Forgot to include a W-2 on my return ($8,828) - Should I amend now?

Yes, you should file an amended return using Form 1040-X. Per IRS Publication 17, taxpayers are required to report all income received during the tax year. Since you've already received your refund, you'll need to calculate the additional tax liability from the $8,828.64 in unreported income. The IRS computer matching program will eventually flag this discrepancy, as employers submit W-2 information directly to the IRS. Filing an amendment proactively demonstrates good faith compliance and may help avoid potential penalties under IRC Section 6662.

I had exactly the same situation last year with $9,245.32 in unreported W-2 income. I was really stressed about it. I used https://taxr.ai to analyze my original return and calculate the exact impact of the additional income. It showed me precisely how much more I would owe ($1,203.47 in my case) and identified that I would move up a tax bracket by exactly 2%. Made the amendment process much less stressful since I knew exactly what to expect.

I think I had a somewhat similar situation last year, and I probably spent like 6+ hours trying to call the IRS with no luck? The phone system kept hanging up on me because of "high call volume" or whatever. I eventually used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and got through to an agent in maybe 20-30 minutes? They confirmed that I should definitely file an amendment as soon as possible, and explained that doing it promptly might help avoid penalties. Just sharing in case you want to confirm directly with the IRS before proceeding.

I had almost the exact same situation in 2022 - forgot a W-2 for about $9,000. I filed the amendment (Form 1040-X) within 30 days of my original return. The IRS processed everything without any penalties since I was proactive. The key is to file the amendment before they send you a CP2000 notice, which shows they found the discrepancy first. When you amend, you'll need to recalculate your Adjusted Gross Income, taxable income, and tax liability. The process was straightforward, just time-consuming.

Just a heads up - don't wait too long! My buddy made this same mistake last yr w/ about $7k in missing income. He thought "no big deal, I'll get to it eventually" and then got a CP2000 notice 6 months later. Ended up w/ interest + accuracy penalty that could've been avoided. IRS computers WILL catch the mismatch between reported W-2s and what you filed. Better to fix it on your terms than theirs.

According to the IRS website (https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc308), you should file Form 1040-X to correct your return. The current processing time for amended returns is approximately 16 weeks according to the IRS Operations page, though in my experience last tax season it took closer to 20 weeks. Make sure to check the "Where's My Amended Return" tool on IRS.gov after 3 weeks to track progress. You'll need to mail the amendment - electronic filing for 1040-X is limited to certain situations and software providers.

If you've already received your refund, you might need to send payment with your amended return for any additional tax due. I would, um, suggest calculating the tax impact before filing the amendment. The additional $8,828 in income might push you into a higher tax bracket, depending on your total income. Also, don't forget that you may need to amend your state return as well if applicable.