Is it worth it to correct mistake in Traditional & Roth IRA contributions in previous year taxes?

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
June 6, 2019
6 replies
48 views

I believe I made a mistake in my 2015 taxes, entering my pre-tax and Roth 401(k) contributions as traditional and Roth IRA contributions and paid a penalty on it for over-contributing. I do not have a traditional or Roth IRA and mistook my company 401(k) plan contributions from box 12 on my W-2 as traditional and Roth IRAs in the Retirement and Investments area of my Deductions & Credits section.

What affect would this have if I were to correct my 2015 filing? I received a refund from both my federal and state taxes. And would it flag if I didn't enter anything in my 2016 taxes, even if I had mistakenly entered something for last year?

Thanks!

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Best answer by dmertz

You must amend your 2015 tax return to make the necessary corrections. There is the potential for a number of different areas of your tax return to be affected, but there are certain to be at least a few important areas that are affected even if it does not change your tax liability for 2015.

dmertzAnswer

Level 15

89sghjlDFH7fF3Author

Level 2

Thanks for your quick reply. I ran through the instructions at <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2693843">https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2693843</a> and it changed my 2015 return to remove a Form 8606, and increased the amount I overpaid by $1, and prompted me to really confirm that I needed to amend because it didn't detect any differences between my original 2015 return and my amended return. I'm hesitant to go forward because this time of year gives me horrible anxiety and I try to avoid as much interaction with the IRS tax forms as possible. Hopefully without offended you, do I really need to go forward? And would I need to file for an extension for 2016 until the amended 2015 return is accepted? Thanks again!