Released: May 02, 2006

How to amend your tax return

Source: By Kimberly Lankford, Kiplinger's Personal Finance

While comparing my 2005 taxes to 2004, I realized I made a mistake on the 2004 return. Is it too late to fix the error?

It’s not too late to make the change. You generally have up to three years after the original due date of your return to file an amended return if you’ve made a mistake or left out something. That gives you until April 15, 2008, to make changes to your 2004 return. And you have up to seven years to file an amended return for worthless stock. (For more information about those rules, and an example from Enron, see Writing Off Worthless Stock.)

To make the change, print out Form 1040X and fill in the numbers from your original return and then the changes you’re making. You’ll also need to submit the particular forms you’re changing, such as Schedule A for changes to itemized deductions or Schedule C for changes to business expenses.

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