In 2013, I negotiated and settled an old debt. I made the final payment in December of 2013 under the agreement that upon receipt of that payment, the balance of the debt would be forgiven. But I did not receive a 1099C. Everything I read on the subject told me there have been countless problems with these forms, and regardless of whether I received the document or not it was my responsibility to declare the income and pay the resultant tax.

Finally, in March of 2014, I called the IRS and spoke with a customer service agent. She told me I was correct and that since the agreement was satisfied in 2013, I should declare the income and pay the tax, whether I got the 1099C or not. So I did.

A few weeks ago, I received a 1099C stating the amount forgiven and listing it as income for tax year 2014. I went to the IRS website today and checked my income transcript for 2013. The expected 1099C does not appear. So, should I submit a 1040X amended return for 2013 and add the income to my 2014 return or should I try to solve this dilemma some other way?