I Filed My IRS 1040 Return 4 Years After It Was Due. Will I Get the IRS Refund?

On: December 21, 2018

From the IRS website (irs.gov) [A claim] for a refund must be filed within 3 years from the time the return was filed or 2 years from the time the tax was paid, whichever of such periods expires the later, or if no return was filed by the taxpayer, within 2 years from the time the tax was paid. (If no return was filed and not tax ever paid, if a return is filed over three years from the time it was originally supposed to have been filed, no refund will be issued to the taxpayer for having filed such a late return.) From the IRS website (irs.gov) No credit or refund shall be allowed or made after the expiration of the period of limitation prescribed in section 6511(a) for the filing of a claim for refund, unless a claim is filed within such period. (This basically means they will not apply a credit for the refund against any other past tax liabilities that may be on your account) Failure to file past tax returns is a constant issue for tax professional in the tax industry. Too many folks feel that they did not make enough money to have to file in a given year. This happens a lot with 1099 individuals who are basically running one person small businesses. After expenses they end up netting $0, but the IRS is unaware of their expenses, so they treat reported gross revenues as net income. Example: An 18 wheel owner operator truck driver makes $1,000,000 a year. He/she spends $995,000 on gas, repairs and maintenance during the year. It looks like only $5,000 was made for the year, but the IRS has no record of all these expenses. This is done for 10 years in a row. It looks like the truck driver made $10,000,000 and now owes $3,600,000 in taxes. The ten years of tax returns are filed and now $0 is owed. Only the last 3 years can get the refunds due. A tax refund is issued for $75,000. I was there. File for your tax returns. Even if you made no money for that year.