After announcing earlier in the year a plan to begin accepting a limited number of amended returns electronically later in the summer,[1] the IRS has now announced the beginning of this program.[2]

The program initially will only allow the electronic filing of the following amended forms for tax year 2019:

• Form 1040 and

• Form 1040-SR.

The IRS announced in a news release[1] that later this summer the agency will begin accepting Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, electronically. However, the agency did not announce a specific date for the availability of this option.

The electronic filing option will initially be limited to amendments of 2019 individual returns, as the news release states:

When the electronic filing option becomes available, only tax year 2019 Forms 1040 and 1040-SR returns can be amended electronically. In general, taxpayers will still have the option to submit a paper version of the Form 1040-X and should follow the instructions for preparing and submitting the paper form. Additional enhancements are planned for the future.[2]

The IRS has issued proposed regulations in REG-102951-16; 83 F.R. 24948-24950 that will require a larger number of taxpayers to fill all information returns electronically.

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The start of the 2015 individual tax filing will not end up being delayed due to Congress’ December enactment of the extender legislation, the IRS announced in News Release IR-2014-119.