U.S. Individual Income Tax Return

Instructions for Form 1040X

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

(Rev. January 2019)

Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless
otherwise noted.
Contents

Future Developments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
What's New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
General Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Purpose of Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Interest and Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
When To File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Special Situations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tracking Your Amended Return . . . . . . . . . .
Special Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Calendar or Fiscal Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Name, Current Address, and Social Security
Number (SSN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Amended Return Filing Status . . . . . . . . . . .
Lines 1 Through 30—Which Lines To
Complete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Columns A Through C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income and Deductions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 1—Adjusted Gross Income . . . . . . .
Line 2—Itemized Deductions or Standard
Deduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 4a—Exemptions (for years before
2018 only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Form 1040EZ Filers—Lines 2 and 4a
(amended returns for years prior to
2018 only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 5—Taxable Income . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tax Liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 6—Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 7—Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 9—Health Care: Individual
Responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 10—Other Taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 12—Withholding . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 13—Estimated Tax Payments . . . .
Line 14—Earned Income Credit (EIC) . .
Line 15—Refundable Credits . . . . . . . . .
Line 16—Amount Paid With Extension or
Tax Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 17—Total Payments . . . . . . . . . . .
Refund or Amount You Owe . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 18—Overpayment . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 19—Amount Available To Pay
Additional Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 20—Amount You Owe . . . . . . . . . .
Line 22—Overpayment Received as
Refund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Feb 22, 2019

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Contents

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Line 23—Overpayment Applied to
Estimated Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 29—Exemption Amount (for years
before 2018 only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 30—Dependents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Calendar or Fiscal Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Name, Current Address, and Social Security
Number (SSN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Amended Return Filing Status . . . . . . . . . . .
Lines 1 Through 30—Which Lines To
Complete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Columns A Through C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income and Deductions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 1—Adjusted Gross Income . . . . . . .
Line 2—Itemized Deductions or Standard
Deduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 4a—Exemptions (for years before
2018 only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Form 1040EZ Filers—Lines 2 and 4a
(amended returns for years prior to
2018 only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 5—Taxable Income . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tax Liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 6—Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 7—Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 9—Health Care: Individual
Responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 10—Other Taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 12—Withholding . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 13—Estimated Tax Payments . . . .
Line 14—Earned Income Credit (EIC) . .
Line 15—Refundable Credits . . . . . . . . .
Line 16—Amount Paid With Extension or
Tax Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 17—Total Payments . . . . . . . . . . .
Refund or Amount You Owe . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 18—Overpayment . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 19—Amount Available To Pay
Additional Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 20—Amount You Owe . . . . . . . . . .
Line 22—Overpayment Received as
Refund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 23—Overpayment Applied to
Estimated Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Part I—Exemptions and Dependents . . . . . . . . .
Line 29—Exemption Amount (for years
before 2018 only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Line 30—Dependents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Cat. No. 11362H

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Contents

Part II—Presidential Election Campaign Fund
Part III—Explanation of Changes . . . . . . . . .
Paid Preparer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Assembling Your Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Where To File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Paperwork Reduction Act Notice . . . . . . . . .

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business income from your qualified trade or business, plus 20%
of your qualified real estate investment trust (REIT) dividends
and qualified publicly traded partnership (PTP) income. The
deduction can be taken in addition to your standard deduction or
itemized deductions. For more information, see the instructions
for line 4b and Pub. 535.

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New rules for eligible gains invested in Qualified Opportunity Funds. Beginning in 2018, if you have an eligible gain, you
can invest that gain in a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QO Fund)
and elect to defer part or all of the gain that is otherwise
includible in income. The gain is deferred until you sell or
exchange the investment or December 31, 2026, whichever is
earlier. You may also be able to permanently exclude gain from
the sale or exchange of an investment in a QO Fund if the
investment is held for at least 10 years. For information about
what types of gains entitle you to elect these special rules, see
the Instructions for Schedule D and the 2018 Form 8949
instructions on how to elect to use these special rules.

Future Developments

For the latest information about developments related to Form
1040X and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after they
were published, go to IRS.gov/Form1040X.

What's New
Forms 1040A and 1040EZ were retired in 2018. In 2018,
Forms 1040A and 1040EZ were retired and weren’t available to
file your 2018 taxes. References to Forms 1040A and 1040EZ in
these instructions are restricted to tax years before 2018.

Changes to itemized deductions. For 2018, there have been
changes to the itemized deductions that can be claimed on
Schedule A. These include:
• Your itemized deductions are no longer limited if your
adjusted gross income is over a certain amount.
• Your deduction for state and local income, sales, and property
taxes is limited to a combined, total deduction of $10,000
($5,000 if married filing separately).
• You can no longer deduct job-related expenses or other
miscellaneous itemized deductions that were subject to the
2%-of-adjusted-gross-income floor.
See the Schedule A instructions for more information on
these changes and a complete list of changes.

Change in tax rates. For 2018, most tax rates have been
reduced. The 2018 tax rates are 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%,
35%, and 37%.
Standard deduction amount increased in 2018. For 2018,
the standard deduction amount has been increased for all filers.
The amounts are:
• Single or Married filing separately—$12,000.
• Married filing jointly or Qualifying widow(er)—$24,000.
• Head of household—$18,000.
Personal exemption not available in 2018. For 2018, you
can’t claim a personal exemption for yourself, your spouse, or
your dependents.

Section 965 deferred foreign income. Beginning in 2018, if
you own (directly or indirectly) certain foreign corporations, you
may have to include on your return certain deferred foreign
income. For 2018, you may pay the entire amount of tax due with
respect to this deferred foreign income in 2018 or elect to make
payment in eight installments or, in the case of certain stock
owned through an S corporation, elect to defer payment until
occurrence of a triggering event. See the instructions for Form
1040, line 11a; Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 21; Schedule 5
(Form 1040), line 74; Form 965; Form 965-A; and Pub. 5292 for
more information.

Increased child tax credit and additional child tax credit in
2018. For 2018, the maximum child tax credit is increased to
$2,000 per qualifying child, of which $1,400 can be claimed for
the additional child tax credit. In addition, the modified adjusted
gross income threshold at which the credit begins to phase out
has increased to $200,000 ($400,000 if married filing jointly). If
your child isn’t a qualifying child for the child tax credit, you may
be able to claim the new credit for other dependents for that
child.

Combat-Injured Veterans Tax Fairness Act of 2016. The
Combat-Injured Veterans Tax Fairness Act of 2016 gives certain
veterans who received disability severance payments after
January 17, 1991, additional time to file claims for a credit or
refund relating to overpayments attributable to these payments.
Veterans affected by this legislation should have received a
notice from the Department of Defense. For more information,
see Retroactive determination of nontaxable disability severance
payments under When To File, later.

Social security number (SSN) required for child tax credit
beginning in 2018. Your child must have an SSN valid for
employment issued before the due date of your 2018 return
(including extensions) to be claimed as a qualifying child for the
child tax credit or additional child tax credit on that return. If your
child doesn’t qualify for the child tax credit but has a taxpayer
identification number issued on or before the due date of your
2018 return (including extensions), you may be able to claim the
new credit for other dependents for that child on your 2018
return.

Expired tax benefits. At the time these instructions went to
print, some tax benefits had expired and weren’t available to be
claimed on your 2018 return. These include the deduction for
qualified tuition and fees, the mortgage insurance premium
deduction, and the nonbusiness energy property credit. To find
out if legislation extended any of these provisions so you can
claim them on your 2018 return or amended 2018 return, go to
IRS.gov/Form1040.

New credit for other dependents. Beginning in 2018, a new
credit of up to $500 is available for each of your dependents who
don’t qualify for the child tax credit. See Who Qualifies as Your
Dependent in the 2018 Instructions for Form 1040 for more
information.
Domestic production activities. The domestic production
activities deduction was repealed as of the end of 2017. But if
you have a domestic production activities deduction from a
fiscal-year pass-through entity, you may be able to claim that
deduction on your 2018 return. See the instructions for your
2018 return for more information.

Extended due dates. Under certain circumstances, the due
date of your amended return might be extended. For details, see
Federally declared disasters and Combat zones and
contingency operations, later.

New qualified business income deduction. Beginning in
2018, you may be able to deduct up to 20% of your qualified
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Instructions for Form 1040X (Rev. January 2019)

Reminders

paid. Instead, file Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for
Abatement.

Qualified disaster retirement plan distributions. If you
suffered an economic loss in calendar year 2016 or 2017 as a
result of an event determined by the President to be a major
disaster under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, your qualified disaster
distributions may be eligible for favorable tax treatment.
However, any distributions you receive in excess of the
$100,000 qualified 2016 disaster distribution limit or of the
separate $100,000 qualified 2017 disaster distribution limits for
California wildfires and for certain hurricanes may be subject to
the additional tax on early distributions. See Pub. 976, Disaster
Relief, and Form 8915A or 8915B and their instructions, as
applicable, for more information on reporting qualified disaster
distributions.

Don’t file Form 1040X to request a refund of your share of a
joint overpayment that was offset against a past-due obligation
of your spouse. Instead, file Form 8379, Injured Spouse
Allocation. But if you are filing Form 1040X to request an
additional refund after filing Form 8379, see Injured spouse
claim under Special Situations, later.

Interest and Penalties
Interest. The IRS will charge you interest on taxes not paid by
their due date, even if you had an extension of time to file. The
IRS will also charge you interest on penalties imposed for failure
to file, negligence, fraud, substantial valuation misstatements,
substantial understatements of income tax, and reportable
transaction understatements. Interest is charged on the penalty
from the due date of the return (including extensions).

General Instructions

Penalty for late payment of tax. If you don’t pay the additional
tax due on Form 1040X within 21 calendar days from the date of
notice and demand for payment (10 business days from that
date if the amount of tax is $100,000 or more), the penalty is
usually 1/2 of 1% of the unpaid amount for each month or part of
a month the tax isn’t paid. The penalty can be as much as 25%
of the unpaid amount and applies to any unpaid tax on the
return. This penalty is in addition to interest charges on late
payments. You won’t have to pay the penalty if you can show
reasonable cause for not paying your tax on time.

When you file Form 1040X for a tax year, it becomes your new
tax return for that year. It changes your original return to include
new information. The entries you make on Form 1040X under
the column headings Correct amount and Correct number or
amount are the entries you would have made on your original
return had it been done correctly.
Many find the easiest way to figure the entries for Form

TIP 1040X is to first make the changes in the margin of the
return you are amending.

Penalty for erroneous claim for refund or credit. If you file a
claim for refund or credit in excess of the correct amount, you
may have to pay a penalty equal to 20% of the disallowed
amount, unless you had reasonable cause for the claim. The
penalty won’t be figured on any part of the disallowed amount of
the claim on which accuracy-related or fraud penalties are
charged.

To complete Form 1040X, you will need:
• Form 1040X and these separate instructions;
• A copy of the return you are amending (for example, 2016
Form 1040), including supporting forms, schedules, and any
worksheets you completed;
• Notices from the IRS on any adjustments to that return; and
• Instructions for the return you are amending. If you don't have
the instructions, you can find them online at IRS.gov/Forms. If
you are amending a prior year return, click on the link for prior
year instructions under “Other Options.” You can also order
paper copies of the instructions for your return at IRS.gov/
OrderForms or by calling 800-829-3676.

Penalty for frivolous return. In addition to any other penalties,
the law imposes a penalty of $5,000 for filing a frivolous return. A
frivolous return is one that doesn’t contain information needed to
figure the correct tax or shows a substantially incorrect tax
because you take a frivolous position or desire to delay or
interfere with the tax laws. This includes altering or striking out
the preprinted language above the space where you sign. For a
list of positions identified as frivolous, see Notice 2010-33,
2010-17 I.R.B. 609, available at IRS.gov/IRB/
2010-17_IRB#NOT-2010-33.

Purpose of Form

Use Form 1040X to do the following.
• Correct Forms 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ, 1040NR, or
1040NR-EZ.
• Make certain elections after the prescribed deadline (see
Regulations sections 301.9100-1 through -3 for details).
• Change amounts previously adjusted by the IRS. However,
don’t include any interest or penalties on Form 1040X; they will
be adjusted accordingly.
• Make a claim for a carryback due to a loss or unused credit.
However, you may be able to use Form 1045, Application for
Tentative Refund, instead of Form 1040X. For more information,
see Loss or credit carryback under When To File, later, and the
discussion on carryback claims under Special Situations, later.

Other penalties. Other penalties can be imposed for
negligence, substantial understatement of income tax,
reportable transaction understatements, and fraud. See Pub. 17,
Your Federal Income Tax, for more information.

When To File

File Form 1040X only after you have filed your original return.
Generally, for a credit or refund, you must file Form 1040X within
3 years (including extensions) after the date you filed your
original return or within 2 years after the date you paid the tax,
whichever is later. If you filed your original return early (for
example, March 1 for a calendar year return), your return is
considered filed on the due date (generally April 15). However, if
you had an extension to file (for example, until October 15) but
you filed earlier and we received it July 1, your return is
considered filed on July 1. The time limit for filing Form 1040X
can be suspended for certain people who are physically or
mentally unable to manage their financial affairs. For details, see
Pub. 556, Examination of Returns, Appeal Rights, and Claims for
Refund.

File a separate Form 1040X for each year you are amending.
If you are changing your federal return, you also may need to
change your state return.
If you file Form 1040X claiming a refund or credit for
more than the correct amount, you may be subject to a
CAUTION penalty of 20% of the disallowed amount. See Penalty
for erroneous claim for refund or credit under Interest and
Penalties, later.

!

Don’t file Form 1040X if you are requesting a refund of
penalties and interest or an addition to tax that you have already
Instructions for Form 1040X (Rev. January 2019)

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eliminated the option for most taxpayers to carry back a net
operating loss (NOL). Most taxpayers can only carry NOLs
arising from tax years ending after 2017 to a later year. An
exception applies to certain farming losses. See section 172(b)
or Pub. 225, Farmer's Tax Guide, for more information.

Don’t file more than one original return for the same
year, even if you haven’t received your refund or haven’t
CAUTION heard from the IRS since you filed. Filing more than one
original return for the same year, or sending in more than one
copy of the same return (unless we ask you to do so), could
delay your refund.

!

Write “Carryback Claim” at the top of page 1 of Form

TIP 1040X if you are claiming a loss or credit carryback.

Federally declared disasters. If you were affected by a
federally declared disaster you may have additional time to file
your amended return. If you were affected by Hurricane Michael
and your amended return was due on or after October 9, 2018,
and before February 28, 2019, you may have until February 28,
2019, to file your amended return. If you were affected by
Hurricane Florence and your amended return was due on or
after September 7, 2018, and before January 31, 2019, you may
have until January 31, 2019, to file your amended return. For
details, see Help for Victims of Hurricane Michael and Help for
Victims of Hurricane Florence. If you were affected by the
California wildfires that took place beginning on November 8,
2018, and your amended return was due on or after November
8, 2018, and before April 30, 2019; you may have until April 30,
2019, to file your amended return. See Tax relief for victims of
November 8 wildfires in California.

Reducing a casualty loss deduction after receiving hurricane-related grant. You must file Form 1040X by the due date
(as extended) for filing your tax return for the tax year in which
you received the grant. For more information, see
Reimbursement received for hurricane-related casualty loss
under Special Situations, later.
Retroactive determination of nontaxable disability severance payments. The Combat-Injured Veterans Tax Fairness
Act of 2016 gives certain veterans who received disability
severance payments after January 17, 1991, additional time to
file claims for credit or refund to recover overpayments
attributable to their disability severance payments. Veterans
affected by this legislation should have received a notice in July
2018 from the Department of Defense (DoD) reporting the
amount of disability severance payments. For more information
about filing a claim using Form 1040X even if you haven’t
received a notice, see Disability severance payments to
veterans under Special Situations, later.

Combat zones and contingency operations. The due date
for your amended return may be automatically extended when
you are in, or are hospitalized as a result of injuries sustained in,
a combat zone or contingency operation. For more details, see
Are There Filing, Tax Payment, and Other Extensions
Specifically for Those in a Combat Zone or a Contingency
Operation? in Pub. 3, Armed Forces' Tax Guide.

Special Situations

Bad debt or worthless security. A Form 1040X based on a
bad debt or worthless security generally must be filed within 7
years after the due date of the return for the tax year in which the
debt or security became worthless. For more details, see
section 6511.

!

You must attach all appropriate forms and schedules to
Form 1040X or it will be returned.

CAUTION

Many amended returns deal with situations that have special
qualifications or special rules that must be followed. The items
that follow give you this specialized information so your
amended return can be filed and processed correctly.

Foreign tax credit or deduction. A Form 1040X to claim or
change a foreign tax credit or deduction for foreign taxes
generally must be filed within 10 years from the due date for
filing the return (without regard to any extension of time to file)
for the year in which the foreign taxes were actually paid or
accrued. For details, see Pub. 514, Foreign Tax Credit for
Individuals. This extended period for filing Form 1040X applies
only to amounts affected by changes in your foreign tax credit or
deduction.
The computation of the foreign tax credit changed in some
ways in 2018. See the Instructions for Form 1116 for more
information.
If you are filing Form 1040X to carry back your unused foreign
tax credit, follow the procedures under Loss or credit carryback
next.

Only the special procedures are given here. Unless
otherwise stated, you still must complete all appropriate
CAUTION lines on Form 1040X, as discussed under Line
Instructions, later.

!

Additional Medicare Tax. Beginning in 2013, a 0.9%
Additional Medicare Tax applies to Medicare wages, railroad
retirement (RRTA) compensation, and self-employment income
that are more than:
• $125,000 if married filing separately,
• $250,000 if married filing jointly, or
• $200,000 for any other filing status.
If your Medicare wages, RRTA compensation, or
self-employment income is adjusted, you may need to correct
your liability, if any, for Additional Medicare Tax. When
correcting Additional Medicare Tax liability, attach to Form
1040X a corrected Form 8959, and, if correcting Medicare
wages or RRTA compensation, attach Form W-2, Wage and Tax
Statement, or Form W-2c, Corrected Wage and Tax Statement.
For more information, see the Instructions for Form 8959.

Loss or credit carryback. File either Form 1040X or Form
1045 to apply for a refund based on either an overpayment of tax
due to a claim of right adjustment under section 1341(b)(1) or
the carryback of a net operating loss, an unused general
business credit, or a net section 1256 contracts loss. If you use
Form 1040X, see the special instructions for carryback claims in
these instructions under Special Situations, later. A Form 1040X
based on a net operating loss or capital loss carryback or a
credit carryback generally must be filed within 3 years (10 years
for carryback of foreign tax credit or deduction) after the due
date of the return (including extensions) for the tax year of the
net operating loss, capital loss, or unused credit. If you use Form
1045, you must file the claim within 1 year after the end of the
year in which the loss, credit, or claim of right adjustment arose.
For more details, see the Instructions for Form 1045.
Net operating losses after 2017. Beginning with 2018
returns, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), section 13302,

Airline payments. Qualified airline employees (which include
former employees or surviving spouses but not covered
executives) who received an airline payment(s) can exclude
from gross income a portion of any payment(s) received by
rolling over that amount to a traditional IRA. The maximum
amount that can be rolled over or transferred to a traditional IRA
is 90% of the total airline payment(s) received.
Generally, the rollover or transfer to a traditional IRA must
have been done within 180 days of receipt of the airline
payment. But, if the airline payment was made under the
approval of an order of a Federal bankruptcy court in a case filed
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Instructions for Form 1040X (Rev. January 2019)

The loss deduction is subject to the $100 limit per casualty and
10% of your adjusted gross income (AGI) limitation.

on November 29, 2011, you could have rolled over the airline
payment within the period beginning on December 18, 2014,
and ending on June 15, 2016. For more information on airline
payments, see Pub. 590-A, Contributions to Individual
Retirement Arrangements (IRAs).
To exclude an airline payment from gross income, you must
file a Form 1040X for the tax year in which the airline payment
was received and included in your gross income. Be sure to
include this reason for filing a Form 1040X with your explanation
in Part III.

An exception to the rule above limiting the personal
casualty and theft loss deduction to losses attributable to
CAUTION a federally declared disaster applies if you have
personal casualty gains for the tax year. In this case, you will
reduce your personal casualty gains by any casualty losses not
attributable to a federally declared disaster. Any excess gain is
used to reduce losses from a federally declared disaster. The
10% AGI limitation is applied to any remaining losses attributable
to a federally declared disaster. For more information, see the
Instructions for Form 4684. Also see Pub. 547.

!

Carryback claim—net operating loss (NOL). Enter
“Carryback Claim” at the top of page 1 of Form 1040X. Attach a
computation of your NOL using Schedule A (Form 1045) and a
computation of any NOL carryover using Schedule B (Form
1045). A refund based on an NOL doesn’t include a refund of
self-employment tax reported on Form 1040X, line 10. Interest
won’t be paid on any NOL refund shown on an amended return
processed within 45 days of receipt. For details, see Pub. 536,
Net Operating Losses (NOLs) for Individuals, Estates and
Trusts.
Net operating losses after 2017. Beginning with 2018
returns, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), section 13302,
eliminated the option for most taxpayers to carry back a net
operating loss (NOL). Most taxpayers can only carry NOLs
arising from tax years ending after 2017 to a later year. An
exception applies to certain farming losses. See section 172(b)
or Pub. 225, Farmer's Tax Guide, for more information.

Deceased taxpayer. If filing Form 1040X for a deceased
taxpayer, enter “Deceased,” the deceased taxpayer's name, and
the date of death across the top of Form 1040X, page 1.
If you are filing a joint return as a surviving spouse, enter
“Filing as surviving spouse” in the area where you sign the
return. If someone else is the personal representative, he or she
must also sign.
Claiming a refund for a deceased taxpayer. If you are
filing a joint return as a surviving spouse, you only need to file
Form 1040X to claim the refund. If you are a court-appointed
personal representative or any other person claiming the refund,
file Form 1040X and attach Form 1310, Statement of Person
Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer, and any other
information required by its instructions. For more details, see
Pub. 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators.

Carryback claim—credits and other losses. Enter
“Carryback Claim” at the top of page 1 of Form 1040X. Attach
copies of the following.
• Both pages of Form 1040 and Schedules A and D, if
applicable, for the year in which the loss or credit originated.
Enter “Attachment to Form 1040X—Copy Only—Do Not
Process” at the top of these forms.
• Any Schedules K-1 you received from any partnership, S
corporation, estate, or trust for the year of the loss or credit that
contributed to the loss or credit carryback.
• Any form or schedule from which the carryback results, such
as Form 3800, General Business Credit; Form 1116, Foreign
Tax Credit (Individual, Estate, or Trust); Form 6781, Gains and
Losses From Section 1256 Contracts and Straddles; Form 4684,
Casualties and Thefts; or Schedule C or F (Form 1040).
• Forms or schedules for items refigured in the carryback year,
such as Form 6251, Alternative Minimum Tax—Individuals;
Form 3800; Schedule A (Form 1040); or Form 8962.

Disability severance payments to veterans. The
Combat-Injured Veterans Tax Fairness Act of 2016 gives certain
veterans who received disability severance payments after
January 17, 1991, additional time to file claims for credit or
refund to recover tax overpayments attributable to their disability
severance payments. Veterans affected by this legislation
should have received a notice in July 2018 from the Department
of Defense (DoD) reporting the amount of disability severance
payments.
Most veterans who received a one-time disability severance
payment when they separated from their military service should
have received a notice in July 2018 from the Department of
Defense with information explaining how to claim tax refunds
they are entitled to; the letters include an explanation of a
simplified method for making the claim. The IRS has worked
closely with the DoD to produce these letters, explaining how
veterans should claim the related tax refunds.
Statute of Limitations. The amount of time for claiming
these tax refunds is limited. However, the law grants veterans an
alternative timeframe – one year from the date the letter is
received. Veterans making these claims have the normal
limitations period for claiming a refund or one year from the date
the letter is received, whichever expires later. This alternative
one year time frame is especially important because the normal
deadline is the later of 3 years after filing the original return or 2
years after paying the tax and claims may date as far back as
1991.
Amount to Claim. Veterans can submit a claim based on the
actual amount of their disability severance payment by
completing Form 1040X, carefully following the instructions.
However, there is a simplified method. Veterans can choose
instead to claim a standard refund amount based on the
calendar year (an individual’s tax year) in which they received
the severance payment. Write “Disability Severance Payment”
on line 15 of Form 1040X and enter on lines 15 and 22 the
standard refund amount listed below that applies:
• $1,750 for tax years 1991 – 2005
• $2,400 for tax years 2006 – 2010
• $3,200 for tax years 2011 – 2016

Carryback claim—change in filing status. If you were
married and you didn’t have the same filing status (married filing
jointly or married filing separately) for all of the years involved in
figuring the loss or credit carryback, you may have to allocate
income, deductions, and credits. For details, see the publication
for the type of carryback you are claiming. For example, for NOL
carrybacks, see Pub. 536.
Casualty loss from a federally declared disaster. If you
have a casualty loss attributable to a federally declared disaster,
you may be able to elect to deduct the loss in the tax year
immediately before the loss occurred. This election must be
made by filing your return or amended return for the earlier year,
and claiming your disaster loss on it, no later than 6 months after
the due date for filing your original return (without extensions) for
the year in which the loss took place. For more information about
this election, see Rev. Proc. 2016-53, 2016-44 I.R.B. 530,
available at IRS.gov/IRB/2016-44_IRB#RP-2016-53, and the
Instructions for Form 4684.
Limitation on personal casualty and theft losses beginning
after 2017. Personal casualty and theft losses of an individual
sustained in a tax year beginning after 2017 are deductible only
to the extent they're attributable to a federally declared disaster.
Instructions for Form 1040X (Rev. January 2019)

-5-

the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt in a tax year after 2017, your Form
W-2 for that tax year will reflect the military pay exclusion.

Claiming the standard refund amount is the easiest way for
veterans to claim a refund, because they don’t need to access
the original tax return from the year of their disability severance
payment.
Special Instructions. All veterans claiming refunds for
overpayments attributable to their disability severance payments
should write either “Veteran Disability Severance” or “St. Clair
Claim” across the top of the front page of the Form 1040X that
they file. Because all amended returns are filed on paper,
veterans should mail their completed Form 1040X, with a copy
of the DoD letter, to:

Qualified reservist distributions. Reservists called to active
duty after September 11, 2001, can claim a refund of any 10%
additional tax paid on an early distribution from a qualified
retirement plan.
To make this claim:
• You must have been ordered or called to active duty after
September 11, 2001, for more than 179 days or for an indefinite
period,
• The distribution from a qualified retirement plan must have
been made on or after the date you were ordered or called to
active duty and before the close of your active duty period, and
• The distribution must have been from an IRA, or from
amounts attributable to elective deferrals under a section 401(k)
or 403(b) plan or a similar arrangement.
Eligible reservists should enter “Active Duty Reservist” at the
top of page 1 of Form 1040X. In Part III, include the date called
to active duty, the amount of the retirement distribution, and the
amount of the early distribution tax paid. For more information,
see Pub. 590-B for distributions from IRAs and Pub. 575 for
distributions from elective deferral plans.

Internal Revenue Service
333 W. Pershing, Stop 6503, P5
Kansas City, MO 64108
Veterans eligible for a refund who didn’t receive a letter from
DoD may still file Form 1040X to claim a refund but must include
both of the following to verify the disability severance payment:
• A copy of documentation showing the exact amount of and
reason for the disability severance payment, such as a letter
from the Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS)
explaining the severance payment at the time of the payment or
a Form DD-214, and
• A copy of either the VA determination letter confirming the
veteran’s disability or a determination that the veteran’s injury or
sickness was either incurred as a direct result of armed conflict,
while in extra-hazardous service, or in simulated war exercises,
or was caused by an instrumentality of war.
Veterans who did not receive the DoD letter and who don’t
have the required documentation showing the exact amount of
and reason for their disability severance payment will need to
obtain the necessary proof by contacting the National Archives,
National Personnel Records Center, or the Department of
Veterans Affairs. The Defense Finance and Accounting Services
(DFAS) provides additional information at www.dfas.mil/
dsp_irs.html.

Reimbursement received for hurricane-related casualty
loss. If you claimed a casualty loss on your main home resulting
from Hurricane Katrina, Rita, or Wilma, and later received a
qualified grant as reimbursement for that loss, you can file an
amended return for the year the casualty loss deduction was
claimed (and for any tax year to which the deduction was
carried) to reduce the casualty loss deduction (but not below
zero) by the amount of the reimbursement. To qualify, your grant
must have been issued under Public Law 109-148, 109-234, or
110-116. Examples of qualified grants are the Louisiana Road
Home Grants and the Mississippi Development Authority
Hurricane Katrina Homeowner Grants.
At the top of page 1 of Form 1040X, enter “Hurricane Grant
Relief” in dark, bold letters. Include the following materials with
your amended return.
1. Proof of the amount of any hurricane relief grant received.
2. A completed Form 2848, if you wish to have your
designated representative speak with us. (Don’t include this if a
valid Form 2848 that covers the same tax year and tax matters is
already on file with the IRS.)

Household employment taxes. If you are correcting an error
in the employment taxes for household employees that you
reported on a Schedule H (Form 1040) previously filed with
Form 1040, 1040NR, or 1040-SS, attach a corrected
Schedule H (Form 1040) and include in Part III of Form 1040X
the date the error was discovered. If you filed Formulario
1040-PR, file a Form 1040X and attach a corrected Anexo H-PR.
If you owe tax, pay in full with this return. If you are changing the
wages paid to an employee for whom you filed Form W-2, you
must also file Form W-2c, Corrected Wage and Tax Statement,
and Form W-3c, Transmittal of Corrected Wage and Tax
Statements, with the Social Security Administration. For more
information, see Pub. 926, for the appropriate year.

Don’t include on Form 1040X any adjustments other
than the reduction of the casualty loss deduction if the
CAUTION period of limitations on assessment is closed for the tax
year in which you claimed the casualty loss deduction.
Generally, this period is closed if it is more than 3 years after the
return was filed and more than 2 years after the tax was paid.

!

Injured spouse claim. If you filed a Form 8379 and are filing a
Form 1040X to request an additional refund, and you don’t want
your portion of the overpayment to be applied (offset) against
your spouse's past-due obligation(s), complete and attach
another Form 8379 to allocate the additional refund.

Waiver of penalties and interest. If you pay the entire
balance due on your amended return within 1 year of timely filing
your amended return, no interest or penalties will be charged on
the balance due. Payments made after you file Form 1040X
should clearly designate that the payment is to be applied to
reduce the balance due shown on the Form 1040X.
Special rule for previously filed amended returns. In
order to receive the benefits discussed in this section, you must
notify the IRS if you previously filed an amended return based on
receiving one of the grants mentioned earlier. For instructions on
how to notify the IRS, see Notice 2008-95, 2008-44 I.R.B. 1076,
available at IRS.gov/IRB/2008-44_IRB#NOT-2008-95.

Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air
Force, and U.S. Coast Guard members who performed services
in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt may be eligible for combat zone
tax benefits retroactive to June 2015, under certain
circumstances. If you served in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt at
any time from June 9, 2015, through December 31, 2017, the
U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, or U.S. Coast Guard will
issue a Form W-2c to you that reflects the military pay exclusion.
You need to provide documentation to your service finance
office in order for them to issue the Form W-2c. Once you have
received your Form W-2c, you will need to file Form 1040X and
attach a copy of your Form W-2c. Enter “Sinai Peninsula of
Egypt” at the top of page 1 of your Form 1040X. If you served in

Relief for homeowners with corrosive drywall. If you
suffered property losses due to the effects of certain imported
drywall installed in homes between 2001 and 2009, you may be
able to file an amended return to claim a casualty loss for repairs

-6-

Instructions for Form 1040X (Rev. January 2019)

made to your personal residence or household appliances. For
further information on claiming this loss, see Pub. 547.

Special Instructions

For tax returns after 2017, because the personal
casualty losses claimed under this special procedure
CAUTION aren't attributable to a federally declared disaster,
they're only deductible to the extent such losses don't exceed
your personal casualty gains.

Line Instructions

!

Calendar or Fiscal Year

Above your name, check the box for the calendar year or enter
the other calendar year or fiscal year you are amending.

Resident and nonresident aliens. Use Form 1040X to amend
Form 1040NR or Form 1040NR-EZ. Also, use Form 1040X if you
should have filed Form 1040 (or, for years before 2018, Form
1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ) instead of Form 1040NR or
1040NR-EZ, or vice versa.
To amend Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ, or to file the correct
return, do the following:
• Enter your name, current address, and social security number
(SSN) or individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) on the
front of Form 1040X.
• Don’t enter any other information on page 1. Also, don’t
complete Parts I or II on page 2 of Form 1040X.
• Enter in Part III the reason why you are filing Form 1040X.
• Complete a new or corrected return (Form 1040, Form
1040NR, etc.).
• Across the top of the new or corrected return, write
“Amended.”
• Attach the new or corrected return to the back of Form 1040X.
For more information, see Pub. 519, U.S. Tax Guide for
Aliens.

Name, Current Address, and
Social Security Number (SSN)

If you and your spouse are amending a joint return, list your
names and SSNs in the same order as shown on the original
return. If you are changing from separate to a joint return and
your spouse didn’t file an original return, enter your name and
SSN first.
Change of address. If you have moved since you filed your
original return, enter your current address on Form 1040X.
P.O. box. Enter your box number only if your post office doesn’t
deliver mail to your home.
Foreign address. If you have a foreign address, enter the city
name on the appropriate line. Don’t enter any other information
on that line, but also complete the spaces below that line. Don’t
abbreviate the country name. Follow the country's practice for
entering the postal code and the name of the province, county,
or state.

Same-sex marriage. For federal tax purposes, marriages of
couples of the same sex are treated the same as marriages of
couples of the opposite sex. See Same-sex spouses under
Amended Return Filing Status, later.

Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) for aliens. If you don’t have an SSN, but you already have an ITIN,
enter it instead of an SSN. If you are a nonresident or resident
alien and you don’t have or aren’t eligible to get an SSN, you
must apply for an ITIN. It takes about 7 weeks to get an ITIN. For
more information on ITINs, including application, expiration, and
renewal, see Form W-7 and its instructions.

Signing your minor child's return. If your minor child can’t
sign the return, either parent can sign the child's name in the
space provided. Then, enter “By (your signature), parent for
minor child.”

Amended Return Filing Status

Tax shelters. If you are amending your return to disclose
information for a reportable transaction in which you
participated, attach Form 8886, Reportable Transaction
Disclosure Statement.

Check the box that corresponds to your filing status on this
return. If this is a change from the filing status on your original
return, the following information may apply to you.
Changing from separate to a joint return. Generally, if you
file a joint return, both you and your spouse (or former spouse)
have joint and several liability. This means both of you are
responsible for the tax reported on the return, as well as any
understatement of tax that may become due later, and any
associated interest or penalties. If one spouse doesn’t pay the
tax due, the other may have to. However, you may qualify for
innocent spouse relief. For details about innocent spouse relief,
see Form 8857 or Pub. 971.

Wrongfully incarcerated individuals. Certain amounts you
receive due to wrongful incarceration may be excluded from
gross income. If you included these amounts in income in a prior
year, you may be able to amend your return to claim a refund or
credit against your tax. For the latest information, go to IRS.gov/
individuals/wrongful-incarceration-faqs.

Tracking Your Amended Return

You should generally allow 8 to 12 weeks for Form 1040X to be
processed. However, in some cases, processing could take up
to 16 weeks. Use the Where's My Amended Return application
on IRS.gov to track the status of your amended return. It can
take up to 3 weeks from the date you mail it to show up in our
system. You will need to provide the following information.
• Your taxpayer identification number (for most taxpayers that is
their social security number).
• Your date of birth.
• Your ZIP code.

Same-sex spouses. You may amend a return, to change your
filing status to married filing separately or married filing jointly, if
you are lawfully married. Your amended return must be
consistent with the filing status you choose. You must file the
amended return before the expiration of the period of limitations.
See When To File, earlier.
Changing to head of household filing status. If the
qualifying person is a child but not your dependent, enter the
child's name and “QND” in Part III.
Generally, married people can’t file as head of
household. But for an exception, see Pub. 501,
CAUTION Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing
Information. For years after 2017, Pub. 501 is called
Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information.

!

Instructions for Form 1040X (Rev. January 2019)

-7-

payment. See Form 8965, Health Coverage Exemptions, and its
instructions, to determine if anyone in your household qualifies
for a coverage exemption. See Line 9—Health Care: Individual
Responsibility, later, to report a shared responsibility payment or
to change the amount of a shared responsibility payment
reported on your original return.

Full-year health care coverage (or, for 2018 amended returns only, exempt). Beginning in 2014, you must:
• Have qualifying health care coverage for every month of the
tax year for yourself, your spouse (if filing jointly), and anyone
you could or did claim as a dependent. You are treated as
having coverage for any month in which you have coverage for
at least 1 day of the month,
• Qualify for an exemption from the requirement to have health
care coverage, or
• Make a shared responsibility payment with your tax return.

!

Lines 1 Through 30—Which Lines To Complete

Before looking at the instructions for specific lines, the following
information may point you in the right direction for completing
Form 1040X.

See Report full-year health care coverage (or, for 2018
amended returns only, exempt) below.

You need information about income, deductions, etc. If you
have questions such as what income is taxable or what
expenses are deductible, the instructions for the form you are
amending should help. Also use those instructions to find the
method you should use to figure the correct tax. To get prior year
forms, schedules, and instructions, call 800-829-3676 or
download them from IRS.gov/FormsPubs.

CAUTION

If you had qualifying health care coverage (called minimum
essential coverage) for every month of the tax year for yourself,
your spouse (if filing jointly), and anyone you could or did claim
as a dependent, check the checkbox on this line.
You can check the checkbox even if:
• A dependent child who was born or adopted during the year
wasn’t covered by your insurance during the month of or months
before birth or adoption (but the child must have minimum
essential coverage for every month of the tax year following the
birth or adoption), or
• A spouse or dependent who died during the year wasn’t
covered by your insurance during the month of or months after
death (but he or she must have had minimum essential coverage
for every month of the tax year that he or she was alive).
Otherwise, leave the checkbox blank.

You are only changing information. If you aren’t changing
any dollar amounts you originally reported, but are changing
information, do the following.
• Check the box for the calendar year or enter the other
calendar or fiscal year you are amending.
• Complete name, current address, and SSN.
• Complete Part I, Exemptions and Dependents, on page 2, if
you are changing your exemption, or, for 2018, dependent,
information that doesn’t change any dollar amounts.
• Check a box in Part II, if applicable, for the Presidential
Election Campaign Fund.
• Complete Part III, Explanation of Changes.

If you are amending your return for a year prior to 2014,

TIP leave the checkbox blank. Also, leave the checkbox

blank if you are amending a Form 1040NR or Form
1040NR-EZ.

You are changing from separate to a joint return. If you and
your spouse are changing from separate returns to a joint return,
follow these steps.
1. Enter in column A the amounts from your return as
originally filed or as previously adjusted (either by you or the
IRS).
2. To determine the amounts to enter in column B, combine
the amounts from your spouse’s return as originally filed (or as
previously adjusted) with any other changes you or your spouse
are making. If your spouse didn’t file an original return, include
your spouse’s income, deductions, credits, other taxes, etc., in
the amounts you enter in column B.
3. Read the instructions for column C to figure the amounts
to enter in that column.
4. Both of you must sign and date Form 1040X.

Report full-year health care coverage (or, for 2018
amended returns only, exempt). Check the “Full-year health
care coverage (or, for 2018 amended returns only, exempt)” box
on the front of Form 1040X to indicate that you, your spouse (if
filing jointly), and anyone you can or do claim as a dependent
had qualifying health care coverage or a coverage exemption
that covered all of the tax year or a combination of qualifying
health care coverage and coverage exemption(s) for every
month of the tax year.
Note. The "(or, for 2018 amended returns only, exempt)" was
added to the checkbox on page 1 of Form 1040X to reflect the
change in the checkbox on the Form 1040, which added "or
exempt" after "Full-year health care coverage" in 2018. The
change in the Form 1040 was a clarification only. Exemptions
are still available for prior years' Forms 1040.
Taxpayers who can be claimed as a dependent. Leave
the checkbox blank if you can be claimed as a dependent by
another taxpayer. You don’t owe a shared responsibility
payment and don’t need to file Form 8965. To find out if
someone can claim you as a dependent, see Exemptions for
Dependents in Pub. 501 or, for 2018 only, Dependents in that
publication.
Minimum essential coverage. If you or someone in your
household had minimum essential coverage, the provider of that
coverage may have been required to send you a Form 1095-A,
1095-B, or 1095-C (with Part III completed) that lists individuals
in your household who were enrolled in coverage and shows the
months of their coverage. For more information on what qualifies
as minimum essential coverage, including whether you should
have received a Form 1095-A, 1095-B, or 1095-C, see the
instructions for the form and year you are amending.

!

CAUTION

You are changing amounts on your original return or as
previously adjusted by the IRS. Because Form 1040X can be
used for so many purposes, it is sometimes difficult to know
which part(s) of the form to fill out. Unless specific instructions
apply, follow the rules below.
• Always complete the top of page 1 through Full-year health
care coverage (or, for 2018 amended returns only, exempt).
• Complete the lines shown in the following chart according to
what you are changing.
• Check a box in Part II, if applicable, for the Presidential
Election Campaign Fund.
• Complete Part III, Explanation of Changes.
• Sign and date the form.

Columns A Through C
Column A. Enter the amounts from your original return.
However, if you previously amended that return or it was
changed by the IRS, enter the adjusted amounts.

If you can’t check the checkbox and you aren’t
amending a 2013 or earlier return or a Form 1040NR or
1040NR-EZ, you may owe a shared responsibility
-8-

Instructions for Form 1040X (Rev. January 2019)

Column B. Enter the net increase or decrease for each line
that you are changing.
Explain each change in Part III. If you need more space,
attach a statement. Attach any schedule or form relating to the
change. For example, attach Schedule A (Form 1040) if you are
amending Form 1040 to itemize deductions. If you are amending
your return because you received another Form W-2, attach a
copy of the new Form W-2. Don’t attach items unless required to
do so.

For tax year 2018 only
IF you are changing only...
Filing Status

Column C. To figure the amounts to enter in this column:
• Add the increase in column B to the amount in column A, or
• Subtract the decrease in column B from the amount in
column A.
For any item you don’t change, enter the amount from column
A in column C.
Note. Show any negative numbers (losses or decreases) in
columns A, B, or C in parentheses.
Example. Sheila originally reported $21,000 as her adjusted
gross income on her 2015 Form 1040. She received another
Form W-2 for $500 after she filed her return. She completes
line 1 of Form 1040X as follows.

Line 1

Col. A

Col. B

Col. C

21,000

500

21,500

Sheila would also report any additional federal income tax
withheld on line 12 in column B.

!

CAUTION

The personal exemption has been suspended beginning
in 2018. Also Forms 1040A and 1040EZ were retired
beginning in 2018.

Instructions for Form 1040X (Rev. January 2019)

-9-

THEN complete Form 1040X...
Lines 1–23

Exemption information and the
amount on line 29 is changing

N/A

Exemption information and the
amount on line 29 isn’t changing

N/A

Income:
1040, lines 1–5b; Schedule 1
(1040), lines 10–21

Lines 1–23

Adjustments to income:
Schedule 1 (1040), lines 23–33

Lines 1–23

Itemized or standard deductions:
1040, line 8

Lines 1–23

Qualified business income
deduction:
1040, line 9

Lines 4b–23

Tax before credits:
1040, lines 11a and 11b;
Schedule 2 (1040), lines 45 and
46

Lines 5–23

Nonrefundable credits:
1040, lines 12a and 12b;
Schedule 3 (1040), lines 48–51
and 53–54

Lines 6–23

Other taxes:
1040, line 14

Lines 6–23

Payments and refundable credits:
1040, lines 16a–16c; Schedule 5
(1040), line 65 and lines 70–74

Lines 11–23

For tax years before 2018 only
IF you are changing only...

THEN complete Form 1040X...

Filing status

Lines 1–23

Exemption information and the
amount on line 29 is changing

Lines 1–30

Exemption information and the
amount on line 29 isn’t changing

Lines 24–30

Income:
1040, lines 7–21
1040A, lines 7–14b
1040EZ, lines 1–3

Lines 1–23

Adjustments to income:
1040, lines 23–35*
1040A, lines 16–19

Lines 1–23

Itemized or standard deductions:
1040, line 40
1040A, line 24
1040EZ, line 5**

Lines 1–23

Tax before credits:
1040, lines 44, 45, and 46
1040A, lines 28 and 29
1040EZ, line 10

Lines 5–23

Nonrefundable credits:
1040, lines 48–54
1040A, lines 31–35

Lines 6–23

Other taxes:
1040, lines 57–62
1040A, line 38
1040EZ, line 11

Lines 6–23

Payments and refundable credits:
1040, lines 64–73
1040A, lines 40–45*
1040EZ, lines 7–8a*

Lines 11–23

* Plus any write-in amounts shown on the total line for the lines
indicated.
** The total on Form 1040EZ, line 5, combines personal exemptions
and the standard deduction. See Form 1040EZ Filers—Lines 2 and
4a, later.

-10-

Instructions for Form 1040X (Rev. January 2019)

Income and Deductions
Line 1—Adjusted Gross Income

4a (amended returns for years prior to 2018 only), later, for the
amount to enter. Remember that the standard deduction for all
years can be increased for the age and/or blindness of the
taxpayer(s).

Enter your adjusted gross income (AGI), which is the total of
your income minus certain deductions (adjustments). Any
change to the income or adjustments on the return you are
amending will be reflected on this line.

Line 4a—Exemptions (for years before 2018 only)

!

Use the following chart to find the corresponding line.

If amending a 2018 tax return, leave line 4a blank.

CAUTION

Enter on line 4a, column A, the amount from:
• The return you are amending (Form 1040, line 42; or Form
1040A, line 26), or
• The amount indicated under Form 1040EZ Filers—Lines 2
and 4a (amended returns for years prior to 2018 only), later, if
the return you are amending is Form 1040EZ.

THEN the corresponding line on
Form...
IF you are
amending tax year...

1040
is:

1040A
is:

1040EZ
is:

2018

7

N/A

N/A

2015 – 2017

37

21

4

Changing the number of exemptions claimed. You must
complete Part I, Exemptions and Dependents, on page 2 of
Form 1040X if:
• You are increasing or decreasing the number of dependents
you claim,
• You are claiming a personal exemption for you or your spouse
that you didn’t previously claim, or
• You are eliminating a personal exemption for you or your
spouse that you previously claimed, but weren’t entitled to claim.
If any of these situations apply to you, complete Form 1040X,
lines 24 through 30. You may have to complete other lines as
well.
Multiply the total number of exemptions claimed by the
amount shown in the following table for the year you are
amending. However, if the amount on line 1 of Form 1040X is
more than $150,000, first see Who must use the Deduction for
Exemptions Worksheet below.

A change you make to your AGI can cause other amounts to
increase or decrease. For example, depending on the tax year,
changing your AGI can change your:
• Miscellaneous itemized deductions, credit for child and
dependent care expenses, child tax credit, education credits,
retirement savings contributions credit, or premium tax credit;
• Allowable charitable contributions deduction or the taxable
amount of social security benefits;
• Total itemized deductions or deduction for exemptions (see
the instructions for line 4a, later); or
• Individual shared responsibility payment (see the instructions
for line 9, later).
For 2018 amended returns, some of these tax benefits
have been suspended and some of these tax benefits
CAUTION are no longer limited by your AGI. See What's New,
earlier, and the instructions for the 2018 form you are amending.

!

IF you are amending your...

If you change your AGI, refigure the items listed above (if
applicable), and any other deduction or credit you are claiming
that has a limit based on AGI.
Correcting your wages or other employee compensation.
Attach a copy of all additional or corrected Forms W-2 you
received after you filed your original return. Also attach any
additional or corrected Forms 1099-R, Distributions From
Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs,
Insurance Contracts, etc., that show federal income tax withheld.

2017 return

$4,050

2016 return

$4,050

2015 return

$4,000

Who must use the Deduction for Exemptions Worksheet. If
you increased the amount on line 1, you may not be allowed the
full deduction for your exemptions. However, if you reduced the
amount on line 1, you now may be allowed the full deduction.
Use the following chart to find out if you must use this worksheet
to figure a reduced amount to enter on line 4a. Be sure to use
the Deduction for Exemptions Worksheet in the instructions for
the form and year you are amending, such as the 2016
Instructions for Form 1040.

Changing your IRA deduction. In Part III of Form 1040X,
enter “IRA deduction” and the amount of the increase or
decrease. If changing from a deductible to a nondeductible IRA
contribution, also complete and attach Form 8606,
Nondeductible IRAs.

Line 2—Itemized Deductions or
Standard Deduction
If you itemized your deductions, enter in column A the total from
your original Schedule A (Form 1040) or your deduction as
previously adjusted by the IRS. If you are now itemizing your
deductions instead of using the standard deduction, or have
changed the amount of any deduction, or your AGI limitations
have changed any deduction, attach a copy of the corrected
Schedule A to this amended return.
If you are using the standard deduction, enter the amount for
your filing status for the year you are amending. If you are
amending Form 1040EZ, see Form 1040EZ Filers—Lines 2 and
Instructions for Form 1040X (Rev. January 2019)

THEN the amount for one
exemption is...

-11-

You must use the Deduction for
Exemptions Worksheet if—
Your filing status is:

Example. Margaret showed $0 taxable income on her
original return, even though she actually had a loss of $1,000.
She later discovered she had additional income of $2,000. Her
Form 1040X, line 5, would show ($1,000) in column A, $2,000 in
column B, and $1,000 in column C. If she failed to take into
account the loss she actually had on her original return, she
would report $2,000 in column C and possibly overstate her tax
liability.

And the amount
on line 1 is over:

Married filing separately

$156,900 for 2017;
$155,650 for 2016;
or $154,950 for 2015

Married filing jointly or
Qualifying widow(er)

$313,800 for 2017;
$311,300 for 2016;
or $309,900 for 2015

Single

$261,500 for 2017;
$259,400 for 2016;
or $258,250 for 2015

Head of household

$287,650 for 2017;
$285,350 for 2016;
or $284,050 for 2015

Tax Liability
Line 6—Tax
Figure the tax on your taxable income shown on line 5, column
C. Generally, you will use the method(s) you used to figure the
tax on your original return. However, you may need to change to
a different method if, for example, you amend your return to
include or change the amount of certain types of income, such
as capital gains or qualified dividends.
See the instructions for the income tax return you are
amending to find the appropriate method(s), tax table, and
worksheet, if necessary. Indicate the method(s) you used to
figure the tax entered on line 6, as shown in the chart below.

Form 1040EZ Filers—Lines 2 and 4a (amended
returns for years prior to 2018 only)

Attach the schedule or form(s), if any, that you used to figure
your revised tax. Don’t attach worksheets.

Did someone claim you as a dependent on his or her return? (If
yes, one or both boxes on line 5 of Form 1040EZ will be
checked.)
Yes. On Form 1040X, line 2, column A, enter the
amount from line E of the worksheet on the back
of Form 1040EZ. On Form 1040X, line 4a,
column A, enter -0- (or, if married filing jointly, the
amount from line F of the 1040EZ worksheet).

IF you figured the corrected tax using...

THEN enter on the
dotted line on
line 6...

Tax Table

Table

Tax Computation Worksheet

TCW

Schedule D Tax Worksheet

Sch D

No.

Schedule J (Form 1040)

Sch J

Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain
Tax Worksheet

QDCGTW

Foreign Earned Income Tax Worksheet

FEITW

Form 8615, Tax for Certain Children Who
Have Unearned Income

F8615

Use the following chart to find the amounts to
enter on lines 2 and 4a.

line 4a...

Single
Married filing jointly

$ 6,350   
12,700   

$4,050
 8,100

2016
return

Single
Married filing jointly

$ 6,300   
12,600   

$4,050
 8,100

2015
return

Single
Married filing jointly

$ 6,300   
12,600   

$4,000
 8,000

Example 1. The taxable income on your original 2015 Form
1040 was $49,650 and you use the single filing status. You used
the Tax Table in the 2015 Instructions for Form 1040 to find the
tax, $8,213. You are amending your 2015 Form 1040 to add
$160 of interest income, which you add in on line 1 of Form
1040X. There are no other changes. According to the 2015 Form
1040 instructions for line 44 (Tax), you should use the Tax Table
to look up the tax on your corrected taxable income of $49,810.
The revised tax shown in the Tax Table is $8,250. Below is your
completed Form 1040X, line 6.
.

Line 4b—Qualified Business Income Deduction
(for 2018 amended returns only)

6

Tax. Enter method(s) used to figure tax (see instructions):
Table

Enter on line 4b, column A, the amount from line 9 of your 2018
Form 1040. Use the appropriate worksheet from either the 2018
Form 1040 instructions or Pub. 535 to refigure your business
income deduction. For details, see Line 9 in the Form 1040
instructions.

.

line 2...

.

2017
return

THEN enter on Form 1040X,

.

AND your filing
status is...

.

IF you are
amending
your...

6

8,213

37

8,250

Once you have figured the 2015 tax on the line 5 amount, add
to it any additional taxes from Form 4972, Tax on Lump-Sum
Distributions; Form 8814, Parents' Election To Report Child's
Interest and Dividends; and any recapture of education credits.
Also include any alternative minimum tax from Form 6251,
Alternative Minimum Tax—Individuals; or the Alternative
Minimum Tax Worksheet in the 2015 Form 1040A instructions.
Also include any excess advance premium tax credit repayment
from Form 8962.

Line 5—Taxable Income
If the taxable income on the return you are amending is $0 and
you have made changes on Form 1040X, line 1, 2, 4a, or 4b,
enter on line 5, column A, the actual taxable income instead of
$0. Enclose a negative amount in parentheses.
-12-

Instructions for Form 1040X (Rev. January 2019)

Amended return for tax year earlier than 2018. The child
tax credit isn’t allowed on your amended return for tax years
earlier than 2018 with respect to a child who didn't have an SSN,
ATIN, or ITIN issued on or before the due date of your return for
the tax year being amended (including extensions). If you
applied for an ATIN or an ITIN on or before the due date of your
return (including extensions) and the IRS issues you an ATIN or
an ITIN as a result of the application, the IRS will consider your
ATIN or ITIN as issued on or before the due date of your return.

6

Credit for other dependents (amended 2018 returns only).
If you are amending a 2018 return and you have a dependent
who you can’t claim for the child tax credit, you might be able to
take the credit for other dependents for your dependent on your
amended 2018 return if your dependent has an SSN, ITIN, or
ATIN issued on or before the due date of your 2018 return
(including extensions). If you didn't have an SSN or ITIN issued
on or before the due date of your 2018 return (including
extensions), you can't claim the credit for other dependents on
your amended 2018 return. If an ATIN or ITIN was applied for on
or before the due date of your 2018 return (including extensions)
and the IRS issued an ATIN or ITIN as a result of the application,
the IRS will consider the ATIN or ITIN as issued on or before the
due date of the return. See Pub. 972 for more information.

.

.

.

.

.

Example 2. The taxable income on your original 2015 Form
1040 was $49,650. You used the Tax Table in the 2015
Instructions for Form 1040 to find the tax, $8,213. You are
amending your 2015 Form 1040 to add $160 of interest income
(which you add in on line 1 of Form 1040X) and $500 of advance
premium tax repayment (APTC Repayment) (which you add in
on line 6 of Form 1040X). There are no other changes.
According to the 2015 Form 1040 instructions for line 44 (Tax),
you should use the Tax Table to look up the tax on your
corrected taxable income of $49,810. The revised tax shown in
the Tax Table is $8,250. You must then add $500 of APTC
Repayment to figure the amount to enter on line 6, $8,750.
Below is your completed Form 1040X, line 6.
Tax. Enter method(s) used to figure tax (see instructions):
Table; APTC Repayment

6

8,213 537

8,750

Any changes you made to Form 1040X, lines 1 through
6, may affect the amount of or cause you to owe
CAUTION Alternative Minimum Tax. See the instructions for the
form and year you are amending.

!

Line 7—Credits

If you take the child tax credit or credit for other
dependents even though you aren’t eligible and it’s
CAUTION determined that your error is due to reckless or
intentional disregard of the rules for the credit, you won’t be
allowed to take either credit or the additional child tax credit for 2
years even if you are otherwise eligible to do so. If you take the
child tax credit or credit for other dependents even though you
aren't eligible and it is later determined that you fraudulently took
either credit, you won't be allowed to take either credit or the
additional child tax credit for 10 years. You also may have to pay
penalties. See the Instructions for Form 8862, Information To
Claim Certain Credits After Disallowance, to find out if you must
file that form to claim the child tax credit or credit for other
dependents after it has been disallowed.

!

Enter your total nonrefundable credits in column A.
Nonrefundable credits are those that reduce your tax, but any
excess isn’t refunded to you. If you are amending a 2018 return
with a retroactive claim of the child tax credit, you must have an
SSN valid for employment issued for the child before the due
date for filing your 2018 return, including extensions. If you’re
amending a 2017 or earlier tax return and you’re making
retroactive claims of the child tax credit or education tax credits,
such as the American opportunity credit, you must have an SSN
or ITIN issued for the child on or before the due date for filing the
tax return, including extensions. Use the following chart to find
the corresponding lines.
IF you are
amending tax
year...
2018

2015 – 2017

THEN the corresponding line(s) on Form...
1040
are:

1040A
are:

1040EZ
is:

Schedule 3,
lines 48–51;
line 12a;
Schedule 3,
lines 53 and
54

N/A

N/A

48–54

31–35

N/A

Line 9—Health Care: Individual Responsibility
If you made any changes to Form 1040X, lines 1 through 5, you
may need to refigure your individual shared responsibility
payment. Enter your refigured individual shared responsibility
payment in column A. Use the following chart to find the
corresponding lines. The shared responsibility payment doesn’t
apply to tax years before 2014 or to taxpayers filing Form
1040NR or 1040NR-EZ. You don’t owe a shared responsibility
payment if you can be claimed as a dependent by another
taxpayer.
IF you are
amending tax
year...

If you made any changes to Form 1040X, lines 1 through 6,
be sure to refigure your original credits. Attach the appropriate
forms for the credits you are adding or changing. Remember
some of the limits based on the AGI don’t apply to your 2018
amended return.

2018

1040
is:

1040A
is:

1040EZ
is:

Schedule 4,
line 61

N/A

N/A

61

38

11

2015 – 2017

Child tax credit. Whether your child will need an SSN depends
on the year of the tax return being amended. See Amended
2018 return: SSN requirement and Amended return for tax year
earlier than 2018 below. See Pub. 972 for more information on
the child tax credit.
Amended 2018 return: SSN requirement. If you are
amending your 2018 tax return, the child tax credit isn’t allowed
on your amended return with respect to a child who didn't have
an SSN valid for employment issued before the due date of your
2018 return (including extensions).
Instructions for Form 1040X (Rev. January 2019)

THEN the corresponding line on Form...

Line 10—Other Taxes
Enter other taxes you paid in column A. Use the following chart
to find the corresponding lines.

-13-

IF you are
amending tax
year...
2018
2015 – 2017

If you changed the amount on line 1 or line 5, the amount of
any EIC you claimed on your original return may change. Use
the following chart to find the correct line on your original return.

THEN the corresponding line(s) on Form...
1040
are:

1040A
is:

1040EZ
is:

Schedule 4, lines
57–60, 62, and 63

N/A

N/A

57–60 and 62

N/A

N/A

If you are amending your EIC based on a nontaxable combat
pay election, enter “nontaxable combat pay” and the amount in
Part III of Form 1040X.
If you take the earned income credit even though you
aren’t eligible and it is determined that your error is due
CAUTION to reckless or intentional disregard of the rules for the
credit, you won’t be allowed to take the credit for 2 years even if
you are otherwise eligible to do so. If you take the earned
income credit even though you aren't eligible and it is later
determined that you fraudulently took the credit, you won’t be
allowed to take the credit for 10 years. You also may have to pay
penalties. See the Instructions for Form 8862, Information To
Claim Certain Credits After Disallowance, to find out if you must
file that form to claim the EIC after it has been disallowed.

!

If you made any changes to Form 1040X, lines 1 through 6,
you may need to refigure other taxes that were included in the
same section on your original return.

Payments
Line 12—Withholding
In column A, enter from the return you are amending any federal
income tax withheld and any excess social security and tier 1
RRTA tax withheld (SS/RRTA). Use the chart below to find the
corresponding lines.

IF you are
amending tax
year...

If you are changing your withholding or excess SS/RRTA,
attach to the front of Form 1040X a copy of all additional or
corrected Forms W-2 you received after you filed your original
return. Also attach additional or corrected Forms 1099-R that
show any federal income tax withheld.
IF you are
amending tax
year...
2018

2015 – 2017

THEN the corresponding line(s) on Form...
1040
are:

1040A
are:

1040EZ
is:

16;
Schedule 5,
line 72

N/A

N/A

64, 71

40
(plus any write-in
for excess SS/
RRTA on line 46)

7

2015 – 2017

1040A
is:

1040EZ
is:

2018

17a

N/A

N/A

2015 – 2017

66a

42a

8a

Line 15—Refundable Credits
A refundable credit can give you a refund for any part of a credit
that is more than your total tax.
If you are amending your return to claim or change a
refundable credit, attach the appropriate schedule(s) or form(s).
In addition, specify any credit not listed in the blank area after
“other (specify)” and include this amount in the line 15 total.

In column A, enter the estimated tax payments you claimed on
your original return. If you filed Form 1040-C, U.S. Departing
Alien Income Tax Return, include on this line the amount you
paid as the balance due with that return. Also include any of your
prior year's overpayment that you elected to apply to estimated
tax payments for the year you are amending.

2018

1040
is:

Earned income credit. If you didn't have an SSN on or before
the due date of your return for the tax year being amended
(including extensions), you can't claim the EIC on your amended
return. Also, if a child didn't have an SSN on or before the due
date of your return for the tax year being amended (including
extensions), you can't count that child as a qualifying child in
figuring the EIC on your amended return.

Line 13—Estimated Tax Payments

IF you are
amending tax
year...

THEN the corresponding line on Form...

IF you are
amending tax
year...
2018

THEN the corresponding line on Form...
1040
is:

1040A
is:

1040EZ
is:

Schedule 5,
line 66

N/A

N/A

65

41

N/A

2015 – 2017

THEN the corresponding line(s) on Form...
1040
are:

1040A
are:

1040EZ
is:

17b and
17c;
Schedule 5,
lines 70, 73,
74

N/A

N/A

67–69,
72–73*

43–45

N/A

Additional child tax credit. Whether your child will need an
SSN depends on the year of the tax return being amended. See
Amended 2018 return: SSN requirement and Amended return
for tax year earlier than 2018 below. See Pub. 972 for more
information on the additional child tax credit.

Line 14—Earned Income Credit (EIC)
If you are amending your return to claim the EIC and you have a
qualifying child, attach Schedule EIC (Form 1040A or 1040).
-14-

Instructions for Form 1040X (Rev. January 2019)

was filed. However, don’t include payments of interest or
penalties, or the convenience fee you were charged.

If you take the child tax credit or credit for other
dependents even though you aren’t eligible and it’s
CAUTION determined that your error is due to reckless or
intentional disregard of the rules for the credit, you won’t be
allowed to take either credit or the additional child tax credit for 2
years even if you are otherwise eligible to do so. If you take the
child tax credit or credit for other dependents even though you
aren't eligible and it is later determined that you fraudulently took
either credit, you won’t be allowed to take either credit or the
additional child tax credit for 10 years. You also may have to pay
penalties.

!

Example. Dillon is filing Form 1040X to amend his 2017 tax
return. He sent a check for $1,500 with his original return,
reflecting a payment of $1,400 in taxes and a $100 estimated tax
penalty. When completing Form 1040X, Dillon enters $1,400 on
line 16 (the check sent with the original return minus the $100
penalty).
IF you are
amending tax
year...

Amended 2018 return: SSN requirement. If you are
amending your 2018 tax return, the additional child tax credit
isn’t allowed on your amended return with respect to a child who
didn't have an SSN valid for employment issued before the due
date of your 2018 return (including extensions).
Amended return for tax year earlier than 2018. The
additional child tax credit isn’t allowed on your amended return
for tax years earlier than 2018 with respect to a child who didn't
have an SSN, ATIN, or ITIN issued on or before the due date of
your return for the tax year being amended (including
extensions). If you applied for an ATIN or an ITIN on or before
the due date of your return (including extensions) and the IRS
issues you an ATIN or an ITIN as a result of the application, the
IRS will consider your ATIN or ITIN as issued on or before the
due date of your return.

2018
2015 – 2017

TM

1040
is:

1040A
is:

1040EZ
is:

Schedule 5,
Line 71

N/A

N/A

70

46 (write-in
amount)

9 (write-in
amount)

See Pay by phone, later.

Line 17—Total Payments
Include in the total on this line any payments shown on Form
8689, Allocation of Individual Income Tax to the U.S. Virgin
Islands, lines 40 and 45. Enter “USVI” and the amount on the
dotted line next to line 17.

American opportunity credit. If you didn't have an SSN (or
ITIN) issued on or before the due date of your tax return for the
tax year being amended (including extensions), you can't claim
the American opportunity credit on your amended return. Also,
you can't claim this credit on your amended return for a student
who didn't have an SSN, ATIN, or ITIN issued on or before the
due date of your return for the tax year being amended
(including extensions). If you applied for an ATIN or an ITIN on
or before the due date of your return (including extensions) and
the IRS issues you an ATIN or an ITIN as a result of the
application, the IRS will consider your ATIN or ITIN as issued on
or before the due date of your return. The American opportunity
credit is a partially refundable credit, see Pub. 970 and the
Instructions for Form 8863 for more information.

Refund or Amount You Owe

The purpose of this section is to figure the additional tax you owe
or excess amount you have paid (overpayment). All of your
payments (for the tax year you are amending) received up to the
date of this amended return are taken into account, as well as
any overpayment on your original return or after adjustment by
the IRS. It is as if you were using the new information to
complete your original return. If the results show a larger
overpayment than before, the difference between the two
becomes your new overpayment. You can choose to receive the
refund or apply it to your estimated tax for the following year. In
either case, it can be used by the IRS to pay other federal or
state debts that still exist. If the results show that you owe, it is
because you don’t have enough additional withholding or
because filing your original return with the information you have
now would have resulted in a smaller overpayment or a balance
due.

If you take the American opportunity credit even though
you aren’t eligible and it’s determined that your error is
CAUTION due to reckless or intentional disregard of the rules for
the credit, you won’t be allowed to take the credit for 2 years
even if you’re otherwise eligible to do so. If you take the
American opportunity credit even though you aren't eligible and
it is later determined that you fraudulently took the credit, you
won’t be allowed to take the credit for 10 years. You also may
have to pay penalties. See the Instructions for Form 8862,
Information To Claim Certain Credits After Disallowance, to find
out if you must file that form to claim the American opportunity
credit after it’s been disallowed.

!

Line 18—Overpayment
Enter the overpayment from your original return. Use the
following chart to find the corresponding line.

Line 16—Amount Paid With Extension
or Tax Return

IF you are
amending tax
year...

On this line enter the total of the following amounts.
• Any amount paid with your request for an extension on Form
4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S.
Individual Income Tax Return, or Form 2350, Application for
Extension of Time To File U.S. Income Tax Return (use the
following chart to find the corresponding line). Also include any
amount paid electronically in connection with an extension of
time to file, but don’t include the convenience fee you were
charged.
• The amount you paid with your original return, regardless of
method. Also include any additional payments you made after it
Instructions for Form 1040X (Rev. January 2019)

THEN the corresponding line on Form...

THEN the corresponding line on Form...
1040
is:

1040A
is:

1040EZ
is:

2018

19

N/A

N/A

2015 – 2017

75

47

13a

If your original return was changed by the IRS and the result
was an additional overpayment of tax, also include that amount
on line 18. Don’t include interest you received on any refund.

-15-

Any additional refund you are entitled to on Form 1040X will
be sent separately from any refund you haven’t yet received
from your original return.

speech disability and have access to TTY/TDD equipment can
call 800-733-4829. For more information about EFTPS, go to
IRS.gov/Payments or www.EFTPS.gov.

Line 19—Amount Available To Pay Additional Tax

Pay by mobile device To pay through your mobile device,
download the IRS2Go app.

If line 18 is larger than line 17, line 19 will be negative. You will
owe additional tax. To figure the amount owed, treat the amount
on line 19 as positive and add it to the amount on line 11. Enter
the result on line 20.

Pay by cash. Cash is an in-person payment option for
individuals provided through retail partners with a maximum of
$1,000 per day per transaction. To make a cash payment, you
must first be registered online at www.officialpayments.com/fed,
our official payment provider. The service provider charges a fee
for this payment method.

Line 20—Amount You Owe

Pay by check or money order. Before submitting a payment
through the mail, please consider alternative methods. One of
our safe, quick, and easy electronic payment options might be
right for you. If you choose to mail a tax payment, make your
check or money order payable to “United States Treasury” for
the full amount due. Don’t send cash. Don’t attach the payment
to your return.
On your payment, put your name, current address, daytime
phone number, and SSN. If you are filing a joint Form 1040X,
enter the SSN shown first on the return. Also, enter the tax year
and type of return you’re amending (for example, “Amended
2017 Form 1040”). The IRS will figure any interest due and send
you a bill.
To help process your payment, enter the amount on the right
side of the check like this: $ XXX.XX. Don’t use dashes or lines
(for example, don’t enter “$ XXX —” or “$ XXX x/100”).

IRS offers several payment options. You can pay online, by
phone, mobile device, cash (maximum $1,000 per day and per
transaction), check, or money order. Go to IRS.gov/Payments
for payment options.
Pay online. IRS offers an electronic payment option that’s right
for you. Paying online is convenient and secure and helps make
sure we get your payments on time. To pay your taxes online or
for more information, go to IRS.gov/Payments. You can pay
using any of the following methods.
• IRS Direct Pay. For online transfers directly from your
checking or savings account at no cost to you, go to IRS.gov/
Payments.
• Pay by Card. To pay by debit or credit card, go to IRS.gov/
Payments. A convenience fee is charged by these service
providers.
• Electronic Funds Withdrawal (EFW) is an integrated e-file/
e-pay option offered when filing your federal taxes electronically
using tax return preparation software, through a tax professional,
or the IRS at IRS.gov/Payments.
• Online Payment Agreement. If you can’t pay in full by the
due date of your tax return, you can apply for an online monthly
installment agreement at IRS.gov/Payments. Once you
complete the online process, you will receive immediate
notification of whether your agreement has been approved. A
user fee is charged but may be waived or reimbursed to
low-income taxpayers meeting certain conditions.
• IRS2Go is the mobile application of the IRS; you can access
Direct Pay or Pay By Card by downloading IRS2Go.

What if you can’t pay. If you can’t pay the full amount shown
on line 20, you can ask for an installment agreement. Under an
installment agreement, you can pay all or part of the tax you owe
in monthly installments. However, even if the IRS grants you an
installment agreement, you will be charged interest and may be
charged a late payment penalty on the tax not paid by the due
date of your return (not including extensions). You must also pay
a fee to set up an installment agreement, unless you are a
low-income taxpayer meeting certain criteria. To limit interest
and penalty charges, pay as much of the tax as possible when
you file. But before requesting an installment agreement, you
should consider other less costly alternatives, such as a bank
loan or credit card payment.
To ask for an installment agreement, you can apply online or
use Form 9465. To apply online, go to IRS.gov/OPA. For more
information, see the Instructions for Form 9465.

Pay by phone. Paying by phone is another safe and secure
method of paying electronically. Use one of the following
methods: (1) call one of the debit or credit card service
providers, or (2) use the Electronic Federal Tax Payment
System (EFTPS).
• Debit or credit card. Call one of our service providers. Each
charges a fee that varies by provider, card type, and payment
amount.

!

CAUTION

If you elected to apply any part of an overpayment on
your original return to your next year's estimated tax, you
can’t reverse that election on your amended return.

No checks of $100 million or more accepted. The IRS can’t
accept a single check (including a cashier's check) or money
order for amounts of $100,000,000 ($100 million) or more. If you
are sending $100 million or more by check or money order, you
will need to spread the payments over two or more checks/
money orders, with each check or money order made out for an
amount less than $100 million. This limit doesn’t apply to other
methods of payment (such as electronic payments). Please
consider a method of payment other than check if the amount of
the payment is over $100 million.

Official Payments
888-UPAY-TAXTM
(888-872-9829)
OfficialPayments.com
Link2Gov Corporation
888-PAY-1040TM
(888-729-1040)
PAY1040.com
WorldPay US, Inc.
844-PAY-TAX-8TM
(844-729-8298)
PayUSAtax.com
• EFTPS. To use EFTPS, you must be enrolled either online or
have an enrollment form mailed to you. To make a payment
using EFTPS, call 800-555-4477 (English) or 800-244-4829
(Español). People who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a

Line 22—Overpayment Received as Refund
If the IRS doesn’t use your overpayment to pay past due federal
or state debts, the refund amount on line 22 will be sent
separately from any refund you claimed on your original return
(see the instructions for line 18). We will figure any interest and
include it in your refund.

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Instructions for Form 1040X (Rev. January 2019)

Be sure the name and SSN entered agree with the
dependent's social security card. Otherwise, at the time we
process your return, we may disallow the exemption claimed for
the dependent for amended returns for years before 2018 and
reduce or disallow any other tax benefits (such as the 2018 child
tax credit) based on that dependent.

You will receive a check for any refund due to you. A refund
on an amended return can’t be deposited directly to your bank
account.

Line 23—Overpayment Applied to Estimated Tax
Enter on line 23 the amount, if any, from line 21 you want applied
to your estimated tax for next year. Also, enter that tax year in
the space provided. No interest will be paid on this amount.

For details on how to get an SSN or correct a name or

TIP number, see the 2018 Form 1040 instructions.

You will be notified if any of your overpayment was used to
pay past due federal or state debts so that you will know how
much was applied to your estimated tax.

!

Column (d). Check the box in column (d) if your dependent is
also a qualifying child for the child tax credit or, for 2018
amended returns only, the credit for other dependents. See the
Form 1040 or 1040A instructions for the year you are amending
to find out who is a qualifying child or other dependent and if you
must complete Part I of Schedule 8812. If you’re amending a
2018 return, your child won’t be a qualifying child for the child tax
credit if the child doesn’t have an SSN valid for employment.

You can’t change your election to apply part or all of the
overpayment on line 21 to next year's estimated tax.

CAUTION

Part I—Exemptions and Dependents

!

Children who didn’t live with you due to divorce or separation. If you are claiming a child who didn’t live with you under
the rules for children of divorced or separated parents, you must
attach certain forms or statements to Form 1040X. For more
information, see Pub. 501 or the instructions for Form 1040 or
1040A for the tax year you are amending.

For 2018 amended returns only, leave lines 24, 28, and
29 blank. Fill in all other applicable lines.

CAUTION

Usually if you are changing the number of exemptions
claimed on your return, you complete lines 1 through 30. Enter
the new exemption amount on line 29 and line 4a, column C. If
the change in the number of exemptions doesn’t result in a
change in a dollar amount, you should complete only lines 24
through 30.

Part II—Presidential Election
Campaign Fund

You can use Form 1040X to have $3 go to the Presidential
Election Campaign Fund if you (or your spouse on a joint return)
didn’t do so on your original return. This must be done within
201/2 months after the original due date for filing the return. For
calendar year 2018, this period ends on December 30, 2020. A
previous designation of $3 to the fund can’t be changed.

Line 29—Exemption Amount (for years before
2018 only)

To figure the amount to enter on line 29, you may need to use
the Deduction for Exemptions Worksheet in the instructions for
the form year you are amending. To find out if you do, see Who
must use the Deduction for Exemptions Worksheet under the
instructions for line 4a, earlier. If you don’t have to use that
worksheet, multiply the applicable dollar amount shown in the
following table by the number of exemptions on line 28. If
amending your 2018 return, leave line 29 blank.

Part III—Explanation of Changes

The IRS needs to know why you are filing Form 1040X. For
example, you:
• Received another Form W-2 after you filed your return;
• Forgot to claim the child tax credit or, in 2018, the credit for
other dependents;
• Changed your filing status from qualifying widow(er) to head
of household;
• Are amending a 2017 or earlier tax return and carrying an
unused NOL to an earlier year;
• Are carrying a credit to an earlier year; or
• Are claiming a tax benefit from recently enacted legislation for
disaster relief.

THEN the amount for one
IF you are amending tax year... exemption is...
2017

$4,050

2016

$4,050

2015

$4,000

Paid Preparer

Generally, anyone you pay to prepare your return must sign it
and include their Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) in
the space provided. The preparer must give you a copy of the
return for your records. Someone who prepares your return but
doesn’t charge you shouldn’t sign.

Line 30—Dependents

List all dependents claimed on this amended return. This
includes:
• Dependents claimed on your original return who are still being
claimed on this return, and
• Dependents not claimed on your original return who are being
added to this return.

Assembling Your Return

Assemble any schedules and forms behind Form 1040X in order
of the “Attachment Sequence No.” shown in the upper-right
corner of the schedule or form. If you have supporting
statements, arrange them in the same order as the schedules or
forms they support and attach them last. Don’t attach a copy of
your original return, correspondence, or other items unless
required to do so.

If you are now claiming more than four dependents, check the
checkbox and attach a separate statement with the required
information.
Column (b). You must enter each dependent's SSN, ITIN, or
ATIN. If your dependent child was born and died in the tax year
you are amending and you don’t have a taxpayer identification
number for the child, enter “Died” in column (b), and attach a
copy of the child's birth certificate, death certificate, or hospital
medical records. The document must show the child was born
alive.
Instructions for Form 1040X (Rev. January 2019)

Attach to the front of Form 1040X:

• A copy of any Form W-2, Form W-2c, or Form 2439, Notice to

Shareholder of Undistributed Long-Term Capital Gains, that
support changes made on this return;
-17-

• A copy of any Form W-2G, Certain Gambling Winnings, or
Form 1099-R that support changes made on this return, but only
if tax was withheld; and
• A copy of any Form 1042-S, Foreign Person's U.S. Source
Income Subject to Withholding; Form SSA-1042S, Social
Security Benefit Statement (Nonresident Aliens); Form
RRB-1042S, Payments by the Railroad Retirement Board
(Nonresident Aliens); or Form 8288-A, Statement of Withholding
on Dispositions by Foreign Persons of U.S. Real Property
Interests, that support changes made on this return.

*If you live in American Samoa, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or
the Northern Mariana Islands, see Pub. 570.

Private delivery services. Taxpayers can use certain private
delivery services (PDS) designated by the IRS to meet the
“timely mailing as timely filing” rule for tax returns. Go to IRS.gov/
PDS for the current list of designated services.
The PDS can tell you how to get written proof of the mailing
date.
For the IRS mailing address to use if you’re using PDS, go to
IRS.gov/PDSstreetAddresses.

Attach to the back of Form 1040X any Form 8805, Foreign
Partner's Information Statement of Section 1446 Withholding
Tax, that supports changes made on this return.
If you owe tax and you don’t want to pay electronically,
enclose (don’t attach) your check or money order in the
envelope with your amended return. See the instructions for
line 20, earlier.

!

CAUTION

Where To File

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice

If you are amending your return because of any of the situations
listed next, use the corresponding address.
IF you are filing
Form 1040X:
In response to a notice you
received from the IRS
With Form 1040NR or
1040NR-EZ

We ask for the information on this form to carry out the Internal
Revenue laws of the United States. You are required to give us
the information. We need it to ensure that you are complying
with these laws and to allow us to figure and collect the right
amount of tax.

THEN mail Form 1040X
and attachments to:

You are not required to provide the information requested on
a form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act unless the
form displays a valid OMB control number. Books or records
relating to a form or its instructions must be retained as long as
their contents may become material in the administration of any
Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax returns and return
information are confidential, as required by section 6103.

The address shown
in the notice
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Austin, TX 73301-0215

We welcome comments on forms. If you have comments
concerning the accuracy of these time estimates or suggestions
for making this form simpler, we would be happy to hear from
you. You can send us comments from IRS.gov/
FormsComments. Or you can send your comments to the
Internal Revenue Service, Tax Forms and Publications Division,
1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6526, Washington, DC 20224.
Don’t send the form to this office.

If none of the situations listed above apply to you, mail your
return to the Internal Revenue Service Center shown next that
applies to you.
IF you live in:
Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi,
Texas
Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas,
California, Colorado, Hawaii,
Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota,
Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New
Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota,
Utah, Washington, Wisconsin,
Wyoming
Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware,
District of Columbia, Georgia,
Kentucky, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Missouri, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New
York, North Carolina,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
South Carolina, Tennessee,
Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia
A foreign country, U.S. possession
or territory*; or use an APO or FPO
address, or file Form 2555,
2555-EZ, or 4563; or are a
dual-status alien

Private delivery services can’t deliver items to P.O.
boxes. You must use the U.S. Postal Service to mail any
item to an IRS P.O. box address.

THEN mail Form 1040X
and attachments to:
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Austin, TX 73301-0052

Estimates of Taxpayer Burden

The table below shows burden estimates as of September 2018,
for taxpayers filing a 2018 Form 1040X tax return.
Reported time and cost burden is a national average and
does not necessarily reflect a “typical” case. Most taxpayers
experience lower than average burden, with taxpayer burden
varying considerably by taxpayer type. The estimated average
time burden for all taxpayers filing a Form 1040X is 9 hours, with
an average cost of $180 per return. This average includes all
associated forms and schedules, across all preparation methods
and taxpayer activities. There is significant variation in taxpayer
activity within these estimates.

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Fresno, CA 93888-0422

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Kansas City, MO 64999-0052

Out-of-pocket costs include any expenses incurred by
taxpayers to prepare and submit their tax returns. Examples
include tax return preparation and submission fees, postage and
photocopying costs, and tax preparation software costs. Tax
preparation fees vary widely depending on the tax situation of
the taxpayer, the type of professional preparer, and the
geographic area.

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Austin, TX 73301-0215

If you have comments concerning the time and cost
estimates below, you can contact us at either one of the
addresses shown under We welcome comments on forms,
earlier.

-18-

Instructions for Form 1040X (Rev. January 2019)

Estimates of Taxpayer Burden
All 1040X Taxpayers

Average Time Burden
(Hours)
9

Average Cost
(Dollars)
$180

Instructions for Form 1040X (Rev. January 2019)

-19-