It sometimes happens that after mailing in your tax returns, you realize, to your horror, that you have made a mistake (or two). If this sounds familiar it may be time to talk to a tax professional to get your returns amended. In some instances government tax reps will correct basic math errors and even accept basic returns that haven’t included all their paperwork. If that happens to you, great! If not, tax professionals are standing by to help.

But if you know you made a mistake with what you put down as your filing status, the amount of income that you received the past year, an error on your deductions or your credits, you will definitely need to go ahead and look into how to file for an amended tax return. The process is typically very easy and simple, depending on what type of error you made on your original tax return papers.

Filing an amended return requires Form 1040X if you are just correcting mistakes made on your 1040, 1040A, 1040NR, 1040NR-EZ or 1040EZ. These forms can be downloaded in PDF format from the IRS website. If you will be filing any additional tax relief returns, it is important that you wait until you receive the amount promised from your original refund before you file additional claim forms.

If you owe taxes and the due date has not passed yet, you will need to file a Form 1040X and make sure that you pay your taxes by the due date so that you are not faced with a lot of penalties and extra interest charges that could have easily been avoided. Due dates that fall on the weekend or on a government celebrated holiday, your due date will actually be on the very next business day (Monday through Friday).

If you require the assistance of a service center to help you fill out your tax amendment forms, you can find the address and other contact information for the location that is closest to you by looking at the Form 1040X instructions that are listed on the IRS website. You can also call the IRS customer service center and a tax professional can address your concerns over the phone.

There may be a situation come up when amending your tax return that may require the help from a legal advisor in order to get the refund amount that you deserve without any penalties. A tax lawyer is always a good investment when dealing with legal issues regarding the IRS and their paperwork. Some of the reasons why you may need the assistance of a professional lawyer are if you need someone to handle a highly complex, technical or legal tax issue that you can not solve on your own, if you have a taxable estate or you need to configure a estate planning strategy, and if you are planning on bringing a suit against the IRS, you will definitely require the help of a legal advisor.

These lawyers can also assist you with plans to find independent review of your case before you face US Tax Court, if you happen to be under criminal investigation with the IRS, or if you have every committed tax fraud, which would include claiming false income, deductions or credits. If this is your unfortunate circumstance then you you will need tax help from a tax lawyer in order to resolve your case.

It is important that you ask the lawyer that you plan on choosing if they have any type of experience working with similar cases to your own, and if they will, indeed, be able to help you with your own legal tax needs. If not then they may be able to refer you to another tax attorney that can help you with your case.

As you are filing your Form 1040X it is important that you remember to attach any copies that you may have of any original forms or schedules that you are changing or will need to be changed due to the amendment. This includes any W-2 forms that you may have as well as any you received after you initially filed your tax return. You can find all of the necessary tax forms that you will need by calling 800-829-3676 or visiting the IRS website. Keep in mind that amended tax forms can not be processed online by using the e-file system, even if you used this system to file your initial tax return. The usual processing time for a Form 1040X is typically eight to twelve weeks from the date that the IRS received your forms.