IRS may process protective refund claim filed on Form 843

Plain-English summary

Chief Counsel addressed a protective individual income-tax refund claim filed on Form 843 instead of the required Form 1040X. The incorrect form failed to comply with the formal claim rule in Treasury Regulation § 301.6402-3(a)(2). The IRS nevertheless has discretion to treat a timely written submission that adequately identifies the refund sought as an informal claim. Under the waiver doctrine, the IRS may dispense with the form requirement when it understands the claim and examines its merits. It therefore could process the Form 843 claim despite the incorrect form.

Ruling snapshot

• Question: May the IRS process a protective individual income-tax refund claim filed on Form 843 instead of Form 1040X?
• Outcome: Advice given, the IRS may waive the formality and process it as an informal claim
• Key authorities: Treas. Reg. §§ 301.6402-2(a), 301.6402-3(a); United States v. Kales; Angelus Milling Co. v. Comm’r

Full text (IRS public release)

ID: CCA_2025082122015600 [Third Party Communication:

UILC: 6402.00-00 Date of Communication: Month DD, YYYY]

Number: 202538024
Release Date: 9/19/2025
From: -------------------
Sent: Friday, November 15, 2024 07:53:57 AM
To: ------------------
Cc: --------------------------
Bcc:
Subject: Perfected Protective Claim Question

Hi -------,

You asked whether a protective claim for refund may be filed on a Form 843, and if not whether the
taxpayer may still file such a claim on a Form 1040X. In brief, although IRS regulations clearly provide
that the appropriate refund claim for an individual income tax return filed after an original return is the
Form 1040X, the IRS may treat a protective claim for refund filed on a Form 843 as properly filed if the
IRS waives the formality requirement for such filings.

This question is addressed by Treas. Reg. § 301.6402-2(a) which provides the general rules for a refund
claim, and § 301.6402-3(a), which specifically provides refund claim requirements for a refund of income
tax. Generally, a claim for refund must request a refund of an overpayment, be timely filed, and meet
all applicable filing requirements (e.g., signed under penalty of perjury, mailed to the correct office as
instructed, etc.). Section 301.6402-3(a)(2) provides that in the case of an overpayment of income taxes
for a taxable year of an individual for which a Form 1040 has been filed, a claim for refund shall be made
on a Form 1040X. For additional information on claims for refund generally, IRM 4.10.11.2 provides a
good summary of refund claims and their rules. By filing a refund claim on a Form 843 for an income tax
refund, the taxpayer failed to follow this long-established rule.

Although the IRS may choose to reject what the taxpayer filed for not following the formal refund claim
rules for an overpayment of income tax, the IRS does have the discretion to process certain wrongly-
submitted forms. When a taxpayer submits a refund claim that meets all enumerated requirements but
fails to satisfy some formality (e.g., it is not filed on the correct standard form), it may be treated as an
informal refund claim. See Martti v. United States, 121 Fed.Cl. 87 (2015) (citing United States v. Kales,
314 U.S. 186, 194 (1941) (“To qualify as an informal claim, the claim must (1) be submitted within the
limitations period, (2) have a written component, and (3) adequately give the IRS notice that the plaintiff
is seeking a refund for certain years.”); see also Jackson v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, T.C.
Memo. 2002-44 (Feb. 12, 2002) (same).

As stated, the IRS may waive the requirement that a claim for refund be made on a particular form and
adjudicate an informal claim as though it were a formal claim. This is known as the waiver doctrine. See
Angelus Milling Co. v. Comm’r, 325 U.S. 293, 297-98 (1945); see also Blue v. United States, 108 Fed.Cl.
61, 69 (2012). The waiver doctrine applies where there is clear evidence the IRS understands the claim
made despite the departure in form, and the IRS dispenses with the formal requirements and proceeds

2

to examine the merits of the claim. Angelus Milling, 325 U.S. at 297-98. To that end, the IRS has
discretion to process the refund claim at issue here though it was submitted on an incorrect form.

Please let me know if you have any questions or if I can be of any further assistance in this matter.
Thank you!

----------------------

-------------------------------------