040-X?
• What happens after filing an amendment
• Timelines for processing

Here are some key things you need to know in order to correctly amend your tax return:

When to Amend a Tax Return That You Filed

When should you file an amended tax return? The first thing you should know is that not all errors require an amended tax return.

You should amend your tax return if you need to:

1. Correct your income and tax figures

If you didn’t include all your payment documents when preparing your return or if you receive additional tax documents for the tax year, you would need to file an amended tax return to report the additional income and tax. For example, a Form W-2 arrives in the mail after the tax deadline, or you forgot to file it.

2. Claim all of the allowable tax deductions or tax credits

You should also amend your return to claim all of the allowable tax deductions or tax credits that you did not claim when you filed your original return. In previous years there were a number of deductions that international students could use to reduce their overall tax liability. However, in November 2017, President Donald Trump introduced a GOP tax reform bill which brought widespread tax-related changes for most taxpayers.

3. Correct your filing status

For example, if you filed as single but actually got married on the last day of the tax year, you will need to amend your return by filing your taxes under the appropriate status – married filing jointly or married filing separately (note: non-residents can file only as married filing separately).

4. Correct the number of dependents you claimed.

An amended return will be needed if a taxpayer wants to claim additional dependents, or has claimed ineligible dependents and needs to adjust the exemptions amount.

The general IRS rule states that a non-resident alien, whether single or married, may claim only one personal exemption, as long as they are not claimed as a dependent on any other US tax return (in which case their personal exemption was already used).

There are some exceptions to the general rule which allow specific groups of taxpayers to claim dependent exemptions for their family members:

• Residents of Canada or Mexico
• Residents of the Republic of Korea
• Residents of India

You can check out if you qualify to claim an additional exemption for your dependent here.

5. If you filed the wrong form for your tax return

What if I accidentally filed form 1040 instead of form 1040NR / 1040NR EZ?

Nonresidents who file their tax returns with form 1040 (which is for U.S. citizens and residents) instead of the return for nonresidents (Form 1040NR) may claim credits or take deductions to which they are not entitled. This means their tax return will be inaccurate and they could get into trouble with the IRS later on. This is another case when you will need to amend your tax return.

6. You received the CARES Act payment and you were not entitled to it

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the US government has introduced the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) Act. The CARES Act provides a number of financial supports that can be claimed by US citizens, permanent residents and residents for tax purposes. Nonresident aliens are not eligible to receive this stimulus.

If you believe that you have received this payment in error, it is likely that you should file an amended tax return and also return the payment to the IRS (the payment should be sent separately to your amended return). You should also send a cover note with your amended tax return to outline why you are returning the payment.

Find out more in our guide to navigating the COVID-19 CARES Act Stimulus Payments for nonresidents.

If you realize that you need to make one or more of the corrections listed above use Form 1040X (Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return) to amend the federal income tax return that you previously filed.

Need a hand filing your amended tax return? Contact Sprintax today!