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OT: 1040X and TurboTax (long) Posted by MI-Roger [Email]  (#882) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from MI-Roger) on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 03:48:26
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I guess I deserve this torment by making a foolish mistake on my original 1040 last week (I found another 1099-DIV the day after I e-filed my returns!). As easy as TurboTax is for completing a regular 1040 with all its attached schedules, it is just as clumsy when generating a 1040-X.
For anyone who has never had experience with a 1040-X, it is used to report & correct errors on a previous tax return and might be the easiest tax form the IRS has ever devised. More irony for the problems I experienced. The 1040-X basically consists of three colums of data; a column showing the key totals and sub-totals from your original return, a column showing what these same items should have been, a column showing the difference between the values (if any) in the other two columns, and a free form box where you briefly explain what bone-headed mistake you made.
My recommendations for anyone else who finds themselves in the same position I did this tax year:
1) Open your original return, then do a "save as" to save this return with a different name indicating it is the ammended or corrected return, then save and close.
2) Open this ammended return, make the necessary corrections,, then save and close.
3) Open your amended return with the TurboTax command idicating you want to make an ammendment.
Now for the tricky part. TurboTax will ask you two different questions, on two different screens, that look confusingly similar. It will ask you if the file contains your corrected information, Yes or No. On the following screen it asks you if the file contains your original information, Yes or No. You must answer Yes to one quesiton and No to the other, but there is no double-check logic in TurboTax to verify your responses. Improper answers will give WILD results on the 1040-X!
Since you opened the file with your corrections, answer Yes to the screen asking if the file contains your corrected data, and No to the other question.
TurboTax will then display the data fields for half dozen or so key totals and sub-totals on the original 1040, but these data fields will contain the values from the ammended return. (Confused?) Change the appropriate values to match your original return. Submit your explanation in the box povided when prompted, and you are done!
I am embarrassed to say how long I required to learn the undocumented nuances of how TurboTax generates a 1040-X. Hopefully my expereinces will help others.
posted by 198.208.25...
_______________________________________ Saabs owned: 2008 9-5 Aero Sedan, sold at 227K miles 2006 9-3SC 2.0T - Wife's daily driver 2000 Viggen Convertible - Sold May, 2022 1964 Quantum IV Formula Car - Retirement project 2000 9-5lpt Sedan, sold at 318K miles
, Mon, 16 Feb 2009 03:48:26 <-- Viewing This Message
, Mon, 16 Feb 2009 07:52:53, Mon, 16 Feb 2009 07:57:13, Mon, 16 Feb 2009 08:04:12, Wed, 18 Feb 2009 07:42:21
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