How can I amend my tax return?

If you realized that you could have been deducting flight crew taxes for your flight crew employment for years in the past, the good news is that you may be able to amend your tax return for those years.  EZPerDiem has data back as far as 2006, although the IRS only allows taxpayers to amend three years back.

Key points to amending a flight crewmember tax return

• If you can amend a tax return, use IRS Form 1040X to do it.  
• An amended return cannot be filed electronically, thus you must file it by paper.
• If you are amending more than one tax return, prepare a 1040X for each return and mail them in separate envelopes to the appropriate IRS campus. The 1040X instructions list the addresses for the campuses.
• The new IRS Form 2106 must also be attached to the 1040X for the year you are amending.

How long do I have to amend my tax return?
The IRS form 1040X must be filed within 3 years from the due date of your original return to claim an extra tax refund.  If you wait one day beyond that 3 years, you will not be able to get the refund you are entitled to.  For example, your 2010 tax return was due on April 15th, 2011. Add three years to that, and you have until April 15th, 2014, to file your 2010 tax return and still get a tax refund. If you file your 2010 return after April 15th, 2014, then your refund is forfeited.

The following list shows the latest dates that an amended return must be filed to get a refund:

• 2010 taxes - Form 1040X must be filed no later than April 15th, 2014
• 2011 taxes - Form 1040X must be filed no later than April 15th, 2015
• 2012 taxes - Form 1040X must be filed no later than April 15th, 2016
• 2013 taxes - Form 1040X must be filed no later than April 15th, 2017
• 2014 taxes - Form 1040X must be filed no later than April 15th, 2018