Attachments to Form 1040X

[robertdcpa]

Part III of Form 1040X says to attach supporting documents and "new or changed forms or schedules". If amending a 2015 Form 1040 to include Form 5329 to take advantage of an exception for additional tax on early IRA distributions, obviously the Form 5329 is a "new" form so that would be attached to the Form 1040X. But this amendment also changes Form 1040 page 2 amounts (from the Other Taxes section forward - no changes to amounts before that section and no changes to page 1 amounts). So, my questions are:

1. Does Form 1040 page 2 (or both Form 1040 pages) need to be attached since it is a "changed" form?

2. If Form 1040 page 2 (or both Form 1040 pages) should be attached, does taxpayer need to sign and date it, or just sign and date the Form 1040X?

3. If attached, should anything be written on it? For example, something like "Original Return Previously Filed. For Illustrative Purposes Only Showing Impact of Amendment on Previously Filed Form 1040."

Thank you in advance for any replies.

[Burke]

I am assuming from your post that the IRA distribution was shown on the original return since you indicate the only change to Page 2 was to Other Taxes. (i.e, 10% penalty.) Did the taxpayer receive any correspondence from the IRS regarding this? What tax year is involved? You should not attach a corrected 1040. That only confuses things. Form 1040X is sufficient showing the changes on Page 1 and explanation on Page 2 along with the 5329. (Changes to supplemental schedules like A, C, D, etc would have to be attached.)

[robertdcpa]

Tax year 2015. The distributions were included in income. No correspondence from IRS. Taxpayer paid the 10% additional tax on the early distributions, so taxpayer wasn't expecting any IRS correcpondence. Now taxpayer is filing amended return to claim one of the early distribution exceptions and requesting refund of previous 10% paid.

[Kram BergGold]

Do as Burke Said

Do not attach Form 1040.

[Rapid Robert]

Do not attach Form 1040.

On the other hand, no harm if you do. I have always attached 1040 if it changed, per instructions, it's never been a problem. Simply make sure that it says "Amended" at the top of page 1 (my software puts the text there automatically), I also stamp in the signature area something like "Amended - do not process", which is to avoid the problem of IRS trying to process the revised 1040 as if it were original. (My software also supports putting free-form text anywhere on the printed form, so I don't have to do this by hand).

Line 10 in particular on the 1040X can be difficult to understand without the supporting detail of the actual Form 1040. I think this is in fact the situation of the OP.

If you are going to attach a Form 1040, definitely attach both pages. I think I had one problem once with a Schedule E on an amended return, the IRS insisted that I had to provide page 2 even though it was completely blank. (I now see "no data for page 2" or something like that print on my Schedule Es these days).

[kathyc2]

It's a matter of personal preference. When amending I always include the 2 pages of 1040 and write on top "as amended", along with any changed schedules and forms. Have never had a problem with doing it this way.