Eligibility When Will I Get the Payment? Did I Get the Right Amount? Amended Returns Change of Address Taxpayer Identification Numbers Direct Deposit Armed Forces Business Taxpayers Outside the U.S., Offsets, Other Questions Amended Returns Updated July 25, 2008 Q: What if I already filed my return but have additional income to report that would make me eligible for a stimulus payment? A: If you have additional qualifying income for Social Security, Veterans Affairs or Railroad Retirement benefits that you would like to report, you can file an amended return using Form 1040X PDF. See a sample PDF with instructions. Due to the high volume of amended returns, please allow 16 weeks for the IRS to process your amended return before making any inquiries about your return and stimulus payment. Q. Will filing an amended return affect my stimulus payment? A. In most cases, an amended return will not affect the stimulus payment. While amended returns will be processed to correct the income, deductions and income tax as appropriate, the economic stimulus payment amount will not be adjusted based on an amended return. The reason for this is that the reconciliation provision within the Stimulus Act gives taxpayers an opportunity to claim and receive any underpayment amount as a Recovery Rebate Credit when they file their 2008 return next year. In very limited circumstances, amended returns that are filed solely to include previously unreported qualifying income may result in the issuance of a stimulus payment that was not issued based upon a taxpayer's original return. However, these circumstances are generally limited to low-income individuals and recipients of Social Security, some railroad retirement or certain veteran's benefits who filed their original returns prior to the IRS issuing guidance for their situation. An amended return can result in a delayed stimulus payment if the amended return is received before the stimulus payment is issued. In this situation the stimulus payment will be issued, if applicable, once the amended return has been processed. Due to the high volume of amended returns received, please allow 16 weeks for the IRS to process your amended return before making any inquiries about your return and stimulus payment.
