Need to amend filing status from single to head of household

[mizmartha]

Today I amended my filing status from single to head of household .  This was because my adult son wanted to get a stimulus check and filed a return this year although he has no income.  I have always supported him and claimed him as a dependent.  In order to pay my taxes on time I filed as single on May 13.  I amended the 1040 SR today and my Intuit record show that the form was accepted.  BUT I have a message from Turbo Tax saying I need to submit all the forms through the mail.  What is correct?  Do I have to spend money to send all these forms to IRS certified mail?  Thanks,

[GeorgeDenseff]

For you to amend as HOH with your son as the dependent, your son will first need to amend and mark that someone else can claim him as a dependent and pay back the stimulus money.  Then his social security number will be cleared for you to use it to file HOH.

[Critter-3 · Accepted solution]

Even if your son amends his return you will still have to mail in the amended return. There's no other way to do it.

[fanfare]

if you have it weighed and mail first class it will make it.

BUT you must use three address lines, not two.

Dept of Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

city state zip.

each return must be mailed separately.

[fanfare]

IF you e-filed 1040 and you just  e-Filed 1040-X

if all went well you will get a second ACCEPTED message for 1040-X.

you don't have to mail it after that.

Don't file two times !

[GeorgeDenseff]

He needs to mail 1040X because his son filed.  So when he tries to file the 1040X with his son as a dependent, the computer will not accept that social security number again.

[mizmartha]

I filed electronically a 1040SR in May as a single filer.  My son at that time amended his return so I could claim him and also paid back the Stimulus check at that time.  I think I have waited long enough for his amended return to be processed.  Yesterday I electronically sent in the 1040-X to amend my filing status.  And I think I got a message that it was accepted, but I might have been looking at the acceptance from my return sent in May.  Is there any way to see these acceptances from IRS with a date stamp?

Thanks fanfare15.  You seem to understand exactly my situation.

[Carl]

Understand that once a social security number is marked as "claimed" for the tax year, amending a tax return will not change that. If your son is amending his tax return to change his status to "I can be claimed on someone elses return", you will still have to mail your amended tax return to the IRS.

Amended tax returns normally take 8-12 weeks to process. But now-a-days it can take months due to the IRS backlog. I know a few who waited more than a year from the time they mailed their amended return, before it was processed by the IRS.

[fanfare]

@mizmartha 

Conversely, if your 1040-X was not accepted you'd get a REJECTED message.

These confirmations should be dated.

I didn't file with TurboTax so I can't say exactly where to see that.

[fanfare]

@GeorgeDenseff 

I'm not so sure you are correct here.

You can file 1040-X to add dependents, and of course, you must include the SSN.

According to mizmartha , her e-File was ACCEPTED.

[Carl]

@GeorgeDenseff things very well may have changed since the IRS computers now accept e-filing of an amended return.

[mizmartha]

Thanks George;

I will close this question if I can.  It seems there is no clear answer so I am also sending my signed amendment forms by mail but not paying for certified mail.  And assuming there will be no problem with me also e-filing the form.  I certainly hope I do not have to wait a year for my $3,500 refund!

[fanfare]

@mizmartha   my niece e-Filed and the 1040-X showed up on Where's my Amended Return within days.

As I said before, don't file twice. It will cause serious delays.

If you did not get a REJECTED message, why do you want to mail it in. ?

Recommend you wait at least a week and then check your status on www.irs.gov 

[GeorgeDenseff]

The poster will not be able to change to HOH status until the dependent files with Someone Else Can Claim Me as a Dependent box checked and the dependent returns the stimulus payment.

After that is processed, then the poster will have to mail in the return.  The e-file will not be accepted as long as the dependent's social security number has already been used to claim a stimulus payment.

[fanfare]

If you submitted 1040-X via e-File, then regardless of any time stamp you should have two  ACCEPTED messages in your status.

Note: I didn't file with TurboTax so I can't tell you where to see that.

If you submitted 1040-X via e-File and it was not accepted, you should have a REJECTED message.