Refund Archives - TAX CONTROVERSY 360

IRS Reminds Taxpayers of Upcoming Deadline to File for 2019 Tax Refunds

by Kevin Spencer and Sarah M. Raben | Jun 9, 2023 | IRS Guidance, Tax Refunds

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a news release reminding taxpayers to submit their 2019 income tax returns by July 17, 2023, to claim their refunds. Internal Revenue Code Section 6511 provides the period in which a taxpayer may request a refund or credit:

Claim for credit or refund of an overpayment of any tax imposed by this title in respect of which tax the taxpayer is required to file a return shall be filed by the taxpayer within 3 years from the time the return was filed or 2 years from the time the tax was paid, whichever of such periods expires the later, or if no return was filed by the taxpayer, within 2 years from the time the tax was paid.

Practice Point: There is a misconception that the IRS will automatically refund an overpayment to a taxpayer, however, that is not typically the case. Indeed, you may have an overpayment sitting in an account for a specific tax year (e.g., 2020) but the IRS will not typically provide notice of the overpayment. Many times, the only way to know whether you have a credit balance on an account is to request a transcript of the account (e.g., Form 945, 1040 or 1120) for a specific tax year. It’s good practice to request a transcript for a tax year before the period outlined in IRC Section 6511 has expired. That way you can file a claim for a refund before the period expires. If you don’t, the IRS can (and routinely does) take the overpayment.

Law360: A Look At Tax Code Section 199’s Last Stand

by Kevin Spencer and McDermott Will & Emery | Nov 7, 2018 | Alternative Dispute Resolution, Court Procedure Matters, IRS Guidance, Settlements, Tax Reform, Trial Courts, Uncategorized

Andy Roberson, Kevin Spencer and Emily Mussio recently authored an article for Law360 entitled, “A Look At Tax Code Section 199’s Last Stand.” The article discusses the IRS’s contentious history in handling Code Section 199 and the taxpayers’ continued battle to claim the benefit – even after its recent repeal.

Access the full article.

Originally published in Law360, November 2018.

When Can a Taxpayer Dismiss a Tax Court Case as Moot?

by McDermott Will & Emery and McDermott Will & Emery | Oct 13, 2017 | Settlements, Trial Courts, Uncategorized

Faced with the prospect of potential tax liability after an unsuccessful audit, taxpayers are faced with the options of filing a petition in the US Tax Court (Tax Court) prior to paying the liability or paying the liability, making a claim for refund, and (if denied or more than six months have passed) suing the government for a refund in local district court or the Court of Federal Claims. For taxpayers that select the Tax Court route, sometimes a question later arises as to whether they can seek to dismiss their case in order to refile in a different forum. The problem that arises is that Internal Revenue Code (Code) Section 7459(d) provides that if a Tax Court petition in a deficiency proceeding is dismissed (other than for lack of jurisdiction), the dismissal is considered as a decision that the deficiency is the amount determined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Taxpayers have attempted to avoid this rule in the past, presumably so that they could refile a lawsuit in another forum either because they believe that forum would be more favorable or because they desire a jury trial (Tax Court cases are bench trial; no juries are allowed). More than 40 years ago, the Tax Court rejected this tactic in Estate of Ming v. Commissioner, 62 TC 519 (1974), holding that under Code Section 7459(d), a taxpayer who petitions the court for a redetermination of a deficiency may not withdraw a petition to avoid the entry of decision. Specifically, the court held: “It is now a settled principle that a taxpayer may not unilaterally oust the Tax Court from jurisdiction which, once invoked, remains unimpaired until it decides the controversy.” Since Ming, the Tax Court has distinguished its holding in collection due process cases which involve the review of the IRS’s collection action, not the redetermination of a tax deficiency. See Wagner v. Commissioner, 118 TC 330 (2002). The Tax Court has further extended Wagner to non-deficiency cases involving whistleblower claims under Code Section 7623(b)(4) and stand-alone innocent spouse cases under Code Section 6015(e)(1). See Jacobson v. Commissioner, 148 TC No. 4 (Feb. 8, 2017); Davidson v. Commissioner, 144 TC 273 (2015). (more…)