I forgot to submit one of my W2s when filing taxes last year - how do I fix this?
I just received my W2 for 2023 so I can start working on my 2024 taxes, but I realized I made a huge mistake last year. When filing my 2023 taxes, I completely forgot to include the W2 from a part-time side gig I had. Can't believe I overlooked this! The job was pretty short-term and I only made around $5,000 from it, but still... I only submitted the W2 and information from my main full-time job. Now I'm worried about what to do. Can I somehow correct this error when filing this year's taxes? Or do I need to fill out some special form to fix this? Should I contact the IRS directly? I've never been in this situation before and I'm honestly not sure what the right approach is. Any advice would be super helpful!
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Isabella Silva
You'll need to file an amended return using Form 1040-X to correct this mistake. The IRS doesn't allow you to simply add last year's missing income to this year's return - each tax year needs to be reported accurately. Since you didn't report all your income, you likely underpaid your taxes. Filing an amended return will probably result in you owing additional tax plus interest on the amount you should have paid originally. There might also be a penalty, though it's usually small for honest mistakes. You can file a 1040-X electronically through most tax software or download the form from the IRS website. You'll need to include the corrected information showing both W2s. Make sure you check the box indicating you're amending due to "unreported income.
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Ravi Choudhury
•How long do you have to file an amended return before the IRS considers it tax evasion? I had a similar situation a couple years ago and have been nervous about filing...
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Isabella Silva
•The IRS generally gives you 3 years from the original filing deadline to amend your return without major issues. Filing an amendment, even later, shows good faith that you're trying to correct a mistake rather than evade taxes. The sooner you file the amendment, the less interest will accrue on any taxes owed. If you're worried about a situation from a couple years ago, you should definitely file an amended return now. The IRS is much more likely to be lenient with taxpayers who voluntarily correct errors before they're discovered in an audit.
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Freya Andersen
I went through something similar last year with missing income on my taxes. After hours of frustrating research and trying to figure out which forms to file, I discovered this tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that really helped me understand what I needed to do. It analyzed my situation and walked me through the exact steps to file my amendment. The nicest part was that it could look at both my W2s and instantly tell me what the difference in my tax liability would be. Definitely made a stressful situation way easier to deal with - especially figuring out which boxes on the 1040-X needed to be changed.
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Omar Farouk
•Did you have to pay a lot in penalties when you amended? I'm in a similar situation and worried about how much this mistake is gonna cost me.
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CosmicCadet
•Does it work for more complicated situations too? I had some investment income I forgot to report plus an extra W2 from a contract job.
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Freya Andersen
•The penalties weren't as bad as I expected - I think it was around 3% of what I owed plus some interest. The whole thing came to less than $100 extra beyond the taxes I should have paid originally. The peace of mind was definitely worth it! For complicated situations, that's actually where it worked best for me. It handled both my W2 income and some 1099 work I had forgotten about. It even pointed out a deduction I had missed that partially offset what I owed. The tool can analyze pretty much any tax document you upload.
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CosmicCadet
Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai for my missing income issue. It was honestly way better than I expected! I uploaded my original return plus the missing W2 and investment docs, and it showed me exactly how much I would owe with the amendment (about $430 less than I feared). The step-by-step instructions for filing the 1040-X made the process super clear. I was most worried about calculating the correct amounts for each line, but the tool handled all of that. Definitely recommend for anyone in a similar situation!
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Chloe Harris
If you're also having trouble getting through to the IRS about this issue (I was on hold for 2+ hours), I finally had success using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). They have this system that holds your place in the IRS phone queue and calls you back when an agent is about to answer. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was skeptical at first, but I needed to ask some specific questions about my amended return situation. Got a callback in about 45 minutes and was able to speak directly with an IRS agent who confirmed exactly what I needed to do for my forgotten W2. Saved me an entire afternoon of waiting on hold!
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Diego Mendoza
•How does this actually work? Seems kinda sketchy that they can somehow jump the line when the rest of us have to wait forever...
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Anastasia Popova
•Yeah right. Nothing gets you through to the IRS faster. They're probably just recording your info and selling it. No way this actually works.
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Chloe Harris
•It doesn't jump the line at all - it just waits in the queue for you. They use an automated system that basically sits on hold instead of you, then calls you when it's about to connect. You still wait the same amount of time as everyone else, but you don't have to sit there listening to hold music the entire time. I had the same concern about privacy, but they don't actually get any of your tax information. You're connected directly to the IRS agent when they call you back. They're just providing the connection service - they don't hear or record any of your conversation with the IRS.
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Anastasia Popova
Well I'm eating my words now. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try Claimyr anyway because I had been trying to reach the IRS for THREE DAYS about an amended return issue. Got a callback in about an hour and actually spoke to someone helpful at the IRS! The agent confirmed I was filling out the 1040-X correctly and gave me some specific advice for my situation. Can't believe I wasted so many hours on hold before this. Sometimes being wrong feels pretty good...
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Sean Flanagan
You could also look into the IRS Voluntary Disclosure Program if you're worried about penalties. I had to amend 2 years of returns after finding some missed 1099 income and this helped reduce the penalties significantly.
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Zara Shah
•Is that different from just filing an amended return? How do you access that program?
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Sean Flanagan
•The Voluntary Disclosure Program is just a more formal way of approaching the IRS about unreported income. It's typically used for more serious cases than a forgotten W2, especially ones involving foreign income or multiple years of significant unreported income. For a single forgotten W2, a standard amended return (1040-X) is usually the right approach. The fact that you're voluntarily correcting the mistake before being contacted by the IRS already works in your favor for penalty reduction.
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NebulaNomad
Does anyone know if TurboTax makes this process easier? I used them last year and also forgot a W2... dreading having to figure this all out.
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Luca Ferrari
•TurboTax does have an amendment feature, but in my experience it's not very user-friendly. They charge extra for it too.
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Javier Cruz
•I tried TurboTax's amendment feature last year and @Luca Ferrari is right - it s'clunky and they do charge extra. The interface wasn t'very clear about which sections I needed to change, and I ended up more confused than when I started. For a straightforward forgotten W2 situation, you might be better off just downloading the 1040-X form directly from the IRS website and filling it out manually. It s'actually not as complicated as it looks once you get started. The instructions are pretty clear about where to enter the additional income.
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