Filing an amended federal return through FreeTaxUSA costs $16.98 for the current tax year and $17.97 for a prior tax year. The fee covers Form 1040-X and lets you file as many amendments as you need for that year. If you bought the Deluxe upgrade ($7.99) or Pro Support ($44.99) with your original return, amendments are free.1FreeTaxUSA. Amended Tax Returns – File 1040-X
What FreeTaxUSA Charges for an Amendment
The pricing breaks down by tax year and by whether a state return is involved:2FreeTaxUSA. Pricing and Products
- Current tax year federal amendment: $16.98
- Prior tax year federal amendment: $17.97
- State return, current year: $15.99
- State return, prior year: $17.99
The federal amendment fee is separate from any state fee. If the change to your federal return also affects what you owe your state, you’ll need to amend the state return too and pay the state fee on top of the federal amendment fee.
You pay the fee at the end of the amendment flow inside FreeTaxUSA, after you’ve entered the corrections and confirmed your Part II explanation. The software then finalizes the Form 1040-X.2FreeTaxUSA. Pricing and Products
How to Avoid the Amendment Fee
Both of FreeTaxUSA’s paid tiers include unlimited amended returns at no extra charge, federal and state.1FreeTaxUSA. Amended Tax Returns – File 1040-X Deluxe runs $7.99 and Pro Support runs $44.99, added to your original return.
If your original return was straightforward and you already filed without an upgrade, paying the $16.98 or $17.97 when the need arises is the cheaper path. Deluxe is worth buying up front if you can already see a reason you might need to correct something later, such as a delayed 1099 or an uncertain filing status. At $7.99, one amendment breaks even against the standard fee.
How the Cost Compares to a Preparer
Hiring a CPA to prepare an amended return typically costs between $200 and $1,500 depending on complexity. Even a simple amendment, like adding a missing W-2, generally runs $200 to $400 with a professional. Self-filing through FreeTaxUSA is dramatically cheaper for anyone comfortable preparing their own return.
When You Actually Need to Pay for an Amendment
You file Form 1040-X to correct your filing status, report income you left out, remove income reported incorrectly, or add or remove deductions and credits.3Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return Any change that shifts your tax or refund calls for an amendment, and the FreeTaxUSA fee applies.
Some situations do not require an amendment at all, which means no fee. The IRS catches and corrects simple math errors during processing. Forgetting to attach a form like a W-2 usually triggers a notice from the IRS asking for the missing document, not a rejected return.
Two other situations use different forms, not 1040-X, so FreeTaxUSA’s amendment pricing doesn’t apply the way you might expect. A refund of penalties or interest you already paid uses Form 843, and claiming your share of a joint refund that was offset against a spouse’s debt uses Form 8379, the Injured Spouse Allocation.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1040-X
The Deadline That Makes the Fee Worth Paying
If your amendment would produce a larger refund, you generally have three years from the date you filed the original return (including extensions) or two years from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later.5Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1040-X After that, the refund is gone regardless of how correct the amendment would be. If a legitimate correction is sitting in that window, $17.97 to recover a refund of any real size is an easy call.
Amendments that increase what you owe are worth filing quickly for a different reason. Interest runs from the original due date of the return, and a failure-to-pay penalty of 0.5% per month, capped at 25%, accrues on the unpaid balance.6Internal Revenue Service. Failure to Pay Penalty The IRS interest rate is 7% per year for the first quarter of 2026, dropping to 6% starting in April 2026.7Internal Revenue Service. Interest Rates Remain the Same for the First Quarter of 2026 The amendment fee is small next to what those charges add up to over a few months of waiting.
What the Fee Includes
The federal amendment fee covers preparation of Form 1040-X for that tax year, including as many revisions as you need for that same return. You log into your FreeTaxUSA account, select the year that needs correcting, and choose “Amend Tax Return” from the account menu. The software locks your original return data and opens a working copy for edits.
Once you enter the changes, FreeTaxUSA calculates the difference between your original and corrected figures and populates the three-column format that Form 1040-X requires: original amount, net change, corrected amount.5Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1040-X Before you finalize, you write a short Part II explanation of why you’re amending. A single sentence, such as “Received additional W-2 after filing,” is usually enough. The fee is charged when you finalize the document.2FreeTaxUSA. Pricing and Products
E-filing of Form 1040-X is available through FreeTaxUSA for the current tax year and two prior tax years, provided the original return was itself e-filed. If the original return was paper-filed, the amendment must also be paper-filed, even within that window.8Internal Revenue Service. Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return: Frequently Asked Questions The FreeTaxUSA fee is the same either way.