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Question

Horribly confusing message attempting to efile an amended return

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
December 21, 2023
4 replies
0 views

I have the misfortune of having to amend my 2022 federal and California tax returns, both of which were originally e-filed. I completed the process of amending my returns, passed the checks and am ready to file. I get to a screen that says "Nicely done! Just 3 things to go", listing:

Step 1: save your amended returns (which I do)

Step 2: Print and mail your amended returns, other than California.

Step 3: Efile your amended California return.

Why is it not letting me efile the federal return? The odd thing is that when I print "returns for filing", the instructions for the federal return indicate that I am efiling it!

Boldly proceeding to the next screen, I get a message "E-filing is Closed for the Season. TurboTax e-filing closed for the tax season on October 16, 2023". This makes sense for original returns, but does not apply to amended returns!

Boldly proceeding to the next screen again, I get a message "How do you want to file? E-file or mail?". It doesn't indicate whether this applies to federal or California or both. I select E-file. Next I get a screen giving me a choice of e-filing either or both returns.

Next it asks me whether to pay by direct debit or mailing a check. But the explanation again seems to assume this is an original, not an amended, return.

This is all terribly confusing!

VolvoGirl

Employee

Sorry you can not efile a prior year amended return with Turbo Tax. You have to print and mail it. Ignore all those messages.

Go by the actual 1040X. Line 18 should be your original refund amount and line 22 should be your additional refund. If you paid on your original return it will be on line 16. If there is an amount owed with the amendment, it will be on line 20.

If you have a tax due, do not send the 1040V. Just include a check with the 1040X. Ignore the 1040V. That is for the original return or what the original return would have been if it didn’t need correcting. Don’t pay the amount on the 1040V. Pay the amount on the actual 1040X line 20.

Or You can pay the IRS directly at

Https://www.irs.gov/payments

phraxosAuthor

Why do you say you cannot e-file an amended 2022 return with the 2022 version of TurboTax?

See the TurboTax support article "Can I e-file my federal Form 1040-X amended return?", where it says you can.

VolvoGirl

Employee

This one?
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/amending/help/how-to-amend-change-or-correct-a-return-you-already-filed/00/25588

Right now currently you can not efile any returns with Turbo Tax. Maybe when the IRS opens efiling in late January you can efile a prior year amended return.

CaitlinD1

Hi there!

I've been reading through the thread and can I ask whether you are using Online or Desktop for you amended return? Additionally, which version (Desktop or Online) did you originally efile with?

phraxosAuthor

The preparation and efiling of the original return, and the preparation and attempted efiling of the amended return were all done with the 2022 Mac desktop version of TurboTax.

CaitlinD1

Based on this response, the prior replies in the thread are correct. You will need to file using a paper form, as Federal efiling is not currently available until January due to the IRS shutting down the efiling system in preparation for the next filing year. We can submit to having the wording of this less ambiguous in our content going forward.

ww_94

@phraxos I'm unfortunately also seeing the same issue trying to amend my 2021 and 2022 Tax Returns. It leads you through the steps of actually allowing you to select whether you want to e-file or mail and once you actually try to submit it, it errors with that the tax season is over. What did you end up doing?

Best of luck

fanfare

Employee

as mentioned elsewhere you have to wait for TurboTax to open for amendments which should be soon.

mmcmahon14

As mentioned elsewhere, … by YOU. How do you know this? The TurboTax app gives no indication of this. A moderator in this thread stated:

”Yes, you should be able to efile the amended 2022 return in January. If you are seeing an issue at that stage, I encourage you to contact customer support directly to troubleshoot and report the issue.

‎December 27, 2023 1:21 PM.”

Why is this a secret, if it is true? Why are there conflicting “expert” opinions on the issue? I’ll go back to - why shouldn’t the app just tell you what the truth is, which would be something like “e-filing amended returns is not supported” or “you must wait until xxxx date until e-filing is allowed?”

bipulh

Employee

I'm facing a similar situation as below.

- First it tells me 'You can't eFile your 2022 amended return as e-filing date has passed'

- Next page, for federal tax, it ask me to print, but for CA state tax, I get the following message

"Don't file return by mail that have already been transmitted electronically", then 'Do not print' is checked.

If I continue, it let me print the federal return but completely ignore CA state and eventually exit. So I'm at a loss on how to amend by CA state tax.

JotikaT2

Any changes made to your federal amended return should pull into your state amendment. Make sure you proceed through the state interview screens as well to ensure the state return is being amended as well. Please see this link for additional guidance.

If you are still getting the same error after proceeding through the state interview screen, you may need to contact us using this link.

@bipulh

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