OT: Do I need to file an amendment to my tax return?

[Sarcany]

I did my own taxes. E-Filed.

Just noticed that I made a mistake on form 8889.

I left the distributions field blank for distributions from a HSA account reported in a 1099-SA form.

The distributions were all for legit healthcare expenses and do not change the amount that I owe the government in any way.

Do I need to file an amendment to my federal return?

[sekker]

Up to you. I would likely just keep all of the paperwork in case you are audited.

[blooz]

Don't take my advice because i am not a lawyer, but I would just let it go. There are a lot of returns coming in and many of them will be of far more interest to the IRS than yours.

[max]

If it does not affect bottom line, I would leave it alone....

[Michael]

I agree with the above.

The IRS might send you a paper audit that basically says they found something and this is what you owe. If you disagree you can pursue it. Obviously if you owe nothing you wouldn't object. My impression from getting these over the years is that they are computer generated. If you object a human looks at it.

[Robert M]

Sarcany,

This is one of the reasons I use an accountant for taxes. If there is a screw up like the one you mentioned, it's on the accountant to take the appropriate steps to correct it, assuming a correction is necessary and/or worthwhile. If you're concerned, spend the minimal bucks to have an accountant go over the entire return. Or, if you used a tax program, contact the publisher. I believe at least one of them - Turbotax if I remember correctly - has accountants on hand to help with this sort of thing.

Robert

[Sarcany]

Robert M wrote:
Sarcany,

This is one of the reasons I use an accountant for taxes. If there is a screw up like the one you mentioned, it's on the accountant to take the appropriate steps to correct it, assuming a correction is necessary and/or worthwhile. If you're concerned, spend the minimal bucks to have an accountant go over the entire return. Or, if you used a tax program, contact the publisher. I believe at least one of them - Turbotax if I remember correctly - has accountants on hand to help with this sort of thing.

I have a very simple return.

An accountant would charge several times more than my refund would fetch.

I did use TurboTax and contacted their support line. Walked through the process of generating an amended return, however, they would offer no advice as to whether I actually had to file an amended return.

[NewtonMP2100]

....what they said above.....if it doesn't affect the bottom line in a major way.....as they say in Frozen......let it go......let it go.....

[Robert M]

Sarcany,

That's something you might have mentioned in your initial post. I might have responded differently. Still, I've always felt it's worth using an accountant. More expensive than DYI but definitely worthwhile for those who don't really get dealing with a return and/or have a more complex taxes. Even a simple return can have mistakes that a good accountant will catch.

Robert

[Janit]

Sarcany wrote:
[quote=Robert M]
Sarcany,

This is one of the reasons I use an accountant for taxes. If there is a screw up like the one you mentioned, it's on the accountant to take the appropriate steps to correct it, assuming a correction is necessary and/or worthwhile. If you're concerned, spend the minimal bucks to have an accountant go over the entire return. Or, if you used a tax program, contact the publisher. I believe at least one of them - Turbotax if I remember correctly - has accountants on hand to help with this sort of thing.

I have a very simple return.

An accountant would charge several times more than my refund would fetch.

I did use TurboTax and contacted their support line. Walked through the process of generating an amended return, however, they would offer no advice as to whether I actually had to file an amended return.
I would be most concerned as to how this error might affect your return for next year.

I am not familiar with how HSA accounts are followed, but if the balance is propagated forward to the next year, you may eventually generate a mismatch that an IRS computer audit might pick up.

On the other hand, if an HSA account is generated/used only within a given calendar year and isolated from the next year, then it probably won't be picked up.