This morning I received an announcement (below) that the IRS will, sometime this summer, allow electronic filing of amended personal tax returns (Form 1040X). Unfortunately, there’s a major “but” included:
When the electronic filing option becomes available, only tax year 2019 Forms 1040 and 1040-SR returns can be amended electronically. In general, taxpayers will still have the option to submit a paper version of the Form 1040-X and should follow the instructions for preparing and submitting the paper form. Additional enhancements are planned for the future. [Emphasis Added]
This will definitely help for the future; however, most amended returns are not the current-year tax returns. For example, I prepared three 2018 amended returns today.
This isn’t to say this is a bad thing. On the contrary, over time this is a very, very good thing. In the best of times it takes the IRS four months to process an amended return filed by paper. (I suspect the amended returns I prepared today will take at least six months to be processed given the IRS’s current backlog.) Being able to have an amended return quickly sent, without risk of it being lost, is a wonderful improvement over what must be done today and will undoubtedly lead to faster processing of amended returns.
Here is the IRS announcement in full:
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service announced today that later this summer taxpayers will for the first time be able to file their Form 1040-X, Amended U.S Individual Income Tax Return, electronically using available tax software products.
Making the 1040-X an electronically filed form has been a goal of the IRS for a number of years. It’s also been an ongoing request from the nation’s tax professional community and has been a continuing recommendation from the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council (IRSAC) and Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC).
Currently, taxpayers must mail a completed Form 1040-X to the IRS for processing. The new electronic option allows the IRS to receive amended returns faster while minimizing errors normally associated with manually completing the form.
“This new process is a major milestone for the IRS, and it follows hard work by people across the agency,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “E-filing has been one of the great success stories of the IRS, and more than 90 percent of taxpayers use it routinely. But the big hurdle that’s been remaining for years is to convert amended returns into this electronic process. Our teams have worked diligently to overcome the unique challenges related to the 1040-X, and we look forward to offering this new service this summer.”
About 3 million Forms 1040-X are filed by taxpayers each year.
The new electronic filing option will provide the IRS with more complete and accurate data in an easily readable format to enable customer service representatives to answer taxpayers’ questions. Taxpayers can still use the “Where’s My Amended Return?” online tool to check the status of their electronically-filed 1040-X.
When the electronic filing option becomes available, only tax year 2019 Forms 1040 and 1040-SR returns can be amended electronically. In general, taxpayers will still have the option to submit a paper version of the Form 1040-X and should follow the instructions for preparing and submitting the paper form. Additional enhancements are planned for the future.
“Adding amended returns to the electronic family also complements our partnership with the tax software industry, which continues to work with us to provide better ways to help taxpayers,” said Ken Corbin, Commissioner of the IRS Wage and Investment division.
Tags: Amended.Returns