Latest 1040X has no direct deposit?

[AZ-Tax]

Is this true? I had ProSeries support on the line and that is what they told me.

[Jesse]

I don't believe 1040X ever had a direct deposit option.

[David1980]

Jesse is correct. It's not an option on amended returns.

[FEDUKE404]

Agreed on US

Jesse is correct. It's not an option on amended returns.

That's exactly what I recall regarding the Federal 1040X.

OTOH, I did prepare (for 2010) an amended VA return. For all intents and purposes the "original" and "amended" tax returns are identical, except for a "check the box" entry to designate it as an amended return. When the amended return was prepared, and efiled, the client eventually got the resulting (increased) refund direct-deposited. Furthermore, the funds were in the bank account less than two weeks after transmitting the return.

I thought that was a very nice touch.......

FE

[S T]

Amended Returns

That's exactly what I recall regarding the Federal 1040X.

OTOH, I did prepare (for 2010) an amended VA return. For all intents and purposes the "original" and "amended" tax returns are identical, except for a "check the box" entry to designate it as an amended return. When the amended return was prepared, and efiled, the client eventually got the resulting (increased) refund direct-deposited. Furthermore, the funds were in the bank account less than two weeks after transmitting the return.

I thought that was a very nice touch.......

FE

I didn't believe that Amended returns were eligible to e-file for Federal or direct deposit of Amended Refunds - is thie e-file (you mention) only for Va? If VA does this Amended returns by E-file and will also do direct deposit - that is an accomplishment.

It would be nice if other States follow suit, as well as Federal.

Sandy

[FEDUKE404]

More on Virginia

I didn't believe that Amended returns were eligible to e-file for Federal or direct deposit of Amended Refunds - is thie e-file (you mention) only for Va? If VA does this Amended returns by E-file and will also do direct deposit - that is an accomplishment.

It would be nice if other States follow suit, as well as Federal.

Sandy

Sandy -

I cannot make any meaningful comments for other states, and as I noted earlier the federal return has no such option (efile or direct deposit). The VA (not my home state) return was a fluke, related to an omission of some excludable income specific to VA. (Virginia has a lot of quite weird stuff....you can even use half of your political contributions to save some tax money!) IIRC, the amended return was filed in mid-May, after my brain had cooled down a bit from the main tax season.

There was no need to alter the federal return, and when I went looking for how to amend the VA return....I was amazed at how simple the process was. What was interesting was the amended return only showed the "final" numbers (no "before" or "correct" or "difference" entries). On the surface it looked just like a regular (original) tax return, but somehow the VA Dept of Taxation folks figured it out.

Sometimes we get good surprises!!

FE

[Gary2]

There was no need to alter the federal return, and when I went looking for how to amend the VA return....I was amazed at how simple the process was. What was interesting was the amended return only showed the "final" numbers (no "before" or "correct" or "difference" entries). On the surface it looked just like a regular (original) tax return, but somehow the VA Dept of Taxation folks figured it out.

Of course, when the IRS made their abortive attempt to do something similar with the 1040X last year, no one liked it. I think it's because it didn't look anything like a 1040, but for some reason, people think they have to have the three columns.

[JohnH]

I like the three columns. If I don't have them, I'll just do my own Excel worksheet and then transfer the numbers to the final form. Balancing and cross- checking are always good things to do.

[Koss]

Amended Returns: Three Columns or One?

Oh, geez, I ranted about this several months ago...

I also prefer the three-column version of an amended return. But here in Ohio, the amended return has only two columns: what was on the original return, and what the correct figures are.

I'm an old-school guy who started doing tax returns by hand back in 1989. Last week, I did a federal 1040X where we had not prepared the original return. The only change was adding a dependent. The tax liability was determined by the tax table--not by some other method, such as Schedule D, or AMT. So you would think it would be a very straightforward process to complete an amended return.

Not with any tax software. Because to get it right, if you didn't do the original return in the same program, you have to enter the original return first. And this guy had a really complicated original return. It involved, among other things, a Schedule K-1 from an S-corp.

Yes, I know that many tax prep programs allow you to override the process, and just enter data directly on the form. But then you can' t rely on the underlying calculations. You might as well just do it by hand.

I didn't do the 1040X by hand with a pen. But I used the IRS fill-in PDF. And I think that was a lot easier than entering the entire original return, or trying to force the numbers on a 1040X in my software.

Three columns are not required. On a purely logical or theoretical level, I have to concede that only one column is really necessary. An amended return only needs to report the correct figures. The tax authority already knows what was on the original return (Column A), and their software can determine the difference (Column B).

By the principle of Occam's Razor, the first two columns are just excess baggage.

But for those of us who have been around awhile, the three-column 1040X has an esthetic quality to it that you just don't get with only one or two columns.

You can read my ridiculous rant from seven months ago here:

http://www.thetaxbook.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17041

In the title of my post, I suggested that the short life of the federal 1040X with only one column was analogous to the "New Coke." While the form was active, the IRS claimed that it was a "new and improved version."

BMK

[S T]

Federal 1040X

I believe it was for the 2009 Returns - IRS introduced that one column 1040X - I personally dislike it - and subsequently we are now back to the 3 column. It just makes more sense and is easier to follow.

Someone expects an IRS clerk to follow the original return and the differences to a one column 1040X correction - I don't think so. They can't even get the changes on a CP2000 notice correct when we submit.

I even had a complaint with my software - as all that is available in year 2009 returns is the one column 1040X - but they corrected it in the 2010 program.

So now for prior to 2010 I pull up the PDF 3 column for 2009 online and have to complete it - once I have the info from my tax software program - defeats the purpose right?

If IRS wants us to go all electronic - then I say we should be able to file 1040X electronically - with document PDF's or documents to follow.

Sandy

[Lion]

Amendments

To Koss and others struggling with amendments when the original is not in your software. Do NOT enter the original in your software as if you did it, spending all that time in data entry for complex issues that were wrong and especially not for errors that you can't force-feed into your software anyway. Instead, do the return correctly in your software as if you're doing the original but correct return. Then call up your 1040X but do NOT let it transfer the info to column A; keep your info as column C since that's the correct return. Just type in the few numbers you need in column A, copying from your new client's incorrect original return. If you have to override, you're overriding the old incorrect info to column A. Your column C was correctly prepared by you with the help of your software and reflects all the correct information you want to rollover to next year.

[David1980]

So now for prior to 2010 I pull up the PDF 3 column for 2009 online and have to complete it - once I have the info from my tax software program - defeats the purpose right?

The PDF 3 column for 2009? I think you just mean the current 1040-X. They don't keep prior years of 1040-X on the IRS website because the current is generic enough to apply to prior years as well - it doesn't exactly have a year. In general, they omit the tax year on forms where it doesn't matter, so stuff like 8332, W-7, 1040-X. Pretty sure it wasn't until December that they went back from the 1 column to the 3 column in 2010.

So at that point, many of the software companies would have considered it a closed year. Many, but not all. TaxWorks for example I've seen updates come down for prior years for several years, I don't know when they stop updating prior product (if ever)? But a lot of others you get your final release in the summer and that's the end of the story for that year. I imagine a lot of software still has the 1-column version in the 2009 product.

[S T]

Not IRS Form

Sorry I didn't mean to add confusion - I was referring to my Tax Software - Which happens to be TaxWorks - and the the last time I checked they did not update 2009 software 1040X form to go back to the 3 Column 1040X - it is the one column Form that we all complained about. I sent a special request to Tech and Rep - but to no avail.

I had several of these to work through to correspond with CP 2000 notices ( for 2009 Returns) and it was a PITA - the 3 column form is much easier to follow. But then that is my opinion and what I am used to. So I retrieved the IRS current form which now is back to the 3 column.

TW 2010 has the 3 column form.

Sandy

[Gary2]

...what I am used to.

In the software industry, this is known as "first system syndrome." Many of the people who have strong MS Windows versus Mac versus Other preferences have it for no other reason than it was the first system they learned. Likewise with MS Office 2003 versus 2007/2010, choice of tax prep software, microwave ovens that do or don't require pushing a button before entering the time, etc. It's an incredibly strong psychological phenomenon.

I'll admit to frequently giving into it myself, but I also, at times, try to force myself to give the new way a chance. Fortunately, I had the experience of the MA amendment process, which, like VA, uses the original return paperwork (but with a cover sheet instead of a check box).

The more I think about it, the more I think the IRS is still missing the boat. As I said before, the real problem isn't the number of columns but that the lines don't match up to entries on the original. The 1040-X starts with AGI, so that the entire first page of the 1040 is omitted. So things like moving entries between line 21 and self-employment, or reclassifying interest between taxable and non-taxable (especially if no Sch. B required), or worse, reclassifying dividends as qualifying, etc. simply don't show up on any of the forms normally required. If, like me, you make the changes first and then write up the explanation, and your software won't simultaneously generate both the 1040-X and a dummy 1040, you still have a bear of a time documenting all of the changes.