Tax Tip of the Week
900 N. Kings Highway, Cherry Hill, New Jersey 08034
856.667.4100 ·
215.563.0276 ·
Fax: 856.667.3652
For the week of
April 23, 2001
Don't overpay your income tax
Has this ever happened to you? You rush to get your income tax return in the mail
only to discover a deduction you overlooked. Or you receive a corrected year-end statement for one of your investments
a week after you dropped your return in the mail. Well, the good news is that you can correct your return for up
to three years after you file your original return.
Oversights and errors are not uncommon, so the IRS provides a way for you to correct them. You need to tell the
IRS why you are correcting the return, and include the appropriate attachments, such as a corrected Form W-2, with
your amended return.
Filing an amended return doesn't extend the time the IRS has to examine your returns unless your original or amended
returns were fraudulently filed. The IRS generally has three years from the date your original tax return was due
or from the time it was filed to examine your returns (both original and amended) and to adjust your tax. If your
amended return is properly prepared, your chances of being audited are probably no greater than they were on your
original return.
You should consider the size of the refund or balance due before you rush to amend your return. In other words,
a $25 refund would probably waste more of your time than it is worth.
If you've discovered income or deductions that you should have reported on
your income tax return, give us a call. We can help you set the record straight and pay only the tax actually due.
Click here to view previous tax tips.
"Tax Tips" are published weekly to
provide useful tax information. Return to this site every week for helpful tax-cutting suggestions, tax reminders,
and current tax information.
The information contained in this site is of a general nature and should not be acted upon in your specific situation
without further details and/or professional assistance.
If you would like more information on anything in "Tax Tips," or if you'd like to be on our mailing list
to receive other tax-cutting information from time to time, please contact our office. We're here to help.
