@mmcmahon14 wrote:
@Opus 17 ,
Thanks for your response. I guess I wanted to nudge some of these volunteer responders into citing a source or backing off from their certainty.
As for me, my 2023 return has been done and e-filed. I’m trying to amend and e-file a 2022 return. The 2022 TurboTax desktop version allows for amended returns and prepares them. Mine is done. It even leads you down the road of e-filing but then doesn’t finish. I’ve read and followed instructions gleaned from this forum and TurboTax. Everything that I have found in print indicates that e-filing and amended, originally e-filed return is possible. I’d rather not print and mail it if there is a possibility of e-filing but I’m close to giving up as there doesn’t seem to be any consensus or definitive answer on the validity of e-filing.
At this point, based on your experience, I would say you can't e-file your amended 2022 return with Turbotax and you should print, sign and mail it. This answer is based on the following knowledge:
1. Turbotax can e-file amended returns during that year's filing season (until October 20, 2023 for a 2022 return)
2. Professionals can e-file more types of returns and with greater scheduling availability than consumer-level software. This is a limitation that is imposed, at least partly, by the IRS, but might also be partly due to design choices by Turbotax.
3. The IRS closed all e-filing for everyone (including professionals) from December until January 29, 2024, so they could program their system for 2023 returns.
4. The IRS e-filing system is open again.
5. Story time. A few years ago, I needed to use the desktop program to file an amended return. I can't remember which year, and I can't remember if I amended during the same season or after. I do remember that I was required to e-file the NY state return because, by law, if you e-filed your main return, you must e-file your state return. But I don't remember if I e-filed the federal return. I can try and look it up tonight if I remember. But the point is that in that case, New York might have forced Turbotax to include a feature that was not necessarily included for other states.
By inference, if the IRS e-filing system is open but Turbotax desktop 2022 can't e-file an amended return, then there is probably an issue with Turbotax that prevents it from e-filing an amended 2022 return in 2024. That might be a programming error, or a design choice, or a limitation by the IRS. Or to put it another way, no matter why you can't e-file the amended return today, you probably won't be able to e-file it if you wait until tomorrow.
