Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Lines 12 to 17 are the Payments section of Form 1040-X. Each line carries what you paid or were credited for the year you are amending, taken from the original return in column A and corrected in columns B and C where something changed. Line 17 adds lines 12 through 15 of column C and line 16 to give total payments.
Read box by box from the IRS form text: Form W-2c boxes 1 to 20.
Related reading on this site: IRS Notice CP11 (return corrected, amount owed changed), IRS Notice CP12 (refund created or changed) and IRS Notice CP13 (return corrected, zero balance).
Line 12: withholding
The form’s caption is “Federal income tax withheld and excess social security and tier 1 RRTA tax withheld. (If changing, see instructions.)”. The instructions say “In column A, enter from the return you are amending any federal income tax withheld and any excess social security and tier 1 RRTA tax withheld (SS/RRTA).” If the amount is changing, they add “attach to the front of Form 1040-X a copy of all additional or corrected Forms W-2 you received after you filed your original return.” “Also attach additional or corrected Forms 1099-R that show any federal income tax withheld.” The same figure on the original return is explained on the Form 1040 line 25 page.
Line 13: estimated tax payments
The caption is “Estimated tax payments, including amount applied from prior year’s return”. The instructions say “In column A, enter the estimated tax payments you claimed on your original return.” They also say to “Also include any of your prior year’s overpayment that you elected to apply to estimated tax payments for the year you are amending.” The original-return version of this line is on the Form 1040 line 26 page.
Line 14: earned income credit
The caption is “Earned income credit (EIC)”. For column A the instructions say to “Enter the amount you reported on the line for the EIC on Form 1040 or 1040-SR for the year you are amending in column A.” They warn that “If you changed the amount on line 1 or line 5, the amount of any EIC you claimed on your original return may change.” There is also a Social Security number rule: “If you didn’t have an SSN on or before the due date of your return for the tax year being amended (including extensions), you can’t claim the EIC on your amended return.” The credit itself is covered on the Form 1040 line 27 page.
Line 15: refundable credits
The instructions define the line: “A refundable credit can give you a refund for any part of a credit that is more than your total tax.” They continue “Enter, in column A, the total of the refundable credits from Schedule 8812 (Form 1040), Form 8863, the recovery rebate (as applicable), and Schedule 3 (Form 1040) for the year you are amending.” “If you are amending your return to claim or change a refundable credit, attach the appropriate schedule(s) or form(s).” The line has check boxes for the forms named on the face of the form and a blank for any other credit.
Lines 16 and 17: amounts paid and total payments
Line 16 is captioned “Total amount paid with request for extension of time to file, tax paid with original return, and additional tax paid after return was filed”. The instructions list “The amount you paid with your original return, regardless of method.” and add “However, don’t include payments of interest or penalties, or the convenience fee you were charged.” Their example reads “enter $1,400 on line 16 (the check sent with the original return minus the $100 penalty)”. Line 17 is captioned “Total payments. Add lines 12 through 15, column C, and line 16”. The instructions for line 17 add only a note about Form 8689 amounts for the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Computed illustration, not an IRS example: if column C of lines 12 through 15 added to $4,000 and line 16 were $1,400 then line 17 would be $4,000 plus $1,400 and that is $5,400.
Where the number comes from
Column A on each of these lines comes from the return you are amending, or from that return as the IRS or an earlier amendment adjusted it. The column rule is “Column B. Enter the net increase or decrease for each line that you are changing.” and for column C, “For any item you don’t change, enter the amount from column A in column C.” Payments, credits and withholding documents come from the original return, your Forms W-2 and 1099-R, and any extension or estimated payment records.
Where it goes next
Line 17 feeds the Refund or Amount You Owe section. Line 19 is captioned “Subtract line 18 from line 17.”, so total payments are compared with any overpayment already received. That section is covered on the lines 18 to 23 page, and the tax side that precedes these payments is on the lines 6 to 11 page.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the December 2025 revision of Form 1040-X and its December 2025 instructions, the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-18. The form is marked “(Rev. December 2025)” and it amends the return year the filer enters at the top, so the revision date is not the same thing as the year being amended. The form’s own instruction at the top says “Attach a completed Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, with your changes, for the return year entered below”. Check the revision date printed on the form you are filling in and the return year you are amending, and use the line numbers on that revision, because a different revision can number or word its lines differently. The whole form is walked through on the Form 1040-X walkthrough page.
Common mistakes
- Including penalties on line 16. The instructions say “However, don’t include payments of interest or penalties, or the convenience fee you were charged.”
- Claiming the EIC without a timely SSN. The instructions say “If you didn’t have an SSN on or before the due date of your return for the tax year being amended (including extensions), you can’t claim the EIC on your amended return.”
- Changing a refundable credit without the supporting form. The instructions say “If you are amending your return to claim or change a refundable credit, attach the appropriate schedule(s) or form(s).”
Related: Form 1040 line 25, Form 1040 line 26, Form 1040 line 27, and Form 1040 lines 32 and 33.
Sources
- Instructions for Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (Rev. December 2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040x.pdf
- Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (Rev. December 2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040x.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 18, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.