Claim for Refund Not Timely Made, Refund Denied

Posted on March 11, 2019

In a recent case in the Federal District Court in Michigan, a Greek citizen’s claim for refund was denied because it was not timely made. The IRS levied on funds in the taxpayer’s bank account for his income tax liability for one year. The taxpayer then filed a tax return with the IRS for that year. However, the tax return was filed more than five years after the levied funds were paid to the IRS. When you file a tax return claiming a refund, you must file that tax return within three years of the due date (plus any extensions) or two years after the date the tax was paid, whichever is later. If you do not do this, the law will bar the IRS from paying the refund to you. In this case, the court held in favor of the IRS because the taxpayer did not make his claim for refund within the 3 year period for doing so. Do you have unfiled tax returns? Will these tax returns show a refund? Call us, we can help. The IRS is not your friend.