| What happens if you realize that you made a mistake | | | | and fines will have accrued since the day they issued |
| on your income tax return after it is already filed? First, | | | | your payment and you will be in deep. |
| don't panic, it happens so often that there is a | | | | The Internal Revenue Service is the best debt |
| procedure in place. | | | | collection agency in the world. If you filed a return with |
| You are going to have to do this filing all over again, | | | | wrong information that resulted in a refund to you, they |
| but don't get lazy and just let it go, figuring no one will | | | | are going to treat you like a thief. They will act as if |
| notice. Depending on the mistake, you could get | | | | you robbed them at gunpoint. The Internal Revenue |
| red-flagged for an audit or find yourself under suspicion | | | | Service Agents assigned to your case will no doubt be |
| of filing a falsified claim. Just get Internal Revenue | | | | from the criminal division and they will have a United |
| Service form 1040X and start all over again. | | | | States Attorney itching to prosecute you. No matter |
| The Internal Revenue Service will want to know what | | | | how tempting it might be to "take the money and run", |
| you filed on the return in error and what the actual | | | | there is no place for you to go. Just file the 1040X, |
| numbers should be. They will also want to know how | | | | because it's easier in the long run. |
| and why you made a mistake. There is an | | | | If you made the same mistake in multiple years, you |
| accommodation for removing or adding personal | | | | need to file an amended return for each of those |
| exemptions. | | | | years, individually. If you attempt to make changes for |
| Even if filing an amended return increases your tax | | | | multiple years on one amended return, you will send up |
| liability or causes you to owe rather than being entitled | | | | a glaring red light to the Internal Revenue Service. |
| to a refund, you need to change it, no matter. If you | | | | If you hired a tax professional to file the return that |
| don't, you knowingly filed a false claim and that act is | | | | needs to be amended, they should help you do that, |
| punishable by imprisonment. You can't cry later, when | | | | but don't just hand it off to them and forget about it. |
| the Internal Revenue Service catches up to you that | | | | You, not the person who filed your return, are |
| you did not know any better and even if you could, | | | | ultimately responsible for your own income tax return |
| you will still have to pay them back. Penalties, interest, | | | | and every bit of information on it. |