So you paid your taxes already and you made a mistake on your taxes that may affect your refund, it’s time to fill out the 1040X. Luckily, this form is really short and quite simple, especially, if you have a copy of TurboTax or TaxCut. I forgot to deduct my student loan interest this year (FORM 1098-E). I could not deduct all of my student loan interest, but I could deduct about 90% of it. I quickly saved a copy of my original return and continued to make a correction on my 1040.
Then I proceeded to FORM 1040X to make changes to my AGI. This lowered my income by about 1500 dollars! It made about a $325 difference in my refund this year! That is no chump change f you ask me. The unfortunate thing about amending your taxes is that it cannot be e-filed. You will have to print out the form and mail it in. Once you make your corrections on the form, you will have to provide an explanation of why the numbers changed. Attach a copy of the form that you applied to your taxes and make copies of everything. You will need a copy of the form for your amended state taxes as well!
Once you finish your federal return go to your state’s tax site and download your state’s form. I think they all end in X if you amend your taxes. The form works the same way. But with your state form, you will have to include a copy of the federal amended tax form. This will be used as a reference. Sign and date the forms and you are ready to roll. You can amend your taxes up to three years of the original return. So if you don’t catch something this year, you still have time.
