Can I amend my tax return using a different company than H&R Block? Need to add forgotten 1099 income

You can absolutely use a different company to file your amendment than you used for your original return. There's no IRS requirement that you stick with the same tax preparation service. When you file an amendment (Form 1040-X), you're essentially telling the IRS "here are the changes I need to make to my original return." The IRS doesn't care which software or service helped you prepare that amendment. They just care that the information is correct and properly reported. To file your amendment, you'll need a copy of your original return (which you should have from H&R Block) plus the new information about your 1099 income. FreeTaxUSA or any other tax preparation service will walk you through entering both your original information and the new details to generate the proper amendment form. Just be aware that all amendments for this tax year must be filed on paper - electronic amendments aren't available yet for current year returns. So whichever service you choose will need to generate a paper form that you'll mail to the IRS.

I was in a similar situation last year and found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) super helpful for my amendment situation. I had originally filed with TurboTax but didn't want to pay their ridiculous amendment fee. What I liked about taxr.ai was that I could upload my original return PDF from TurboTax and my new 1099 document, and their system analyzed everything to make sure I wasn't missing anything else. It actually found an education credit I had missed on my original filing too, which ended up saving me quite a bit! The system compared my original return against what it should have been with the 1099 included and showed me exactly what changed. Made the whole amendment process way less stressful since I was worried about making more mistakes.

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai that someone recommended here. I was nervous about amending my return since I also forgot a 1099, but it was way easier than expected! I uploaded my original return from H&R Block and my missing 1099-NEC form, and taxr.ai highlighted exactly what changed between my original and amended return. The comparison feature really helped me understand the impact of adding the additional income. The best part was discovering I had actually overlooked some business expenses that were deductible against that 1099 income. So while I still owed more in taxes, it wasn't nearly as bad as I feared. They generated all the amendment forms I needed to print and mail in, and even included instructions for where to send everything. Definitely recommend for anyone in a similar situation with forgotten 1099 income. So much more affordable than going back to H&R Block!

Has anyone tried calling the IRS directly about amendments? I've been trying for WEEKS to get someone on the phone about my amendment questions and it's impossible. Either "call volumes are too high" or I wait on hold for hours only to get disconnected. I finally found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that actually gets the IRS to call YOU instead of waiting on hold. Watched their demo video (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) and decided to try it since I was desperate for answers about my amendment. No joke - I had an IRS agent on the phone within 45 minutes! The agent confirmed I could absolutely use any tax service for my amendment, not just the original one I filed with. She even gave me some tips about what documentation to include with my amendment to speed up processing.

I've got to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it anyway because I was desperate to talk to someone about my amended return that's been processing for 6 months. I used their service yesterday afternoon, and sure enough, I got a call from an actual IRS representative about 30 minutes later. The agent was able to look up my amendment status and confirm they received it but hadn't processed it yet. She gave me the direct extension for the amendments department for future reference and told me what documentation I should be gathering in case they need additional information. The most valuable thing was getting peace of mind about my situation instead of wondering if my amendment was lost in the system. Definitely worth it for anyone who's struggling to get answers from the IRS about their amendment situation.

Just a heads up if you're amending to add 1099 income - make sure you're also considering if you need to add Schedule SE for self-employment tax. That's a mistake I made when amending last year. I added the 1099 income but forgot that I also needed to pay the self-employment tax portion (the extra 15.3% for Social Security and Medicare that employers usually pay half of). Got a nasty surprise bill from the IRS months later for the missing SE tax plus penalties and interest. Also check if you need to amend your state return too! Most states require an amendment if your federal return changes.

I amended with TaxAct after originally filing with H&R Block last year. No issues at all. Just make sure when you start the amendment that you enter all the information EXACTLY as it appeared on your original return first, then add the new stuff. One thing to watch for - some of the cheaper services have limits on how complex your return can be. If your 1099 income means you need certain business schedules, double check that FreeTaxUSA's amendment option includes those forms at the price point you're looking at.