Tax Type
Corporation Income Tax
Description
Refund statute of limitations
Topic
Payment and Refund
Statute of Limitations
Date Issued
01-11-1990
January 11, 1990
Re: §58.1-1821 Application: Corporate Income Tax
Dear ****
This will reply to your letter of November 16, 1989, on behalf of ***** (Taxpayer), seeking a refund of corporate taxes for the taxable years 1981 and 1982.
FACTS
***** (Taxpayer) filed amended corporate tax returns and claimed refunds of Virginia corporate income taxes for the years 1981 and 1982 on February 22, 1989 as a result of changes by the Internal Revenue Service. The date of the final federal determination was November 23, 1988. The Taxpayer's requests for refunds were denied on the basis that the claims were made beyond the time allowed under statute. The Taxpayer contests the denial of refunds on the grounds that their workload prevented a timely claim. Additionally, the Taxpayer contends that most states provide a ninety day period in which to amend a return under similar circumstances and the Taxpayer followed a presumption that Virginia did likewise.
DETERMINATION
Under Va. Code §58.1-1823 an amended return claiming a refund must be filed within three years of the due date of the original return or within 60 days of the final determination of any change or correction in the liability of the taxpayer for any federal tax upon which the state tax is based, whichever is later. See also, VR 630-1-1823 (copy enclosed). The final determination was received from the Internal Revenue Service on November 23, 1988. However, the department did not receive the claim for refunds until February 22, 1989, more than the time allowed by statute for a claim for refund. §58.1-1823 provides no exemption for application of the time limitations imposed by the section under these circumstances.
After reviewing the facts and the applicable law, I have concluded that I have no alternative but to deny the refund requests because the claims were filed more than three years after the due date of the return and more than 60 days after a change in the federal tax liability.
Sincerely,
W. H. Forst
Tax Commissioner
Rulings of the Tax Commissioner