Was a 2019 amended Virginia return claiming a 2014 refund timely when another state had just assessed the taxpayer for 2014?

Plain-English summary

The taxpayer lived and worked in another state during 2014 but filed a Virginia resident return in March 2015 and did not file the other state's required return. In May 2019, that state assessed her for 2014. She responded that same month by filing an amended Virginia nonresident return and requesting a refund.

The ordinary Virginia deadline had passed: Va. Code § 58.1-1823 generally allows an amended return within three years of the original due date, and the ruling says the 2014 refund period expired in May 2018.

But § 58.1-1823 A (v) provided a specific exception. A taxpayer had one year after another state's final determination to file a Virginia amended return, limited so the Virginia refund could not exceed the decrease attributable to the other state's change. Because this taxpayer filed in the same month as the other-state assessment, the claim was timely. Virginia would process it and issue the appropriate refund, including refund interest.

What this means for you

An expired ordinary refund deadline did not end the claim where a later determination by another state triggered Virginia's separate one-year window. The timing and amount limits in that exception still mattered.

Common questions

When did the ordinary deadline expire? The ruling says May 2018 for the 2014 amended return.

Why was the May 2019 claim timely? It was filed within one year of the other state's final determination.

Was the refund unlimited? No. The statutory exception capped it at the Virginia tax decrease attributable to the other state's change.

Citations and references

• Va. Code § 58.1-1823, including § 58.1-1823 A (v).
• P.D. 12-104 -- listed by the ruling as a related document.

Source

• Landing page: Virginia Laws, Rules & Decisions
• Ruling: P.D. 20-34

Original ruling text

March 6, 2020

Re: § 58.1-1821 Application: Individual Income Tax

Dear *:

This will respond to your letter in which you seek a refund of individual income tax paid by * (the “Taxpayer”) for the taxable year ended December 31, 2014.

FACTS

The Taxpayer resided and worked in * (State A) in 2014, but had resided in Virginia prior to that year. The Taxpayer filed a Virginia resident income tax return for the 2014 taxable year in March 2015 but did not file a State A return as required. In May 2019, State A issued an assessment to the Taxpayer for failure to file a State A return and pay the tax due. The Taxpayer then filed an amended 2014 Virginia return the same month, changing her filing status to a nonresident of Virginia and requesting a refund. The Department denied the refund claim on the basis that the statute of limitations had expired. The Taxpayer appealed, requesting that the refund be issued.

DETERMINATION

Generally, Virginia Code § 58.1-1823 allows a taxpayer to file an amended return within three years from the last day prescribed by law for the timely filing of the return. In this case, the Taxpayer did not file the amended return until May 2019, long after the general statute of limitations had expired in May 2018 to claim a refund on a 2014 amended return. Virginia Code § 58.1-1823, however, also includes a number of exceptions to the general rule when specific circumstances are present. Under Virginia Code § 58.1-1823 A (v), a taxpayer has one year from the final determination of a change made by any other state to file an amended return to request a refund, provided that the refund does not exceed the amount of the decrease in Virginia tax attributable to such change.

Because the Taxpayer filed the amended return within the one-year period set forth under Virginia Code § 58.1-1823 A (v), the return is considered to be timely filed. Accordingly, the Taxpayer’s amended return will be processed and the appropriate refunds, including refund interest, will be issued.

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 about this determination, you may contact * in the Office of Tax Policy, Appeals and Rulings, at ***.

Sincerely,

Craig M. Burns

Tax Commissioner

AR/2242.M

Related Documents

12-104