# US - amending a 2011 return



## berniej (Mar 5, 2012)

Had my taxes done by VITA people on the base here.They knew my wife was dutch and had a ssn.First they did my taxes married filing singlely,after I questioned that they filed it married jointly..nothing about my wifes dutch income.When I called to check if they were sent out(they were) they decided that I should amend my return because of my wifes ssn/dutch income and now they are going to redo it I guess with a 1040,2555ez etc.
Just when I thought everything was good now I have this.
They also are going to redo last years showing her income.This stems from me having a pension from the dutch company I worked for which they say is not taxable to the US ie don't have to report it.
Are they going the right way.
Seems I'm better off getting my taxes ammended by a company in NY when I'm there.
They also didn't report the interest I earned from my dutch bank accounts(because I paid taxes on them to the dutch?)

Any help or advise would be appreciated.

Thanks


Bernie


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Without knowing all the details, it's hard to say for sure - but it doesn't sound right to me.

If they sent out your returns for 2011, they can't amend for something like a month or two. (Have to wait for the original returns to get logged in). If they just send in a second attempt, you'll get a note back from the IRS saying that your ssn has already been used this year. Any sort of amendment has to be filed on a 1040X, referencing the original filing.

You already know my position on filing jointly if your wife has no filing obligation. And I'm highly skeptical of that deal of not declaring your Dutch bank interest. Even if you've already paid taxes on it, you need to declare it and (if necessary) claim the tax credit.

OTOH, if all of this makes no difference in the amount you owe (hopefully, nothing), I wouldn't get too tied up in knots about filing amendments - either for 2011 or for the prior years. As long as you owe nothing, they aren't going to spend much time checking your returns for accuracy unless there is something really egregious suggesting that you owe money you haven't paid.
Cheers,
Bev


----------

