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Refund Claim Time Limits Create an Unwelcome Barrier

Posted on Nov. 12, 2020

Today’s post is from occasional guest blogger Marilyn Ames, a retired Chief Counsel attorney. Marilyn is a Contributing Author who works with me on Saltzman and Book, IRS Practice & Procedure. She and I recently substantially revised the chapter on statute of limitations relating to refund claims, one of the trickiest areas in tax procedure. We also have just completed the last treatise update of the 2020 calendar year, and in that update we came across the sad case of Koopman v United States, which, as Marilyn discusses below, highlights how the rules in Section 6511 can lead to some harsh results. Les

For even the most experienced tax lawyers, one of the most confusing parts of the Internal Revenue Code is Section 6511, which sets out the statute of limitations for refund claims. For most claims, the requirements for filing a timely refund claim are contained in Section 6511(a) and (b), which consists of two parts. First, Section 6511(a) requires the claim for the refund to be filed with a period of three years from the time the return was filed or two years from the time the tax was paid. However, this is only the first hurdle that a taxpayer must successfully cross in order to get a refund. Section 6511(b) then provides that the amount of the refund is limited to the tax paid within the three-year period immediately before the claim is filed if the taxpayer filed the claim within three years from filing the return, as set out in section 6511(a). If the taxpayer had an extension to file the return, that period is added to the three-year period of subsection 6511(b) for determining the amount of the claim allowed. If the claim was filed within subsection (a)’s two-year period, then the refund is limited to the tax paid within the two years immediately prior to the claim. The two-year rule allows taxpayers to file a claim for refund if the taxpayer pays the tax more than three years after filing the return, and then wishes to challenge some aspect of the tax within two years of the payment. The subsection (b) limitations are often referred to as the “look-back” rules. Because of the look-back rules, taxpayers can file a claim for refund that is timely, but still be barred from receiving any part of the refund. The Supreme Court determined in United States v. Clintwood Elkhorn Mining Co. (553 US 1 (2008)) that taxpayers must meet the Section 6511 requirements in order for the court to have jurisdiction to hear a refund suit. (It should be noted that Section 6511 has a long list of exceptions to the Section 6511(a) and (b) requirements that apply in special cases.)

These two requirements work together in a sometimes-Byzantine way that can create results that seem unfair to taxpayers.  The recent case of Koopman v. United States decided by the Court of Federal Claims in September of this year, illustrates the difficulties a taxpayer can encounter when trying to meet the requirements of both subsections (a) and (b) of Section 6511.  The taxpayer, William Koopman, retired from United Airlines in 2001. When he retired, he was covered by United’s non-qualified deferred compensation plan. Because of the special timing rule for FICA taxes, Mr. Koopman was required to pay the relevant portion of FICA on the present value of his deferred compensation in 2001, the year he retired, although he was to receive his benefits under United’s plan from 2001 through 2006. Unfortunately for Mr. Koopman, United filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2002, and he only received $248,293 of his deferred compensation instead of the $415,025.91 on which he paid FICA tax.  Instead of cash, he eventually received common stock in partial compensation, with the last distribution of the stock occurring in April of 2007.  

Mr. Koopman, unhappy he had paid FICA taxes on compensation he did not receive, filed a claim for refund in August of 2007 seeking a refund of the FICA taxes paid on the difference between the amount he actually received as deferred compensation and the amount on which he paid the tax. He subsequently filed suit in the Court of Federal Claims, and the United States filed a motion for lack of jurisdiction based on Mr. Koopman’s failure to meet the requirements of section 6511. Although Mr. Koopman was seeking a refund of only $2,416, he was not the only unhappy former United employee; the court notes that he had a co-plaintiff and that there are other cases involving the same issue.  

In ruling on the government’s motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, the court held that under the deemed paid rules of Section 6513(c), United’s quarterly returns for 2001 were deemed filed and the FICA tax included on the returns was deemed paid on April 15, 2002.

Under Section 6511(a), Mr. Koopman only had until April 15, 2005 –three years after the returns were filed—to file a timely refund claim.  He missed that date by over two years.  Additionally, the court determined, under the look-back rules, the taxes were paid no later than April 29, 2004, as United had transferred credits to its FICA taxes for 2001 as late as April 29, 2002. Under Section 6511(b), no amount was paid within either the three-year or two-year periods looking back from the filing of the claim. Accordingly, because neither the three-year or two-year rule of Section 6511(a) was met, the court held it did not have jurisdiction over Mr. Koopman’s refund suit.

Mr. Koopman, pointing out the unfairness of this due to the litigation in the United bankruptcy that had prevented the final distribution being made to him any earlier, raised several arguments to try and overcome the barriers of Section 6511.  The court quickly disposed of his argument that Section 6511 did not apply to FICA taxes, as the statute expressly provides that it applies to any tax imposed by the Internal Revenue Code.  The court then rejected his argument that the statute of limitations should be equitably tolled, as the final determination that United was not going to pay him the full amount of the deferred compensation was made long after the statute of limitations on filing a refund claim expired.  Based on precedent, the court concluded that there is no equitable tolling of the refund statute of limitations as general principles of equity may not override the statutory requirements.  Mr. Koopman also argued that the statute of limitations should not begin running until the taxpayer has an opportunity to learn that the tax has been paid in error.  The court also rejected this argument, based on the precedent of another Supreme Court case, United States v. Dalm (494 US 596 (1990)). Although Mr. Koopman argued that application of Section 6511(a)’s time periods to his situation was unconstitutional under the due process clause, the court concluded that the United States can only be sued in its own courts under the express authorization given by Congress.  

Although situations such as Mr. Koopman’s seem to cry out for a remedy, Mr. Koopman could have acted earlier to protect his rights.  United filed bankruptcy in 2002, which should have been a red flag to Mr. Koopman that he was not going to receive all his deferred compensation.  He could have filed a protective claim for refund any time before April 15, 2005 that would have been timely, and then waited for the result of the bankruptcy litigation that was delaying a final determination as to his treatment.  The Internal Revenue Service is not only familiar with protective refund claims, but in some cases, reminds taxpayers who may be affected by ongoing litigation to file such a claim.  Earlier this year, the IRS issued a notice that the due date for filing a protective claim for the 2016 tax year for individual tax payments had been postponed until July 15, 2020, with an emphasis that this included claims involving the Affordable Care Act litigation.  The protective claim procedure allows tax practitioners to protect taxpayers whose rights may be affected by current litigation or expected changes in the law from being caught up in the Draconian maze of Section 6511 without a right to recourse if they wait for a final outcome.

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