Can a taxpayer obtain a Georgia intangible recording tax refund if no written protest was filed when the tax was paid?

Plain-English summary

The Georgia Department of Revenue denied a claim to refund intangible recording tax paid when a security deed was recorded. The decisive procedural problem was that the taxpayer had not filed a written protest at the time the tax was paid.

The Department read O.C.G.A. § 48-6-76(a) to require the protest at payment, not afterward. That timing allows the collecting officer to treat the collection as conditional. Under subsection (b), the protested money is then deposited in a special escrow account until the protest is resolved. The Department said the claimant's documentation and county property records showed that this payment had not been made under protest, so it denied the claim.

The letter also gave the claimant a post-denial route: an action for the unapproved refund amount against the collecting officer could be filed in the superior court of the county where the instrument was recorded or in the Georgia Tax Tribunal, no later than 60 days from the denial and service under law.

What this means for you

Borrowers, lenders, and closing professionals

If you dispute intangible recording tax at recordation, the ruling says the written protest must accompany the payment. Paying first and trying to characterize the payment as protested later did not preserve this claimant's administrative refund path.

Property owners seeking a refund

Keep proof of the written protest and the payment together. The Department relied on both the claimant's documents and county property records when deciding whether the tax had been paid under protest.

Tax professionals

Treat protest and refund deadlines as immediate procedural issues. This letter states a separate 60-day window for a court or Tax Tribunal refund action after denial and service; the correct forum and deadline depend on the claim's actual posture.

Common questions

Q: Can I file the written protest after the intangible recording tax is paid? A: Not under the Department's reading in this letter. It said O.C.G.A. § 48-6-76(a) requires the written protest at the time of payment.

Q: Why does filing the protest at payment matter?
A: It lets the collecting officer treat the payment as conditional and place the protested funds in a special escrow account until the dispute is resolved.

Q: Was the taxpayer left without any stated remedy after the denial? A: No. The letter said the taxpayer could bring a refund action against the collecting officer in the relevant county superior court or the Georgia Tax Tribunal within 60 days from the denial and service pursuant to law.

Q: Does this document decide another taxpayer's refund claim? A: No. Although the Department's website labels it a Letter Ruling, the document itself resolves one redacted taxpayer's refund claim on its procedural record. Another claim may involve different payment, protest, service, and deadline facts.

Citations and references

• O.C.G.A. § 48-6-76(a) (written protest at the time intangible recording tax is paid; conditional collection)
• O.C.G.A. § 48-6-76(b) (special escrow account for funds received under protest)

Source

• IRT/RETT search page: https://dor.georgia.gov/search-irt-rett-letter-rulings
• Topic page: https://dor.georgia.gov/failure-follow-code
• Original PDF: https://dor.georgia.gov/document/document/georgia-letter-ruling-no-irt-2022-04-22-03-failure-follow-codepdf/download

Original ruling text

Frank M. O’Connell

Deputy State Revenue Commissioner

Robyn A. Crittenden

State Revenue Commissioner

Georgia Department of Revenue

Office of the General Counsel
1800 Century Boulevard, N.E., Suite 15107, Atlanta, Georgia 30345

April 22, 2022

VIA: First Class Mail

RE: Intangible Recording Tax Protest and Claim for Refund for Security Deed, recorded on with the Clerk of Superior Court, granted to a. ender”) by

orrower”);

The Department of Revenue has carefully considered your Claim for Refund related to the above-captioned recording. The Department has determined that the intangible recording tax was not paid under protest at the time of filing the instrument as required under O.C.G.A. § 48-6-76. Accordingly, your Claim for Refund is denied. A copy of this letter is being mailed to the | |

Clerk of Superior Court.

As specified in O.C.G.A. § 48-6-76(a), a written protest must be filed at the time of payment of the intangible recording tax in order for the collecting officer to make a conditional collection of the payment. The conditional collection is significant because, as explained in O.C.G.A. § 48-6-76(b), the funds received under protest are deposited into a special escrow account until the protest is resolved. The statutory requirement that a protest must be filed at the time of payment is reiterated on the Protest and Claim for Refund forms. Based on the documentation you provided and county property records, payment was not made under protest for the above-mentioned instrument.

Please be advised that any taxpayer whose Claim for Refund is denied, in whole or in part, has the right to bring an action for refund of the amount so claimed and not approved against the collecting officer who received the payment and recorded the instrument. The action may be filed in either the

RE: Intangible Recording Tax Protest and Claim for Refund for Security Deed, recorded on i

April 22, 2022
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Superior Court of the county in which the instrument was recorded or in the Georgia Tax Tribunal no later than 60 days from the date of the denial and service pursuant to law.

Sincerely,

Dominick Capetocte

Dominick Capotosto
Deputy General Counsel

cc: P| Clerk of Superior Court