Should I file a 1040x now or should I try to fix differently

Ok, so I’ll keep it simple: filed my 2024 taxes today, 2 jobs with W2 forms. In my form 1040, my tax preparer adjusted my gross income because I told him that I maxed out my Roth IRA in 2024. I specifically explained that all the money I put into that IRA came from my bank account after receiving my paychecks.

From what I’ve seen online, he should not have adjusted my gross income, should he?

And you specifically said ‘I made Roth IRA contributions from my bank account,’ very clearly?

If you did explicitly say that, then your preparer should be amending your return for free.

If you only said ‘I made $7,000 IRA contributions from my bank account from my paychecks,’ then it is on you. And you pay him to amend your return.

@Dara
Yes! This is what I said more than once. ‘I get my direct deposit to my bank account, after that money is there I put the money into the Roth IRA.’ I literally showed him the account on my banking app.

A Roth IRA contribution doesn’t change AGI.

Shawn said:
A Roth IRA contribution doesn’t change AGI.

Man, I explained multiple times. The money I contribute to that IRA comes from my bank account after I get my checks, it is not pretax. This is what I get for paying an ‘expert’ lol.

E-filing for the 2024 season isn’t open yet, so your return hasn’t been submitted to the IRS (assuming you e-file, which, if you have a paid preparer, they’re required to do). E-filing opens on January 27th this year.

Your return may be held in the tax pro’s e-filing queue since the IRS doesn’t open for personal returns until January 27th. You should contact the preparer and see if your return can be held from filing. Re-doing the return before it’s actually e-filed is far better than doing an amended return later.

He shouldn’t have.

You need to file an amended return.

Chen said:
He shouldn’t have.

You need to file an amended return.

Exactly what I thought! Now I’m supposed to get $4k back. I know this is going to be less when I change this. How should I go about fixing this?

@Lin
File an amended return.

Chen said:
@Lin
File an amended return.

I know the IRS will not be processing tax filings until the end of January, can I file the amend now or should I wait till it is processed?

Lin said:

Chen said:
@Lin
File an amended return.

I know the IRS will not be processing tax filings until the end of January, can I file the amend now or should I wait till it is processed?

You should probably wait until it’s processed.

@Chen
Thank you! I will try to file it myself, from what I’ve seen it is not too difficult to fill out.

Where exactly on your return (your Form 1040 and schedules) did he enter your Roth IRA contribution?

Was it on Form 8880? Anywhere else?

Ellis said:
Where exactly on your return (your Form 1040 and schedules) did he enter your Roth IRA contribution?

Was it on Form 8880? Anywhere else?

In the form 1040 on the income section, on line 10 he put the $7,000.

@Lin
Thank you. If this was a Roth IRA, he shouldn’t have done that.

Ellis said:
@Lin
Thank you. If this was a Roth IRA, he shouldn’t have done that.

Yes, in Schedule 1 under IRA contributions, that’s where he put the $7k. Now my question is, should I file a 1040X now or wait till the IRS processes the 1040?

@Lin
If you are single and your AGI was under $38,250, you may be entitled to the Savers Credit. That is claimed using Form 8880. If you are eligible, make sure that was filed:

I would file the amended return after your first return is processed. You want to make sure that the IRS does not make any changes on its own that would send you around in circles if you filed the amended return now. But if the IRS does not process by April 15, then get it filed by April 15.

@Ellis
Thanks! Luckily, I make more than the $38k (with the cost of everything I don’t know how someone would get by making that much). I will do this. I wish the IRS would make it easier for us to make these changes. My dad went on a payment plan with them a while back to pay some money he owed them, he literally had arguments with them for hours because they would not take his payments! The same payments they requested!

Contact the preparer and see if they’ve released the return to the IRS. They should hopefully be able to correct the return now since e-file doesn’t open until the 27th.

Also, for the future, when using a paid preparer, always review your return and ask questions before signing and returning your e-file authorization forms.