The chain email said that over 200 years ago, the United States had declared war on Islam, and Thomas Jefferson led the charge! The Barbary powers were Muslim, and religion sometimes crops up in the historical record.
You need to use Form 1040X, along with a new Form 1040, plus any other necessary schedules and forms. Amended tax returns have to be mailed to the IRS on paper for manual processing. The IRS typically processes an amended return about 8 to 12 weeks, but this process can take longer during the IRS's busiest times.
How long for an amended tax return refund? Ok here is what happened. (And yes I have searched th e'net for answers and got several different ones.) I filed my taxes on Jan 24 2013. It got accepted on 30 Jan with no problems. On 2 Feb I got a 1099-R which was from a retirement fund I cleaned out when I quit a job.