Note: The draft you are looking for begins on the next page.

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TREASURY/IRS AND OMB USE ONLY DRAFT

Instructions for Form 1040-X

(Rev. December 2025)

Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return

(Use With the December 2025 Revision of Form 1040-X)

Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless

otherwise noted.

Page

Future Developments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

What’s New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

General Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Purpose of Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Which Revision To Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Interest and Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

When To File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Special Situations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Tracking Your Amended Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Specific Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Calendar or Fiscal Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Name, Current Address, and Social Security

Number (SSN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Presidential Election Campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Amended Return Filing Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Lines 1 Through 30—Which Lines To

Complete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Columns A Through C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Income and Deductions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Line 1—Adjusted Gross Income . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Line 2—Itemized Deductions or Standard

Deduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Line 4b—Deductions for tips, overtime,

car loan interest, and seniors from

Schedule 1-A (Form 1040). . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Line 5—Taxable Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Tax Liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Line 6—Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Line 7—Nonrefundable Credits . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Line 10—Other Taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Line 12—Withholding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Line 13—Estimated Tax Payments . . . . . . . . . 9

Line 14—Earned Income Credit (EIC) . . . . . . . 9

Line 15—Refundable Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Line 16—Amount Paid With Extension or

Tax Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Line 17—Total Payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Refund or Amount You Owe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Line 18—Overpayment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Line 19—Amount Available To Pay

Additional Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Line 20—Amount You Owe . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Feb 25, 2026

Page

Line 22—Overpayment Received as

Refund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Line 23—Overpayment Applied to

Estimated Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Part I—Dependents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Part II—Explanation of Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Part III—Direct Deposit (for E-Filed Form 1040-X

Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Sign Your Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Paid Preparer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Assembling Your Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Where To File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Low Income Taxpayer Clinics Help Taxpayers . . . . . . 13

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Future Developments

For the latest information about developments related to Form

1040-X and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after

they were published, go to IRS.gov/Form1040X.

What’s New

New attachment requirement. For paper-filed Forms 1040-X,

you must attach, to your completed Form 1040-X, a completed

and updated Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, with your

changes. See Assembling Your Return, later.

Form 4547, Trump Account Election(s). Do not attach Form

4547 to Form 1040-X. See the Instructions for Form 4547 for

more information on how to file Form 4547 after your return has

been filed or go to trumpaccounts.gov.

Line 4a and Line 4b. The qualified business income deduction

is now discussed in Line 4a, later. Line 4b, later, discusses the

new deductions for tips, overtime, car loan interest, and seniors

on new Schedule 1-A (Form 1040).

Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation. Form 8379 may be

filed electronically by attaching it to an electronically filed Form

1040-X even if the filer is not amending their tax return.

State-declared disasters. If you were affected by a qualified

State-declared disaster, you may have additional time to file a

claim for credit or refund on your amended return. See

State-declared disasters, later.

Lookback period. The lookback period for claiming refunds

and credits has been extended in certain situations. See Filing

limits due to lookback period, later.

Time to file for a refund or credit if you reported certain

qualified wildfire relief payments as taxable income. The

Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2023 extended the time for

certain taxpayers to amend their returns with respect to qualified

wildfire relief payments they received and reported as income in

tax years 2020 and 2021. Taxpayers only had until December

12, 2025, or until the expiration of the period of limitations on

filing a refund claim under section 6511 of the Internal Revenue

Instructions for Form 1040-X (Rev. 12-2025) Catalog Number 11362H

Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service www.irs.gov

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Contents

Contents

TREASURY/IRS AND OMB USE ONLY DRAFT

Code for the relevant year, whichever is later, to file amended

returns claiming a credit or refund. For tax years 2022 through

2025, to claim a refund of any taxes paid on qualified wildfire

relief payments, individuals have until the expiration of the period

of limitations on filing a refund claim under section 6511(a) for

the relevant year. See Q5 and A5 of Wildlife Relief Payments and

Casualty Losses frequently asked questions at IRS.gov.

Domestic research and experimental expenditures. P.L.

119-21, commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

(OBBBA), added section 174A, Domestic Research or

Experimental Expenditures. Under this new section, certain

small business taxpayers have the option to elect to deduct

certain unamortized amounts paid or incurred in tax years

beginning after 2021 and before 2025. If you have already filed a

tax return for the year, you will need to amend your return. The

deadline for making the election is July 6, 2026. See Rev. Proc.

2025-28 for more information.

When to use these instructions. These instructions can be

used with the December 2025 and later revisions of Form

1040-X, unless later instructions state otherwise.

Form 1040-X and its instructions were converted from an

annual revision to continuous use in tax year 2021. The form and

instructions will each be updated as required. For the most

recent version, go to IRS.gov/Form1040X. See the forms,

schedules, instructions, and publications for the year of the tax

return you are amending for guidance on specific topics.

Electronic filing available for Form 1040-X. You can file Form

1040-X electronically with tax filing software to amend Forms

1040, 1040-SR, and 1040-NR. Go to IRS.gov/Filing/AmendedReturn-Frequently-Asked-Questions for more information.

Use these instructions with both the paper-filed Form

TIP 1040-X and the electronically filed Form 1040-X.

Extended time to file a claim for refund or credit. Under

certain circumstances, you may have additional time to file an

amended return to claim a refund or credit. For details, see

Federally declared disasters, State-declared disasters, and

Combat zones and contingency operations, later.

General Instructions

If you discover an error after filing your return, you may need to

amend your return. Use Form 1040-X to correct a previously filed

Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, or to change amounts

previously adjusted by the IRS. You can also use Form 1040-X to

make a claim for a carryback due to a loss or unused credit or

make certain elections after the deadline.

Many find the easiest way to figure the entries for Form

TIP 1040-X is to first make the changes in the margin of the

return they are amending.

Completing Form 1040-X. On Form 1040-X, enter your

income, deductions, and credits from your return as originally

filed or as previously adjusted by either you or the IRS, the

changes you are making, and the corrected amounts. Then,

figure the tax on the corrected amount of taxable income and the

amount you owe or your refund. File a separate Form 1040-X for

each tax year you are amending.

To complete Form 1040-X, you will need:

• Form 1040-X and these separate instructions;

• A copy of the return you are amending (for example, 2024

Form 1040), including supporting forms, schedules, and any

worksheets you completed;

2

Purpose of Form

Use Form 1040-X to do the following.

• Correct Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.

• 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 1040-X; 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 1040-X. For more information,

see Loss or credit carryback under When To File, later, and the

discussion on carryback claims under Special Situations, later.

File a separate Form 1040-X for each year you are amending.

If you are changing your federal return, you may also need to

change your state return.

Resident and nonresident aliens. Use Form 1040-X to

amend Form 1040-NR. Also use Form 1040-X if you should have

filed Form 1040 instead of Form 1040-NR, or vice versa.

If you are filing Form 1040-X on paper to amend Form

1040-NR, 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 1040-X.

• Don’t enter any other information on page 1. Also don’t

complete Part I on page 2 of Form 1040-X.

• Enter in Part II—Explanation of Changes the reason you are

filing Form 1040-X.

• Complete a new or corrected return (Form 1040, 1040-SR,

1040-NR, etc.).

• Across the top of the new or corrected return, write

“Amended.”

• Attach the new or corrected return to the back of Form

1040-X.

The above instructions apply to paper filing only. If you

are electronically filing Form 1040-X to amend Form

CAUTION 1040-NR, you must complete the Form 1040-X in its

entirety.

!

If you file Form 1040-X 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 1040-X if you are requesting only a refund of

penalties and interest or an addition to tax that you have already

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

Abatement.

Don’t file Form 1040-X 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 1040-X to request an

Instructions for Form 1040-X (Rev. December 2025)

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Reminders

• Additional supporting forms and schedules, and any

worksheets for the return you are amending that you will need to

complete to show your changes;

• If applicable, a new Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR for the

return you are amending (see Resident and nonresident aliens

below);

• 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. To

obtain the instructions for a prior year return, go to IRS.gov/

Forms and 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.

TREASURY/IRS AND OMB USE ONLY DRAFT

additional refund after filing Form 8379, see Injured spouse claim

under Special Situations, later.

Which Revision To Use

Use these instructions with both the paper-filed Form 1040-X

and the electronically filed amended return.

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).

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.

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 whether the reported tax is substantially correct 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.

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 1040-X only after you have filed your original return.

You may amend your original return by filing Form 1040-X more

than once, as long as each Form 1040-X is filed timely.

Generally, for a credit or refund, you must file Form 1040-X 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 of time to file (for example, until October

15) but you filed earlier and we received it on July 1, your return

is considered filed on July 1. The time limit for filing a claim for

credit or refund on a Form 1040-X 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.

Instructions for Form 1040-X (Rev. December 2025)

Federally declared disasters. If you were affected by a

federally declared disaster, you may have additional time to file a

claim for credit or refund on your amended return. See Pub. 556

and IRS.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-Self-Employed/

Disaster-Assistance-and-Emergency-Relief-for-Individuals-andBusinesses for details. Also, see Filing limits due to lookback

period below.

State-declared disasters. If you were affected by a qualified

State-declared disaster, you may have additional time to file a

claim for credit or refund on your amended return. For these

purposes, “State” includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,

the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the

Northern Mariana Islands. This change applies to declarations

made after July 24, 2025. See the Filing Relief for Natural

Disasters Act for details. Also, see Filing limits due to lookback

period below.

Filing limits due to lookback period. The amount of a credit

or refund on your amended return is limited to the amount of tax

paid within a specified period immediately preceding the filing of

the claim for credit or refund. That specified period is called the

lookback period. When a taxpayer files a claim within 3 years of

filing the taxpayer's return, the lookback period is equal to 3

years plus the period of any "extension" of time for filing the

return. Otherwise, the lookback period is the 2 years

immediately preceding the filing of the claim for credit or refund.

Income tax withheld and estimated tax are considered paid on

the due date of the return (generally April 15th for calendar-year

taxpayers).

Special rules for certain claims filed after December 26,

2025. The Disaster Related Extension of Deadlines Act,

enacted December 26, 2025, recharacterizes “postponements”

under section 7508A due to federally declared disasters,

qualified State disasters, significant fire, or terroristic or military

actions, as extensions of time for filing the return. Thus, if a

taxpayer has received a postponement under section 7508A due

to a federally declared disaster, qualified State disaster,

significant fire, or terroristic or military action, the lookback

period is equal to 3 years plus the period of that postponement.

This recharacterization applies to claims filed after December

26, 2025.

Notice 2023-21. For the following affected taxpayers, Notice

2023-21 increases the lookback period when amending 2020

returns to claim a credit or refund of taxes. Affected taxpayers

are individual taxpayers whose returns were due on April 15,

2021, and who did not receive a filing extension. An affected

taxpayer who filed their 2020 return after April 15, 2021, but on

or before May 17, 2021, because of the postponement provided

by Notice 2021-21 may be refunded all income tax payments for

2020 if they file their claim for refund within 3 years of the date

they filed their original return. An affected taxpayer who filed their

2020 return after May 17, 2021, may be refunded all income tax

payments for 2020 if they file their claim for refund by Friday, May

17, 2024.

The additional time, provided in Notice 2023-21, to file an

amended return is automatic. Taxpayers do not need to contact

the IRS, file any form, or send letters or other documents to

receive this relief.

Time to file for a refund or credit if you reported certain

qualified wildfire relief payments as taxable income. The

Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2023 extended the time for

3

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Penalty for late payment of tax. If you don’t pay the additional

tax due on Form 1040-X 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.

After the due date for an original return has passed,

don't file any additional original returns for the same

CAUTION year, even if you haven't received your refund or haven't

heard from the IRS since you filed. Filing an additional original

return after the due date or sending in more than one copy of the

same return (unless we ask you to do so) could delay your

refund.

!

TREASURY/IRS AND OMB USE ONLY DRAFT

certain taxpayers to amend their returns with respect to qualified

wildfire relief payments they received and reported as income in

tax years 2020 and 2021. Taxpayers only had until December

12, 2025, or until the expiration of the period of limitations on

filing a refund claim under section 6511 of the Internal Revenue

Code for the relevant year, whichever is later, to file amended

returns claiming a credit or refund. For tax years 2022 through

2025, to claim a refund of any taxes paid on qualified wildfire

relief payments, individuals have until the expiration of the period

of limitations on filing a refund claim under section 6511(a) for

the relevant year. See Q5 and A5 of Wildlife Relief Payments and

Casualty Losses frequently asked questions, at IRS.gov. Also,

see the 2025 Instructions for Form 4684, Casualties and Thefts;

and the 2025 Pub. 547, Casualties, Disasters, and Thefts.

Combat zones and contingency operations. The due date

for claiming a credit or refund on 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 Pub. 3, Armed Forces' Tax

Guide.

Foreign tax credit or deduction. A Form 1040-X to claim a

foreign tax credit or to change from claiming a deduction to

claiming a credit for foreign income taxes must generally 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 income taxes were actually paid or accrued. A Form

1040-X to claim a deduction or to change from claiming a credit

to claiming a deduction for foreign income taxes must generally

be filed within 3 years after the date you filed your original return

or within 2 years after the date you paid the tax, whichever is

later. The period for filing a Form 1040-X to claim or change an

election to claim a foreign tax credit or deduction may be

extended by an agreement. You make or change your election

on your Form 1040-X for the year your election is to be effective.

For details, see Pub. 514, Foreign Tax Credit for Individuals. The

extended 10-year period for filing Form 1040-X to claim a foreign

tax credit or to change from claiming a deduction to claiming a

credit applies only to amounts affected by changes in your

foreign tax credit. P.L. 119-21, section 70311, has modified the

foreign tax credit. See the Instructions for Form 1116, Foreign

Tax Credit, for more information.

If you are filing Form 1040-X to carry back your unused

foreign tax credit, follow the procedures under Loss or credit

carryback next.

Loss or credit carryback. File either Form 1040-X 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 (NOL) (but see Net

operating losses, later), a foreign tax credit, an unused general

business credit, or a net section 1256 contracts loss. If you use

Form 1040-X, see the special instructions for carryback claims in

these instructions under Special Situations, later. File Form

1040-X for each tax year to which an NOL, a capital loss

carryback, a credit carryback, or a foreign tax credit is carried.

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

1040-X must generally be filed within 3 years after the due date

of the return (including extensions) for the tax year in which the

NOL, capital loss, or unused credit arose (within 10 years after

the due date of the return (without extensions) for the tax year in

which the foreign tax credit arose). If you use Form 1045, you

must file the claim within 1 year after the end of the year in which

4

Special Situations

!

You must attach all appropriate forms and schedules to

Form 1040-X 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.

Only the special procedures are given here. Unless

otherwise stated, you must still complete all appropriate

CAUTION lines on Form 1040-X, as discussed under Line

Instructions, later.

!

Additional Medicare Tax. 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

1040-X 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.

Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA) Partner Modification

Amended Return. A partner in a BBA Partnership that has

requested modification type “Amended Returns of Partners

Under IRC Section 6225(c)(2)(A)” files a partner modification

amended return. A partner modification amended return

includes a partner amended return for the partner's first affected

year and any prior or subsequent tax years impacted as a result

of taking the partnership adjustments into account in the

partner's first affected year. Such returns must include the

payment of all tax, penalties, additions to tax, and interest due as

a result of taking into account all partnership adjustments

properly allocated to the partner, and including adjustments to

any tax attributes affected by taking into account the partnership

adjustments. You must write “BBA Partner Modification

Amended Return” at the top of page 1 of all partner modification

amended returns being filed (for e-filed amended returns, attach

a statement). See Form 8982 for additional information and

instructions.

Attach a statement to each partner modification amended

return that contains the following information.

• Name of source partnership (which is the audited partnership

requesting modification and from which you are receiving

adjustments).

• TIN of the source partnership.

• Audit control number—obtain this number from the

partnership representative of the source partnership.

BBA Partner non-income tax changes reported on Form

8986. Although the Form 8978 is used to figure changes to a

partner's income tax as reported to them on Form 8986, any

non-income tax changes that are related to the income tax

adjustments on the Form 8986 received by the partner, such as

self-employment tax or net investment income tax, should be

reflected on an amended return for the partner's first affected

Instructions for Form 1040-X (Rev. December 2025)

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Bad debt or worthless security. A Form 1040-X to claim a

credit or refund based on a bad debt or worthless security must

generally 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.

the loss, credit, or claim of right adjustment arose. For more

details, see the Instructions for Form 1045.

Net operating losses (NOLs). An individual must file Form

1040-X instead of Form 1045 to carry back:

• Any items to a section 965 year,

• A prior year foreign tax credit released due to an NOL or net

capital loss carryback, or

• A prior year general business credit released because of the

release of the foreign tax credit.

See section 172 and Pub. 536 for information about NOLs.

See Pub. 225, Farmer’s Tax Guide, for information on farming

losses.

TREASURY/IRS AND OMB USE ONLY DRAFT

year. Do not include the income tax changes on the Form

1040-X. Instead, the Form 1040-X should reflect the original and

correct amounts as originally reported (or as previously

amended) on the Form 1040 such that there is no change

between the original and correct amounts on lines 1–8.

Complete any applicable forms for the non-income taxes such as

the Schedule SE (for self-employment taxes) or Form 8960 (for

net investment income tax) including the adjustments reflected

on the Form 8986 and figure the adjusted non-income taxes

using the adjusted numbers. Report the corrected non-income

taxes on line 10 of the Form 1040-X and figure the additional

amount owed. The amended return should include a statement

that explains how the change to non-income tax was figured,

and the source of the adjustment in Part II of the Form 1040-X.

See Form 8978 for additional information and instructions.

Carryback claim—NOL. Write or type “Carryback Claim” at the

top of page 1 of Form 1040-X. 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 1040-X, line 10. Generally, 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.

Carryback claim—credits and other losses. Write or type

“Carryback Claim” at the top of page 1 of Form 1040-X. 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.

Write or type “Attachment to Form 1040-X—Copy Only—Do Not

Process” at the top of these forms.

• Any Schedules K-1 or K-3 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; 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); Schedule A (Form 1040-NR); or

Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit.

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.

Section 174A. P.L. 119-21 added section 174A, which pertains

to domestic research and experimental expenditures. Section

174A(f)(2) allows an election to deduct certain unamortized

amounts paid or incurred in tax years beginning after 2021 and

before 2025. For more information about section 174A, see

Revenue Procedure 2025-28.

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 tax year the loss was sustained. The

election must be made by filing your return or amended return for

the preceding year, and claiming your disaster loss on it, no later

Instructions for Form 1040-X (Rev. December 2025)

Deceased taxpayer. If filing Form 1040-X for a deceased

taxpayer, write or type “Deceased,” the deceased taxpayer's

name, and the date of death across the top of Form 1040-X,

page 1.

If you originally filed a joint return and you are filing Form

1040-X to claim a refund with respect to that joint return as a

surviving spouse, sign the return and enter “Filing as surviving

spouse” in the area where you sign the return. If someone else is

the personal representative, they 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

1040-X to claim the refund. If you are a court-appointed personal

representative or any other person claiming the refund, file Form

1040-X 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.

Household employment taxes. If you are correcting an error

in the employment taxes for household employees that you

reported on a Schedule H previously filed with Form 1040,

1040-SR, 1040-NR, or 1040-SS, attach a corrected Schedule H

and include in Part II of Form 1040-X the date the error was

discovered. If you filed Formulario 1040-PR, file a Form 1040-X

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, 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.

Injured spouse claim. If you filed a Form 8379 and are filing a

Form 1040-X 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.

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. Enter “By (your signature), parent for minor

child.”

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.

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/

newsroom/irs-updates-frequently-asked-questions-related-towrongful-incarceration.

Tracking Your Amended Return

You should generally allow 8 to 12 weeks for Form 1040-X to be

processed. However, in some cases, processing could take up

to 16 weeks. Go to Where's My Amended Return 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 SSN).

• Your date of birth.

• Your ZIP code or postal code.

5

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DRAFT

Qualified Opportunity Investment. Attach to the back of Form

1040-X any Form 8997, Initial and Annual Statement of Qualified

Opportunity Fund (QOF) Investments, that supports changes

made on this return if qualified investments were held during the

year.

than 6 months after the due date for filing your original return

(without extensions) for the year in which the loss was sustained.

For more information about this election, see the Instructions for

Form 4684; and Rev. Proc. 2016-53, 2016-44 I.R.B. 530,

available at IRS.gov/irb/2016-44_IRB#RP-2016-53.

TREASURY/IRS AND OMB USE ONLY DRAFT

Specific Instructions

Line Instructions

Calendar or Fiscal Year

Determine the calendar year or fiscal year of the return you are

amending.

Above your name, enter, as applicable, that calendar year or

fiscal year you are amending.

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 a 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 1040-X.

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.

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.

Presidential Election Campaign

You can use Form 1040-X to designate $3 to the Presidential

Election Campaign Fund if you, or your spouse if filing jointly,

didn't previously want $3 to go to this fund but now do. Checking

a checkbox for the Presidential Election Campaign Fund will not

change your tax or refund. This designation must be done within

201/2 months after the original due date for filing the return. A

previous designation of $3 to the fund can’t be changed.

Amended Return Filing Status

Check the box that corresponds to your filing status on this

return. You must check one box even if you are not changing

your filing status. If this is a change from the filing status on your

original return, the following information may apply to you.

For information about marital status, see Pub. 501,

TIP Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing

Information.

In general, you can’t change your filing status from a joint

return to separate returns after the due date of the

CAUTION original return.

!

Changing from a separate to a joint return. If you are

married and file a separate return, you generally report only your

own income, deductions, and credits. Generally, you are

responsible only for the tax on your own income. If you file a joint

return, both you and your spouse (or former spouse) are

generally responsible for the tax and interest or penalties due on

the return. This means that if one spouse doesn't pay the tax

due, the other may have to. Or, if one spouse doesn't report the

6

Changing to head of household filing status. If the

qualifying person is a child but not your dependent, enter the

child’s name in the space provided under the filing status

checkboxes. In Part II of Form 1040-X, you should state

“Changing the filing status” as a reason for amending your Form

1040 or 1040-SR.

!

Generally, married people can’t file as head of

household. But, for an exception, see Pub. 501.

CAUTION

Changing to married filing separately or qualifying surviving spouse filing status. If you check the box for married filing

separately, enter your spouse's name in the space provided

below the filing status checkboxes. If your spouse doesn't have

and isn't required to have an SSN or ITIN, enter “NRA” next to

their name in the entry space below the filing status checkboxes.

If you check the box for qualifying surviving spouse, and the

qualifying person is a child but not your dependent, enter the

child's name in the space provided under the filing status

checkboxes. Do not enter the child’s name anywhere else on the

form. In Part II of Form 1040-X, you should state “Changing the

filing status” as a reason for amending your Form 1040 or

1040-SR.

For 2022 and later, the filing status qualifying widow(er)

TIP is called qualifying surviving spouse. The rules for the

filing status have not changed. The same rules that

applied to qualifying widow(er) apply to qualifying surviving

spouse.

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 1040-X.

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, instructions, or publications, download them

from IRS.gov/FormsPubs or call 800-829-3676.

You are only changing information. If you aren’t changing

any dollar amounts you originally reported, but are changing

information and the rules in Resident and nonresident aliens,

earlier, don’t apply, do the following on your Form 1040-X.

• Enter the calendar year or fiscal year you are amending.

• Complete name, current address, and SSN (or ITIN, if

applicable).

• Check a box in Presidential Election Campaign, if applicable.

• Complete Part I—Dependents, on page 2, if you are changing

your dependent.

• Complete Part II—Explanation of Changes.

You are changing from a separate to a joint return. If you

and your spouse are changing from separate returns to a joint

return, follow these steps.

Instructions for Form 1040-X (Rev. December 2025)

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DRAFT

P.O. box. Enter your box number only if your post office doesn’t

deliver mail to your home.

correct tax, both spouses may be responsible for any additional

taxes assessed by the IRS. However, you may qualify for

innocent spouse relief. For details about innocent spouse relief,

see Form 8857, Request for Innocent Spouse Relief; or Pub.

971, Innocent Spouse Relief. If you are changing from a

separate to a joint return, in Part II of Form 1040-X, you should

enter “Changing the filing status” as a reason for amending your

Form 1040 or 1040-SR. See You are changing from a separate

to a joint return under Lines 1 Through 30—Which Lines To

Complete, later, for more details.

TREASURY/IRS AND OMB USE ONLY DRAFT

You are changing amounts on your original return or as

previously adjusted by the IRS. Because Form 1040-X can

be used for so many purposes, it is sometimes difficult to know

which part(s) of the form to fill out. Unless other specific

instructions or rules apply to your return, such as those under

Resident and nonresident aliens, earlier, applicable to paper

filers, follow the rules below when completing your Form 1040-X.

• Always complete the top of page 1 through Amended return

filing status.

• Check a box in Presidential Election Campaign, if applicable.

• Complete the lines shown in the charts under Columns A

Through C below according to what you are changing.

• Complete Part II—Explanation of Changes.

• Sign and date the form.

Columns A Through C

Column A. Enter the amounts from your original return, unless

any of the following apply.

1. You previously amended that return.

2. You were audited and changes were made to your

originally filed return.

3. You received a notice from the IRS advising they made

changes to your return.

In any of these cases, column A needs to reflect the amount to

which your originally filed return was adjusted.

Example. If the IRS changed your taxable income by

unreported income of $10,000, making your taxable income

$100,000, then column A taxable income should be $100,000,

not the originally filed amount.

Column B. Enter the net increase or decrease for each line that

you are changing.

Explain each change in Part II. 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 a 2024 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.

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

column A, B, or C in parentheses.

Example. You originally reported $21,000 as your adjusted

gross income on your 2024 Form 1040. You received another

Form W-2 for $500 after you filed your return. Line 1 of Form

1040-X should be completed as follows.

Instructions for Form 1040-X (Rev. December 2025)

A. Original

amount

B. Net change

C. Correct

amount

21,000

500

21,500

Line 1

You would also report any additional federal income tax

withheld on line 12 in column B.

See the tax return for the year you are amending to find the

corresponding lines on your original return.

IF you are changing only...

THEN complete Form 1040-X...

filing status

lines 1–23.

income

lines 1–23.

adjustments to income

lines 1–23.

itemized or standard deductions

lines 1–23.

qualified business income

deduction

lines 4a–23.

deductions for tips, overtime, car

loan interest, or seniors from

Schedule 1-A (Form 1040)

lines 4a–23.

tax before credits

lines 5–23.

nonrefundable credits

lines 6–23.

other taxes

lines 6–23.

payments and refundable credits

lines 11–23.

DRAFT

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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

is 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 1040-X.

Income and Deductions

Line 1—Adjusted Gross Income

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.

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:

• 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; or

• Total itemized deductions.

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.

Complete and attach any applicable forms and schedules to

support the amounts you refigured.

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.

7

TREASURY/IRS AND OMB USE ONLY DRAFT

Changing your IRA deduction. In Part II of Form 1040-X,

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.

If the taxable income on the return you are amending is $0 and

you have made changes on Form 1040-X, line 1, 2, or 4b, enter

on line 5, column A, the actual taxable income instead of $0.

Enclose a negative amount in parentheses. The amounts in

columns A and B can be less than zero. However, if the result for

column C is zero or less, you must enter -0- in column C.

Itemized deductions. If you itemized your deductions, enter in

column A the total from your original Schedule A or your

deduction as previously adjusted by the IRS. If you are now

itemizing your deductions instead of using the standard

deduction, or you 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.

Example. You showed $0 taxable income on your original

return, even though you actually had a loss of $1,000. You later

discovered you had additional income of $2,000. Your Form

1040-X, line 5, would show ($1,000) in column A, $2,000 in

column B, and $1,000 in column C. If you failed to take into

account the loss you actually had on your original return, you

would report $2,000 in column C and possibly overstate your tax

liability.

Standard deduction. If you are using the standard deduction,

enter the amount for your filing status for the year you are

amending. Remember that the standard deduction for all years

can be increased for the age and/or blindness of the taxpayer(s).

Tax Liability

Line 6—Tax

Charitable deduction. If you are taking the standard deduction

in 2021, you (or you and your spouse if filing jointly) may be able

to claim a charitable deduction for certain cash contributions. For

amended 2021 returns, any adjustments to this deduction

should be made to your standard deduction amount on line 2.

For adjustments to the cash charitable deduction for any year,

refer to the tax return instructions for the year of the return you

are amending to determine the limits on amounts of cash

contributions you can claim for that year. See Pub. 526 (for the

year of the return you are amending) for the definition of what

qualifies as a cash contribution and for information on the types

of organizations that qualify. Also see Pub. 526 (for the year of

the return you are amending) for information on whether this

deduction is available on your amended return.

If you had a net qualified disaster loss and you elect to

TIP increase your standard deduction by the amount of your

net qualified disaster loss, use Schedule A to figure your

standard deduction. Qualified disaster loss refers to losses

arising from certain disasters. For more information, see the

Instructions for Form 4684 and the Instructions for Schedule A

filed with your original return for the tax year of the return you are

amending.

Line 4a—Qualified Business Income Deduction

See the instructions for the year of the form you are amending.

Also see the instructions for Forms 8995 and 8995-A for more

information for figuring and reporting your qualified business

income deduction.

Line 4b—Deductions for tips, overtime, car loan

interest, and seniors from Schedule 1-A (Form

1040).

If claiming any of these deductions, attach your Schedule 1-A.

See the instructions for Schedule 1-A (Form 1040) found in the

Instructions for Form 1040 for the year of the form you are

amending.

Schedule 1-A and these deductions were introduced in

TIP 2025.

!

Include on line 6 the amount you reported on Schedule 2

(Form 1040), line 3, for the year you are amending.

CAUTION

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.

Attach the schedule or form(s), if any, that you used to figure

your revised tax. Don’t attach worksheets.

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.

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.

Any changes you made to Form 1040-X, 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—Nonrefundable Credits

Enter your total nonrefundable credits in column A.

Nonrefundable credits are those that reduce your tax, but any

excess isn’t refunded to you.

8

Instructions for Form 1040-X (Rev. December 2025)

DRAFT

DRAFT

Line 2—Itemized Deductions or Standard

Deduction

Line 5—Taxable Income

TREASURY/IRS AND OMB USE ONLY DRAFT

If you made any changes to Form 1040-X, lines 1 through 6,

be sure to refigure your original credits. Attach the appropriate

forms for the credits you are adding or changing.

Line 15—Refundable Credits

Line 9—Reserved for Future Use

A refundable credit can give you a refund for any part of a credit

that is more than your total tax. Enter, in column A, the total of

the refundable credits from Schedule 8812 (Form 1040), Form

8863, the recovery rebate (as applicable), and Schedule 3 (Form

1040) for the year you are amending. Check as applicable the

boxes for Schedule 8812 (Form 1040), and Forms 2439, 4136,

8885, 8863, and 8962.

This line is reserved for future use. Do not enter an amount on

this line.

If you are amending your return to claim or change a

refundable credit, attach the appropriate schedule(s) or form(s).

Line 10—Other Taxes

In addition, in the blank area after “other (specify),” list all of

your refundable credits for which there is not a checkbox. Include

the form number for the credit if there is one.

Enter in column A the amount you reported on the line for total

other taxes from Schedule 2 (Form 1040) for the year you are

amending.

If you made any changes to Form 1040-X, 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).

If you are changing your withholding or excess SS/RRTA,

attach to the front of Form 1040-X 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.

Line 13—Estimated Tax Payments

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.

SSN required. If you are amending a return with a retroactive

claim of the refundable child tax credit or the additional child tax

credit, you must have an SSN valid for employment issued for

the child before the due date for filing the return, including

extensions. For additional information, see Schedule 8812 (Form

1040) and its instructions for the year of the tax return you are

amending.

Line 16—Amount Paid With Extension or Tax

Return

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. 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

was filed. However, don’t include payments of interest or

penalties, or the convenience fee you were charged.

Example. You are filing Form 1040-X to amend your 2024

tax return. You sent a check for $1,500 with your original return,

reflecting a payment of $1,400 in taxes and a $100 estimated tax

penalty. When completing Form 1040-X, enter $1,400 on line 16

(the check sent with the original return minus the $100 penalty).

Line 14—Earned Income Credit (EIC)

Line 17—Total Payments

Enter the amount you reported on the line for the EIC on Form

1040 or 1040-SR for the year you are amending in column A. If

you are amending your return to claim the EIC and you have a

qualifying child, attach Schedule EIC (Form 1040). If you

changed the amount on line 1 or line 5, the amount of any EIC

you claimed on your original return may change. For more

information regarding the EIC, see Pub. 596 for the year you are

amending.

Include any amounts from Form 8689, Allocation of Individual

Income Tax to the U.S. Virgin Islands, that are being included in

the total payments line on your Form 1040 or 1040-SR. For

additional information, see Form 8689 for the year of the tax

return you are amending.

If you are amending your EIC based on a nontaxable combat

pay election, enter “nontaxable combat pay” and the amount in

Part II of Form 1040-X.

Instructions for Form 1040-X (Rev. December 2025)

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

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Credit for qualifying children and other dependents. If you

are amending a 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 the return you are

amending, including extensions. If you are amending a return

with a retroactive claim of the credit for other dependents, the

dependent you claim must have been issued an SSN, ITIN, or

adoption taxpayer identification number (ATIN) on or before the

due date for filing the return you are amending, including

extensions. Your child tax credit may be refundable. For

additional information, see Schedule 8812 (Form 1040) and its

instructions for the year of the tax return you are amending.

SSN required. 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 amount of the EIC on your amended return.

TREASURY/IRS AND OMB USE ONLY DRAFT

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.

Line 18—Overpayment

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.

If you owe past-due federal or state debts, all or part of your

overpayment will be used to pay the past-due amounts. You will

receive a notice if any of your overpayment has been applied to

past-due amounts, so you will know how much was applied to

your estimated tax.

!

You can’t change your election to apply part or all of the

overpayment on line 21 to next year's estimated tax.

Part I—Dependents

Line 19—Amount Available To Pay Additional Tax

Line 30—Dependents

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.

Line 20—Amount You Owe

The IRS recommends paying the amount due on line 20

electronically whenever possible. If you file Form 1040-X

electronically, you can simultaneously authorize the Treasury to

make an electronic withdrawal (direct debit) for the balance due.

You can also make a secure payment:

• Online using Direct Pay, cash, or your IRS online account; or

• Online or by phone using the Electronic Federal Tax Payment

System (EFTPS), a debit card, a credit card, or a digital wallet

such as Click to Pay, PayPal, or Venmo.

Go to www.irs.gov/Payments/pay-by-check-or-money-order

for details on paying by check or money order.

See the Amount you owe section in your income tax return

instructions or go to IRS.gov/Payments for additional details on

payment options.

If you elected to apply any part of an overpayment on

your original return to your next year's estimated tax, you

CAUTION can’t reverse that election on your amended return.

!

Line 22—Overpayment Received as Refund

The refund amount on line 22 will be sent separately from any

refund you claimed on your original return (see Line 18, earlier).

We will figure any interest and include it in your refund.

You will receive a check for any refund due to you. A refund

on a paper-filed amended return can’t be deposited directly to

your bank account.

If you owe past-due federal or state debts, all or part of your

overpayment will be used to pay the past-due amounts. You will

receive a notice if any of your overpayment has been applied to

past-due amounts.

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Lines 24, 26, 28, and 29—Reserved for Future

Use

These lines are reserved for future use. Do not enter an amount

on these lines.

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.

See Dependents, in the instructions for the tax return for the

year you are amending, for more information.

Part II—Explanation of Changes

The IRS needs to know why you are filing Form 1040-X. For

example, you:

• Received another Form W-2 after you filed your return,

• Forgot to claim the child tax credit or the credit for other

dependents,

• Changed your filing status from qualifying surviving spouse to

head of household,

• Are carrying a credit to an earlier year, or

• Are claiming a tax benefit from recently enacted legislation for

disaster relief.

• Are filing Form 8379 electronically by attaching it to an

electronically filed Form 1040-X, even though you are not

amending your tax return.

Part III—Direct Deposit (for E-Filed

Form 1040-X Only)

Form 8379 may be filed electronically by attaching it to

TIP an electronically filed Form 1040-X even if the filer is not

amending their tax return.

Beginning in February 2023, if you electronically file a Form

1040-X for tax year 2021 or later, you may request your refund

be directly deposited into your checking or savings account.

If you want us to directly deposit the amount shown on line 22

to your checking or savings account at a bank or other financial

institution (such as a credit union) in the United States:

• Complete lines 31 through 33 on Form 1040-X (if you want

your refund deposited to only one account); or

• Check the box on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 35a,

and attach Form 8888, Allocation of Refund, if you want to split

the direct deposit into more than one account.

The account must be in your name. Don't request a deposit of

your refund to an account, such as your tax return preparer's

Instructions for Form 1040-X (Rev. December 2025)

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CAUTION

Enter the overpayment from your original return. 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. Any additional

refund you are entitled to on Form 1040-X will be sent separately

from any refund you haven’t yet received from your original

return.

TREASURY/IRS AND OMB USE ONLY DRAFT

account, that isn't in your name. For example, although you may

owe your tax return preparer a fee for preparing your return, you

should not have any part of your refund deposited into the

preparer's account to pay the fee.

A direct deposit will be issued using the banking information

on Form 1040-X. Do not complete lines 35b through 35d on

Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.

If an account issue prevents a direct deposit, a refund will be

issued by paper check to the most recent address.

Sign Your Return

Identity Protection Personal Identification Number (IP PIN).

If you received an IP PIN from the IRS, enter it in the IP PIN

spaces provided next to the box for your occupation on your

Form 1040-X. You must correctly enter all six numbers of your IP

PIN. If you didn't receive an IP PIN, leave these spaces blank.

All taxpayers are now eligible for an IP PIN. For more

TIP information, see Pub. 5477. To apply for an IP PIN, go to

IRS.gov/IPPIN and use the Get an IP PIN tool.

If you are filing an amended joint return and each taxpayer will

receive an IP PIN, enter your IP PIN in the space provided next

to the box for your occupation on your Form 1040-X. Enter the

spouse's IP PIN in the space provided next to the box for the

spouse's occupation.

If you need more information, including how to retrieve your IP

PIN online, go to IRS.gov/IPPIN. If you are unable to retrieve your

IP PIN online, call 800-908-4490.

New IP PINs are generated every year. They will

generally be sent out by mid-January. Use this IP PIN on

CAUTION any Form 1040-X you file.

!

Requirements for a Paper Return

You must handwrite your signature on your return if you file it on

paper. Digital, electronic, or typed-font signatures are not valid

signatures for Forms 1040-X filed on paper.

Requirements for an Electronic Return

To file your return electronically, you must sign the return

electronically using a personal identification number (PIN) and

provide the information described below. If you are filing online

using software, you must use a Self-Select PIN. If you are filing

electronically using a tax practitioner, you can use a Self-Select

PIN or a Practitioner PIN. If we issued you an IP PIN for the year,

all six digits of your IP PIN must appear in the IP PIN spaces

provided next to the space for your occupation for your electronic

signature to be complete. Do not use an IP PIN from a prior year,

even if amending a return filed in a prior year. Failure to include

an issued IP PIN on the electronic return will result in an invalid

signature and a rejected return. If you are filing a joint return and

both taxpayers were issued IP PINs, enter both IP PINs in the

spaces provided.

Instructions for Form 1040-X (Rev. December 2025)

Practitioner PIN. The Practitioner PIN method allows you to

authorize your tax practitioner to enter or generate your PIN.

Your electronic return is considered a validly signed return only

when it includes your PIN; last name; date of birth; and IP PIN, if

applicable. If you're filing jointly, your electronic return must, in

order to be considered validly signed, also include your spouse's

PIN; last name; date of birth; and IP PIN, if applicable. The

practitioner can provide you with details.

Paid Preparer

Generally, anyone you pay to prepare your amended 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 amended return for your records. Someone who prepares

your amended return but doesn’t charge you shouldn’t sign.

Assembling Your Return

For e-filed Forms 1040-X, your software will continue to

TIP select the order of your forms and attachments. For

paper-filed Forms 1040-X, see below.

You must place behind your completed paper-filed Form

1040-X a completed and updated Form 1040, 1040-SR, or

1040-NR with the changes you are submitting.

For paper-filed Forms 1040-X, assemble any new or changed

schedules and forms behind your completed, updated Form

1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR in the 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.

Attach to the front of Form 1040-X:

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

Shareholder of Undistributed Long-Term Capital Gains, that

supports changes made on this return;

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Form 1040-X isn't considered a valid return unless you sign it in

accordance with the requirements in these instructions. If you

are filing an amended joint return, your spouse must also sign. If

your spouse can't sign the return, see Pub. 501. Be sure to date

your return and enter your occupation(s). If you have someone

prepare your amended return, you are still responsible for the

correctness of the amended return. If your amended return is

signed by a representative for you, you must have a power of

attorney attached that specifically authorizes the representative

to sign your amended return. To do this, you can use Form 2848.

If you are filing an amended joint return as a surviving spouse,

see Death of a Taxpayer in the instructions for your original tax

return.

Self-Select PIN. The Self-Select PIN method allows you to

create your own PIN. If you are married filing jointly, you and your

spouse will each need to create a PIN and enter these PINs as

your electronic signatures.

A PIN is any combination of five digits you choose except five

zeros. If you use a PIN, there is nothing to sign and nothing to

mail—not even your Forms W-2.

Your electronic return is considered a validly signed return

only when it includes your PIN; last name; date of birth; IP PIN, if

applicable; and AGI from your originally filed prior year federal

income tax return, if applicable. If you're filing jointly, your

electronic return must also include your spouse's PIN; last name;

date of birth; IP PIN, if applicable; and AGI, if applicable, in order

to be considered validly signed. Don't use your AGI from an

amended return (Form 1040-X) or a math error correction made

by the IRS. Your AGI from your prior year return is generally the

amount shown on the federal income tax return you filed last

year that was due last year. For example, when filing an

amended return in 2023, enter the amount from your 2021 Form

1040 ,1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 11, that you filed in 2022. If you

didn't file a prior year income tax return, or we have not yet

processed or only recently processed your prior year tax return,

enter “$0” as the prior year AGI verification. If you don't have your

prior year income tax return, call the IRS at 800-908-9946 to get

a free transcript of your return or go to IRS.gov/Transcript. If you

filed electronically last year, you, and your spouse if filing jointly,

may use your prior year PIN to verify your identity instead of your

prior year AGI. The prior year PIN is the five-digit PIN you used to

electronically sign your prior year return.

TREASURY/IRS AND OMB USE ONLY DRAFT

• A copy of any Form W-2G, Certain Gambling Winnings; or

Form 1099-R that supports 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 supports changes made on this return.

Attach to the back of Form 1040-X 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 Line 20, earlier.

Where To File

You can file Form 1040-X electronically with tax filing software to

amend Forms 1040, 1040-SR, and 1040-NR. Go to IRS.gov/

Filing/Amended-Return-Frequently-Asked-Questions for more

information.

IF you are filing

Form 1040-X...

in response to a notice you

received from the IRS

with Form 1040-NR or

1040-NR-EZ

THEN mail Form 1040-X

and attachments to...

the address shown

in the notice.

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Austin, TX 73301-0215

If none of the situations listed above apply to you, mail your

amended return to the Internal Revenue Service Center shown

next that applies to you.

THEN mail Form 1040-X

and attachments to...

Alabama, Arkansas, Florida,

Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi,

Oklahoma, or Texas

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Austin, TX 73301-0052

Alaska, Arizona, California,

Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa,

Kansas, Michigan, Montana,

Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico,

North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon,

South Dakota, Utah, Washington,

or Wyoming

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Ogden, UT 84201-0052

Connecticut, Delaware, District of

Columbia, Illinois, Indiana,

Kentucky, Maine, Maryland,

Massachusetts, Minnesota,

Missouri, New Hampshire, New

Jersey, New York, North Carolina,

Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,

South Carolina, Tennessee,

Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, or

Wisconsin

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Kansas City, MO 64999-0052

A foreign country, U.S. territory;* or

use an APO or FPO address, or

file Form 2555 or 4563, or are a

dual-status alien

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Austin, TX 73301-0215

*If you live in American Samoa, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or

the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, see Pub. 570.

Private delivery services (PDSs). Taxpayers can use certain

PDSs 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 a PDS, go

to IRS.gov/PDSStreetAddresses.

PDSs 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

CAUTION address.

!

The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) Is Here To

Help You

What Is the Taxpayer Advocate Service?

The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is an independent

organization within the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). TAS

helps taxpayers resolve problems with the IRS, makes

administrative and legislative recommendations to prevent or

correct the problems, and protects taxpayer rights. We work to

ensure that every taxpayer is treated fairly and that you know and

understand your rights under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. We are

Your Voice at the IRS.

How Can TAS Help Me?

TAS can help you resolve problems that you haven’t been able to

resolve with the IRS on your own. Always try to resolve your

problem with the IRS first, but if you can’t, then come to TAS.

Our services are free.

• TAS helps all taxpayers (and their representatives), including

individuals, businesses, and exempt organizations. You may be

eligible for TAS help if your IRS problem is causing financial

difficulty, if you’ve tried and been unable to resolve your issue

12

Instructions for Form 1040-X (Rev. December 2025)

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If you are amending your return on paper because of any of

the situations listed next, use the corresponding address.

IF you live in...

TREASURY/IRS AND OMB USE ONLY DRAFT

with the IRS, or if you believe an IRS system, process, or

procedure just isn’t working as it should.

• To get help any time with general tax topics, visit

www.TaxpayerAdvocate.IRS.gov.The site can help you with

common tax issues and situations, such as what to do if you

make a mistake on your return or if you get a notice from the IRS.

• TAS works to resolve large-scale (systemic) problems that

affect many taxpayers. You can report systemic issues

atwww.IRS.gov/SAMS. (Be sure not to include any personal

identifiable information.)

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.

How Do I Contact TAS?

We welcome comments on forms. If you have comments

concerning the accuracy of the 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/FormComments. 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 your Form

1040-X to this office.

TAS has offices in every state, the District of Columbia, and

Puerto Rico. To find your local advocate’s number:

• Go towww.TaxpayerAdvocate.IRS.gov/Contact-Us.

• Check your local directory, or

• Call TAS toll free at 877-777-4778.

The Taxpayer Bill of Rights describes ten basic rights that all

taxpayers have when dealing with the IRS. Go to The Taxpayer

Bill of Rights describes ten basic rights that all taxpayers have

when dealing with the IRS. Go to

www.TaxpayerAdvocate.IRS.gov/Taxpayer-Rights for more

information about the rights, what they mean to you, and how

they apply to specific situations you may encounter with the IRS.

TAS strives to protect taxpayer rights and ensure the IRS is

administering the tax law in a fair and equitable way.

Low Income Taxpayer Clinics Help

Taxpayers

Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs) are independent from the

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Taxpayer Advocate

Service (TAS). LITCs represent individuals whose income is

below a certain level and who need to resolve tax problems with

the IRS. LITCs can represent taxpayers in audits, appeals, and

tax collection disputes before the IRS and in court. In addition,

LITCs can provide information about taxpayer rights and

responsibilities in different languages for individuals who speak

English as a second language. Services are offered for free or a

small fee. For more information or to find an LITC near you, see

the LITC page at TaxpayerAdvocate.IRS.gov/LITCmap or IRS

Publication 4134, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic List. This

publication is available online at IRS.gov/Forms-Pubs or by

calling the IRS toll free at 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice

Estimates of Taxpayer Burden

The table below shows burden estimates as of November 2022

for taxpayers filing a Form 1040-X 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 1040-X is 9 hours, with

an average cost of $200 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.

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.

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.

Estimates of Taxpayer Burden

All 1040-X

Taxpayers

Average Time Burden

(Hours)

Average Cost

(Dollars)

9

$230

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

Instructions for Form 1040-X (Rev. December 2025)

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What Are My Rights as a Taxpayer?

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.