Everyone including myself has had the same nightmare at least once. We have filed our tax return, received the refund and thought everything was cool. Then the unthinkable happens; I receive a w2 form from a company from whom I worked a month in the summer doing temp work. Now a daunting task is ahead, how to amend my 2012 tax return and either pay any owed taxes or even get more money back I may be owed. How to do this though is a question many a taxpayer has had to face?
I can amend my 2012 tax return by filing a 1040X form either by mail or by using my tax preparation software such as Turbo Tax Online.The form is located at irs.gov under forms and publications as well as the guide on how to fill out and file the 1040X tax form. But another question remains and it’s most important. How much time am I given to amend my 2012 tax return?
According to IRS regulations, I have three years to file the 1040X form and amend my 2012 tax return. If I were to be owed money, doing this quickly would be quite smart. If I were the one owing money, the three years would be helpful in giving me the needed time to pay the debt. Note that although unclaimed tax refunds are forfeit after the three years, tax debts are kept active for up to ten years.
Filing the 1040X form is quite simple and doesn’t incriminate you or me as criminally negligent. It just means we needed to include additional information that we didn’t file the first time. In fact, it makes us more responsible citizens in reporting everything on our tax returns.
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