Refund claim filed within three years was timely

Number

201603026

Outcome

Advice

Document type

Chief Counsel Advice

IRS subject

Limitations on Credit or Refund (Barred v. Not Barred); Time for Performance of Acts Where Last Day Falls on Saturday, Sunday, or Legal Holiday

Topics

Procedure, penalties, and administration

Code sections

§ 6511, § 7503

Ruling dated

December 17, 2015

Publicly released

January 15, 2016

Source

View Official PDF

Apply this to your situation

This page covers legal advice the IRS Office of Chief Counsel wrote for IRS staff, issued in 2016, which can't be cited as precedent. Ask about your situation and see what the current Code and IRS guidance say, with citations.

Not precedent. Under 26 U.S.C. § 6110(k)(3), this written determination may not be used or cited as precedent. It is advice from the IRS Office of Chief Counsel to IRS personnel on the facts they presented, and identifying details were redacted by the IRS before release. The official IRS release (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source.

About this page: The plain-English summary and ruling snapshot below were written by Ezel based on the official IRS release. The full text is the IRS's own document.

View official IRS release (PDF)

Plain-English summary

A taxpayer timely filed a 2010 return on April 18, 2011, after Emancipation Day affected the filing deadline. The taxpayer filed an amended return claiming a refund on April 17, 2014. Chief Counsel advised that the refund claim was timely because it was filed within three years after the original return. The fact that the claimed refund arose from a larger student-loan-interest deduction rather than wage withholding did not change the conclusion under the reasoning of Revenue Ruling 2003-41.

Ruling snapshot

Question: Was the taxpayer's April 17, 2014 refund claim timely after a timely April 18, 2011 original return?
Outcome: Yes, the claim was filed within three years after the return was filed
Key authorities: IRC §§ 6511 and 7503; Rev. Rul. 2003-41

Full text (IRS public release)

ID: CCA_2015121715545054 [Third Party Communication:

UILC: 6511.00-00, 7503.00-00 Date of Communication: Month DD, YYYY]

Number: 201603026
Release Date: 1/15/2016
From:
Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2015 3:54:50 PM
To:
Cc:
Bcc:
Subject: RE: Diagreed TAO Emancipation Filing Date/Timely Filing of Refund Claim

Thanks for your patience while I reviewed the case. Here is my understanding of the facts:

4/15/11 is a Friday
4/16/11 is Emancipation Day (a Saturday)
1040 for 2010 filed by the taxpayer on 4/18/11 (a Monday) – because of Emancipation Day being observed on 4/15/11, the 1040 is timely filed 1040X for 2010 filed by the taxpayer on 4/17/14 (a Thursday)

I very clearly think the 1040X is a timely claim for refund (filed within 3 years from the time the return was filed), and is very much like situation #3 in Rev. Rul. 2003-41. For your convenience, I am attaching a copy of Rev. Rul. 2003-41. The only difference between situation #3 and this case is that the refund being claimed is not from taxes withheld from wages – it is based on a larger student loan interest deduction. I have consulted with a section 6511 expert in Counsel and she also agrees that the taxpayer's refund claim is not time-barred. Thus, I support the TAO.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

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