Electronic Filing of Amended Tax Returns – Coming Soon!

Big News! The IRS just announced that amended tax returns (Form 1040X only, for now) can soon be filed electronically!

For just about anyone in the world except for tax preparers, this seems like a yawner. After all, the IRS has been requiring electronic filing of just about every other tax return for a few years now. Up until now though, the 1040X, personal amended tax return, has been a paper-only filing.

The result is that when a return needs to be amended, we preparers have had to step back in time, print and assemble a return, attach the required documentation, get signatures, and mail the return via snail mail. And then the taxpayer has to wait, wait, wait until the paper filing has been received and accepted (using the “Where’s My Amended Return” tool on IRS’s website).

This development will definitely speed up the process and eliminate a lot of paper-handling, especially in simple matters of correcting errant information on the return. Definitely looking forward to using this!

The IRS just recently announced this development in a Newswire (IR-2020-107). The contents of the original newswire are reproduced below.

IRS announces Form 1040-X electronic filing options coming this summer; major milestone reached for electronic returns

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.