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I live in California, and while doing this years taxes I realized that I forgot to file a 1099-R in last years return. So I want to file a tax amendment 1040-X now.

I used TurboTax to generate this forms after feeding it the missing information. It said that I missed the deadline to do the e-file and I will have to mail it, which is fine. I had some questions:

  1. Do I need to mail the State and Federal Tax forms separately? How do I figure which forms do I need to send to the state, and which ones to the federal government?
  2. Initially I got back money from the Federal refund (about $500) and I had to pay the State (about $100). Now I have to pay about $500 Federal and about $200 state. Do I need to include separate checks if I am filing them in a single package?
  3. Will I get fined because of the mistake?
  4. Does it matter if I file my 2021 taxes before filing the amendment, or should I wait until the previous tax filing is cleared and then file this years?
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Do I need to mail the State and Federal Tax forms separately?

Yeah, of course, Federal goes to the IRS and State goes to the FTB.

How do I figure which forms do I need to send to the state, and which ones to the federal government?

You read the instructions. TurboTax would probably generate instructions for filing if you choose paper filing. California FTB may require you to send them a copy of your 1040X attached to the 540 Schedule X (note: a copy because you still have to send the original 1040X to the IRS).

Now I have to pay about $500 Federal and about $200 state. Do I need to include separate checks if I am filing them in a single package?

Again, two different entities in two different places with two different addresses. Not a single package. Separate checks.

Will I get fined because of the mistake?

Sounds like the difference is about $600 in taxes, so I doubt penalties would be assessed. They may send a bill for interest (IIRC ~3% annualized) - if they do then pay it.

Does it matter if I file my 2021 taxes before filing the amendment, or should I wait until the previous tax filing is cleared and then file this years?

It doesn't matter, you shouldn't wait.

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  • Thank you for answering all the questions, that really helps. It’s just hard to find the answers online and I don’t want to mess it up!
    – Ufder
    Commented Feb 20, 2022 at 0:58
  • Btw @littleadv as a follow up, why did not IRS realize this already? What would’ve happened if I had not realized this mistake?
    – Ufder
    Commented Feb 20, 2022 at 1:18
  • @Ufder they would probably send you a notice with their own adjustment. The IRS processing is very slow, I'd expect them to notice it maybe a couple of years after filing.
    – littleadv
    Commented Feb 20, 2022 at 1:27
  • Ah, okay. So would it be better to wait for their correction as that’d make it easy given that they will figure out all the numbers etc instead of me having to calculate? Or is it recommended to not wait for them and go ahead with the amendment.
    – Ufder
    Commented Feb 20, 2022 at 1:31
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    I see, so it’s better to avoid future hassle and just get it over with. I’ll just go ahead and file it. Btw is it possible that they might not catch this error? Eg. If I had not realized and they hadn’t either. Just curious if that happens.
    – Ufder
    Commented Feb 20, 2022 at 1:45

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