Publication 556
taxmap/pubs/p556-002.htm#TXMP64b1ceebIf you believe you have overpaid your tax, you have a limited
amount of time in which to file a claim for a credit or refund. You can claim a
credit or refund by filing Form 1040X. See
Time for Filing a Claim for Refund, later.
File your claim by mailing it to the Internal Revenue Service
Center where you filed your original return. File a separate form for each year
or period involved. Include an explanation of each item of income, deduction, or
credit on which you are basing your claim.
Corporations should file Form 1120X, Amended U.S. Corporation
Income Tax Return, or other form appropriate to the type of credit or refund
claimed.
 | See Publication 3920 for information on filing claims for
tax forgiveness for individuals affected by terrorist attacks. |
taxmap/pubs/p556-002.htm#TXMP0bbd421eYou can obtain a copy of the actual return and all attachments
you filed with the IRS for an earlier year. This includes a copy of the Form W-2
or Form 1099 filed with your return. Use Form 4506 to make your request. You
will be charged a fee, which you must pay when you submit Form 4506.
taxmap/pubs/p556-002.htm#TXMP66dad357Use Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return, to request
free copies of your tax return transcript, tax account transcript, record of
account, verification of nonfiling, or Form W-2, Form 1099 series, Form 1098
series, or Form 5498 series transcript. The tax return transcript contains most
of the line items of a tax return. A tax account transcript contains information
on the financial status of the account, such as payments, penalty assessments,
and adjustments. A record of account is a combination of line item information
and later adjustments to the account. Form W-2, Form 1099 series, Form 1098
series, or Form 5498 series transcript contains data from these information
returns.
taxmap/pubs/p556-002.htm#TXMP5160c2f8If you claim an excessive amount of tax refund or credit relating
to income tax (other than a claim relating to the earned income credit), you may
be liable for a penalty of 20% of the amount that is determined to be excessive.
An excessive amount is the amount of the claim for refund or credit that is more
than the amount of claim allowable for the tax year. The penalty may be waived
if you can show that you had a reasonable basis for making the claim.
taxmap/pubs/p556-002.htm#TXMP7ea7df7aGenerally, you must file a claim for a credit or refund within
3 years from the date you filed your original return or 2 years from the date
you paid the tax, whichever is later. If you do not file a claim within this
period, you may no longer be entitled to a credit or a refund.
If the due date to file a return or a claim for a credit or refund
is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, it is filed on time if it is filed on
the next business day. Returns you filed before the due date are considered
filed on the due date. This is true even when the due date is a Saturday,
Sunday, or legal holiday.
taxmap/pubs/p556-002.htm#TXMP1a4f43b5If you live in a Presidentially declared disaster area or are
affected by terroristic or military action, the deadline to file a claim for a
refund may be postponed. This section discusses the special rules that apply to
Presidentially declared disaster area refunds.
A Presidentially declared disaster is a disaster that occurred
in an area declared by the President to be eligible for federal assistance under
the Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.
taxmap/pubs/p556-002.htm#TXMP460332e8The IRS may postpone for up to 1 year the deadlines for filing
a claim for refund. The postponement can be used by taxpayers who are affected
by a Presidentially declared disaster. The IRS may also postpone deadlines for
filing income and employment tax returns, paying income and employment taxes,
and making contributions to a traditional IRA or Roth IRA. For more information,
see Publication 547.
If any deadline is postponed, the IRS will publicize the postponement
in your area and publish a news release, revenue ruling, revenue procedure,
notice, announcement, or other guidance in the Internal Revenue Bulletin.
| A list of the areas eligible for assistance under the Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act is available at the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) website at
www.fema.gov and at the IRS website at
www.irs.gov. |
taxmap/pubs/p556-002.htm#TXMP733b910bThe Tax Court can consider taxes paid during the 3-year period
preceding the date of a notice of deficiency for determining any refund due to a
nonfiler. This means that if you do not file your return, and you receive a
notice of deficiency in the third year after the due date (with extensions) of
your return and file suit with the Tax Court to contest the notice of
deficiency, you may be able to receive a refund of excessive amounts paid within
the 3-year period preceding the date of the notice of deficiency.
| The IRS may postpone for up to 1 year certain tax deadlines,
including the time for filing claims for refund, for taxpayers who are affected
by a terrorist attack occurring after September 10, 2001. For more information,
see Publication 3920. |
taxmap/pubs/p556-002.htm#TXMP54e5a9f8In certain cases where an estate has elected to make tax payments
through the installment method, the executor can file a suit for refund with a
Federal District Court or the U.S. Court of Federal Claims before all the
installment payments have been made. However, all the following must be true
before a suit can be filed.
- The estate consists largely of an interest in a closely-held
business.
- All installment payments due on or before the date the suit
is filed have been made.
- No accelerated installment payments have been made.
- No Tax Court case is pending with respect to any estate tax
liability.
- If a notice of deficiency was issued to the estate regarding
its liability for estate tax, the time for petitioning the Tax Court has passed.
- No proceeding is pending for a declaratory judgment by the
Tax Court on whether the estate is eligible to pay tax in installments.
- The executor has not included any previously litigated issues
in the current suit for refund.
- The executor does not discontinue making installment payments
timely, while the court considers the suit for refund.
| If in its final decision on the suit for refund the court
redetermines the estate's tax liability, the IRS must refund any part of the
estate tax amount that is disallowed. This includes any part of the disallowed
amount previously collected by the IRS.
|
taxmap/pubs/p556-002.htm#TXMP5c3818f3If your right to a refund is contingent on future events and
may not be determinable until after the time period for filing a claim for
refund expires, you can file a protective claim for refund. A protective claim
can be either a formal claim or an amended return for credit or refund.
Protective claims are often based on current litigation or expected changes in
the tax law, other legislation, or regulations. A protective claim preserves
your right to claim a refund when the contingency is resolved. A protective
claim does not have to state a particular dollar amount or demand an immediate
refund. However, to be valid, a protective claim must:
- Be in writing and be signed,
- Include your name, address, social security number or individual
taxpayer identification number, and other contact information,
- Identify and describe the contingencies affecting the claim,
- Clearly alert the IRS to the essential nature of the claim,
and
- Identify the specific year(s) for which a refund is sought.
Generally, the IRS will delay action on the protective claim
until the contingency is resolved. Once the contingency is resolved, the IRS may
obtain additional information necessary to process the claim and then either
allow or disallow the claim.
Mail your protective claim for refund to the address listed in
the instructions for Form 1040X, under
Where To File.
taxmap/pubs/p556-002.htm#TXMP349b584bThe limits on your claim for refund can be affected by the type
of item that forms the basis of your claim.
taxmap/pubs/p556-002.htm#TXMP4ec15f42If you file a claim for refund based on one of the items listed
below, the limits discussed earlier under
Time for Filing a Claim for Refund
may not apply. These special items are:
- A bad debt,
- A worthless security,
- A payment or accrual of foreign tax,
- A net operating loss carryback, and
- A carryback of certain tax credits.
The limits discussed earlier also may not apply if you have signed
an agreement to extend the period of assessment of tax.
| For information on special rules on filing claims for an
individual affected by a terrorist attack, see Publication 3920. |
taxmap/pubs/p556-002.htm#TXMP7b5c752cIf you are an individual (not a corporation or other taxpaying
entity), the period of limitations on credits and refunds can be suspended
during periods when you cannot manage your financial affairs because of physical
or mental impairment that is medically determinable and either:
- Has lasted or can be expected to last continuously for at
least 12 months, or
- Can be expected to result in death.
 | The period for filing a claim for refund will not be suspended
for any time that someone else, such as your spouse or guardian, was authorized
to act for you in financial matters.
|
To claim financial disability, you generally must submit the
following statements with your claim for credit or refund:
- A written statement signed by a physician, qualified to make
the determination, that sets forth:
- The name and a description of your physical or mental impairment,
- The physician's medical opinion that your physical or mental
impairment prevented you from managing your financial affairs,
- The physician's medical opinion that your physical or mental
impairment was or can be expected to result in death, or that it has lasted (or
can be expected to last) for a continuous period of not less than 12 months, and
- To the best of the physician's knowledge, the specific time
period during which you were prevented by such physical or mental impairment
from managing your financial affairs, and
- A written statement by the person signing the claim for credit
or refund that no person, including your spouse, was authorized to act on your
behalf in financial matters during the period described in paragraph (1)(d) of
the physician's statement. Alternatively, if a person was authorized to act on
your behalf in financial matters during any part of the period described in that
paragraph, the beginning and ending dates of the period of time the person was
so authorized.
| The period of limitations will not be suspended on any claim
for refund that (without regard to this provision) was barred as of July 22,
1998. |
taxmap/pubs/p556-002.htm#TXMP08b126b8If you file your claim within 3 years after filing your return,
the credit or refund cannot be more than the part of the tax paid within the 3
years (plus the length of any extension of time granted for filing your return)
before you filed the claim.
taxmap/pubs/p556-002.htm#TXMP67497f78
You made estimated tax payments of $1,000 and got an automatic extension of time
from April 15, 2003, to August 15, 2003, to file your 2002 income tax return.
When you filed your return on that date, you paid an additional $200 tax. Three
years later, on August 15, 2006, you file an amended return and claim a refund
of $700. Because you filed within 3 years after filing your return, you could
get a refund of any tax paid after April 15, 2003.
taxmap/pubs/p556-002.htm#TXMP74a1362c
The situation is the same as in Example 1, except that you filed your return on
October 31, 2003, 21/2
months after the extension period ended. You paid an additional $200 on that
date. Three years later, on October 27, 2006, you file an amended return and
claim a refund of $700. Although you filed your claim within 3 years from the
date you filed your original return, the refund is limited to $200. The
estimated tax of $1,000 was paid before the 3 years plus the 4-month extension
period.
taxmap/pubs/p556-002.htm#TXMP2aff78f6If you file a claim after the 3-year period, but within 2 years
from the time you paid the tax, the credit or refund cannot be more than the tax
you paid within the 2 years immediately before you filed the claim.
taxmap/pubs/p556-002.htm#TXMP3867d7e0
You filed your 2002 tax return on April 15, 2003. You paid $500 in tax. On
November 2, 2004, after an examination of your 2002 return, you had to pay $200
in additional tax. On May 2, 2006, you file a claim for a refund of $300. Your
refund will be limited to the $200 you paid during the 2 years immediately
before you filed your claim.
taxmap/pubs/p556-002.htm#TXMP12e03fe7Claims are usually processed shortly after they are filed. Your
claim may be denied, accepted as filed, or it may be examined. If a claim is
examined, the procedures are almost the same as in the examination of a tax
return.
However, if you are filing a claim for credit or refund based
only on contested income tax or on estate tax or gift tax issues considered in
previously examined returns and you do not want to appeal within the IRS, you
should request in writing that the claim be immediately rejected. A notice of
claim disallowance will then be promptly sent to you. You have 2 years from the
date of mailing of the notice of disallowance to file a refund suit in the
United States District Court or in the United States Court of Federal Claims.
taxmap/pubs/p556-002.htm#TXMP1106142fThe IRS must explain to you the specific reasons why your claim
for refund is disallowed or partially disallowed. Claims for refund are
disallowed based on a preliminary review or on further examination. Some of the
reasons your claim may be disallowed include the following.
- It was filed late.
- It was based solely on the unconstitutionality of the revenue
acts.
- It was waived as part of a settlement.
- It covered a tax year or issues which were part of a closing
agreement or an offer in compromise.
- It was related to a return closed by a final court order.
If your claim is disallowed for these reasons, or any other
reason, the IRS must send you an explanation.
Your refund may be reduced by an additional tax liability. Also,
your refund may be reduced by amounts you owe for past-due child support, debts
you owe to another federal agency, or past-due legally enforceable state income
tax obligations. You will be notified if this happens. For those reductions, you
cannot use the appeal and refund procedures discussed in this publication.
However, you may be able to take action against the other agency.
taxmap/pubs/p556-002.htm#TXMP467bd60aFederal tax overpayments can be used to offset past-due, legally
enforceable state income tax obligations. For the offset procedure to apply,
your federal income tax return must show an address in the state that requests
the offset. In addition, the state must first:
- Notify you by certified mail with return receipt that the
state plans to ask for an offset against your federal income tax overpayment,
- Give you at least 60 days to show that some or all of the
state income tax is not past due or not legally enforceable,
- Consider any evidence from you in determining that income
tax is past due and legally enforceable,
- Satisfy any other requirements to ensure that there is a valid
past-due, legally enforceable state income tax obligation, and
- Show that all reasonable efforts to obtain payment have been
made before requesting the offset.
This is an obligation (debt):
- Established by a court decision or administrative hearing
and no longer subject to judicial review, or
- That is assessed, uncollected, can no longer be redetermined,
and is less than 10 years overdue.
Overpayments are offset in the following order.
- Federal income tax owed.
- Past-due child support.
- Past-due, legally enforceable debt owed to a federal agency.
- Past-due, legally enforceable state income tax debt.
- Future federal income tax liability.
Note.
If more than one state agency requests an offset for separate debts, the offsets
apply against your overpayment in the order in which the debts accrued. In
addition, state income tax includes any local income tax administered by the
chief tax administration agency of a state.
Note.The Tax Court cannot decide the validity or merits of the credits
or offsets (for example, collection of delinquent child support or student loan
payments) made that reduce or eliminate a refund to which you were otherwise
entitled.
taxmap/pubs/p556-002.htm#TXMP4292bdd5
When a joint return is filed and the refund is used to pay one spouse's past-due
child support, spousal support, or a federal debt, the other spouse can be
considered an injured spouse. An injured spouse can get a refund for his or her
share of the overpayment that would otherwise be used to pay the past-due
amount.
You are considered an injured spouse if:
- You are not legally obligated to pay the past-due amount and
- You meet any of the following conditions:
- You made and reported tax payments (such as federal income
tax withheld from wages or estimated tax payments).
- You had earned income (such as wages, salaries, or self-employment
income) and claimed the earned income credit or the additional child tax credit.
- You claimed a refundable credit, such as the health coverage
tax credit or the refundable credit for prior year minimum tax.
Note.If your residence was in a community property state at any time
during the year, you can file Form 8379 even if only item (1) above applies.
If you are an injured spouse, you can obtain your portion of the joint refund by
completing Form 8379. Follow the instructions on the form.
taxmap/pubs/p556-002.htm#TXMP7912560cGenerally, joint and several liability applies to all joint returns.
This means that both you and your spouse (or former spouse) are liable for any
tax shown on a joint return plus any understatement of tax that may become due
later. This is true even if a divorce decree states that a former spouse will be
responsible for any amounts due on previously filed joint returns.
In some cases, a spouse will be relieved of the tax, interest,
and penalties on a joint tax return. Three types of relief are available.
- Innocent spouse relief.
- Separation of liability.
- Equitable relief.
Each kind of relief is different and has different requirements. You must file
Form 8857, Request for Innocent Spouse Relief, to request relief. Form 8857 must
be filed no later than 2 years after the date on which the IRS first attempted
to collect the tax from you. See the instructions for Form 8857 and Publication
971 for more information on these kinds of relief and who may qualify for them.
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