Could a deceased taxpayer's successor receive a 2013 Virginia refund claimed after the three-year deadline?

Plain-English summary

Virginia denied a successor's refund claim filed on behalf of a deceased taxpayer for 2013. The return was due May 1, 2014, and Virginia's three-year refund period expired May 1, 2017.

The successor did not file the original return until November 13, 2017. Although it reported an overpayment, Va. Code § 58.1-499 D barred the refund, and the Department said it had no discretion to extend that deadline.

Common questions

Did the taxpayer's death change the deadline in this ruling? No. The Department applied the ordinary three-year period to the successor's claim.

Were the historical dates close? The filing came more than six months after the May 1, 2017 deadline.

Citations and references

• Va. Code §§ 58.1-499 A and D and 58.1-341 A

Source

• Landing page: Virginia Laws, Rules & Decisions
• Ruling: P.D. 18-103

Original ruling text

May 24, 2018

Re: § 58.1-1821 Application: Individual Income Tax

Dear *:

This will reply to your letter in which you, as successor, seek a refund of the overpayment of individual income tax paid on behalf of * (the “Taxpayer”) for the taxable year ended December 31, 2013.

FACTS

The Taxpayer's successor filed a Virginia individual income tax return for taxable year 2013 on behalf of the deceased Taxpayer on November 13, 2017, reporting an overpayment of income tax and requesting a refund. The Department denied the refund because the return was filed beyond the refund period allowed by the statute of limitations. The successor appeals the Department's denial of the refund.

DETERMINATION

Virginia Code § 58.1-499 A provides that in the case of any overpayment of any tax, whether by reason of excessive withholding, overestimating and overpaying estimated tax, or error on the part of the taxpayer, the Department shall order a refund of the overpayment. Virginia Code § 58.1-499 D specifies, however, in pertinent part:

No refund under this section . . . shall be made . . . whether on discovery by the Department or on written application of the taxpayer, if such discovery is not made or such written application is not received within three years from the last day prescribed by law for the timely filing of the return . . .

Virginia Code § 58.1-341 A requires that a taxpayer file an individual income tax return by May 1 of the year following the tax year for which the return is filed. Based on Virginia statutes, the due date for the Taxpayer's 2013 individual income tax return was May 1, 2014. As such, the return was required to be filed by May 1, 2017, in order to receive a refund for the 2013 taxable year.

The original Virginia income tax return for the 2013 taxable year was not filed until November 13, 2017, after the statute of limitations had expired on May 1, 2017. The provisions of Virginia Code § 58.1-499 D are clear and do not provide the Department with any discretion in enforcing the three-year limitations period to apply for a refund. Accordingly, I cannot grant your request for refund of the overpayment of individual income tax for the taxable year ended December 31, 2013.

The Code of Virginia sections cited are available on-line at www.tax.virginia.gov in the Laws, Rules & Decisions section of the Department's web site. If you have any questions regarding this determination, you may contact * in the Office of Tax Policy, Appeals and Rulings, at ***.

Sincerely,

Craig M. Burns

Tax Commissioner

AR/1585.C