Should I amend my 2022 tax return for a $30 error on Form 8949?

For a $30 error that doesn't affect your tax liability, you're generally fine not amending. Here's why: The IRS primarily cares about errors that change your tax liability. Since you were already at the $3,000 capital loss limit, this mistake only affects your carryover amount, not what you paid or received as a refund for 2022. If you want to be technically correct, you could file Form 1040-X with corrected Schedule D and Form 8949. But honestly, it's probably not worth the hassle. You can simply adjust your capital loss carryover on your 2023 return to account for the additional $30 loss. To answer your specific questions: 1. The IRS likely wouldn't care about this minor error with no tax impact 2. Filing an amended return is probably unnecessary administrative work 3. This type of amendment wouldn't increase audit risk - it's minor and doesn't change tax liability 4. Yes, this is exactly the kind of small error where "lesson learned" is appropriate 5. Filing an amendment could delay processing your 2023 return if you file before the amendment is processed 6. Just make sure to use the correct carryover amount on your 2023 return The practical approach is to use the correct carryover amount on your 2023 return and move forward.

After making a similar mistake a couple years back, I found this awesome tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helps catch these exact kinds of errors. I was dealing with multiple stock transactions and messed up some cost basis calculations on my 8949 form. What's cool is you can upload your tax documents and it automatically finds discrepancies like the one you're describing. I used it to double-check my 2022 return after filing and it caught a $200 error in my capital loss calculations that I wouldn't have noticed otherwise. For small errors like yours that don't affect your refund, it confirmed what I suspected - that amending wasn't necessary since it only affected my carryover. But for peace of mind, it was worth knowing for sure rather than worrying about it.

I was skeptical about these online tax review tools but decided to try taxr.ai after my post above. I'm eating my words now because it actually saved me from a much bigger mistake on my Schedule D than the OP's $30 error. Turns out I had completely forgotten to include a stock I sold in 2022 (facepalm) which would have definitely caused problems. The system flagged the missing 1099-B form data against what was reported to the IRS. The interface was straightforward and I didn't need to be a tax expert to understand what was wrong. For what it's worth to the original poster - the system confirmed that small carryover adjustments like yours typically don't need amendments, but it's good to use the correct carryover amount going forward. It gave me peace of mind knowing I wasn't going to get a nasty letter from the IRS.

I faced a similar issue last year but with a much larger amount ($500 error on Form 8949). After spending WEEKS trying to reach someone at the IRS to get clarity, I finally discovered Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). They have this service where they get you connected to an actual IRS agent quickly - you can see a demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. I was able to speak directly with an IRS representative who confirmed exactly what I needed to do about my Form 8949 error. The agent told me that since my error didn't change my tax liability (I was also at the $3k capital loss limit), I could simply correct the carryover amount on my next return without filing an amendment. Saved me from filing an unnecessary amended return AND from worrying about whether I was handling it correctly. Getting that direct confirmation from the IRS gave me total peace of mind.

I need to apologize for my skeptical comment above. After another frustrating morning of getting disconnected by the IRS phone system trying to resolve a similar issue with my Schedule D, I decided to try Claimyr out of desperation. It actually worked exactly as described. I got a call back within about 45 minutes with an IRS agent already on the line. The agent confirmed that for small errors that don't affect tax liability (like the OP's $30 Form 8949 mistake), they generally don't recommend filing an amended return - just correct the carryover amount going forward. The IRS agent also mentioned that they have internal thresholds for discrepancies and small carryover differences typically don't trigger any flags in their system. This saved me hours of frustration and worry. Sometimes being skeptical means I miss out on useful services.

I'm a bit late to this thread, but I had almost exactly the same situation last year - $45 error on Form 8949 that didn't change my refund due to the $3,000 capital loss limit. I called my friend who's been doing taxes for 15+ years, and he laughed when I asked if I should amend. His advice: "Would you spend an hour filling out paperwork, pay postage, and potentially deal with processing delays to give someone $0? That's what you'd be doing." He explained that the IRS systems are primarily looking for discrepancies that affect tax liability. The capital loss carryover is self-reported each year anyway, and small adjustments happen all the time due to various corrections and adjustments. Just make sure your 2023 return uses the correct carryover amount. That's all that matters.

I made a similar mistake but much worse - $1,200 error on my 8949 that DID affect my tax liability. I didn't catch it until this year. The main difference between your situation and mine is that mine actually changed how much I owed, so I absolutely had to amend. The IRS actually caught it themselves and sent me a notice, which led to penalties and interest. For your $30 error that doesn't change your tax liability, even my CPA said not to bother amending. He explained that the IRS systems are designed to catch errors that impact how much tax you paid, not minor reporting errors that don't affect your bottom line. Just use the correct carryover amount going forward and you'll be fine!