Question Arises Over Statute of Limitations for 2013 Tax Returns

Posted on February 21, 2018

The IRS Trouble Solvers™ recently received the following question via our website regarding one of our past blogs about the Statute of Limitations on 2013 tax returns:

“I filed an extension in April 2015 for my 2014 tax return. I never submitted a completed return for 2014. I am overpaid on income tax and should have a refund coming. According to your blog post, i should have until April 2018 to file for my refund. The IRS code 6511 indicates only 2 years if no return was filed. Which limit, 3 or 2 years, applies to me?”

An attorney at the IRS Trouble Solvers™ provided the following answer to this very interesting question.

“In this situation, the refund statute should be the greater of two or three years, assuming a timely extension for 2014 was filed. In that event, the IRS should send you your refund for 2014 if you file your tax return by April 17, 2018. There is an extended due date this year because of the weekend and because of a holiday in the District of Columbia on the 16th. I do recommend that you file that tax return as soon as possible in order to avoid any additional problems. In this situation, you probably cannot electronically file your tax return for 2014. Instead, should mail your original executed tax return to the appropriate IRS Service Center via certified mail, return receipt requested, again to avoid any arguments about the filing of this tax return.”

Do you have questions about past unfiled tax returns? Contact the IRS Trouble Solvers™ via our form below.