Can a Federal Tax Return Be Challenged After Three Year's?
May 6, 2021 / 6:49 AM / MoneyWatch The IRS is holding 29 million tax returns for manual processing, delaying tax refunds for many Americans, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate, an independent arm of the tax agency that looks out for consumers’ interest.
Why is there a backlog of tax returns?
But this year is complicated by several issues, including a backlog of 2019 paper tax returns that the IRS was unable to process after shuttering its offices during the coronavirus pandemic. A recent notice from the IRS said that some people may experience a longer than average wait for their payments.
How many tax returns have the IRS processed?
To be sure, the IRS has processed far more tax returns than not, with Taxpayer Advocate Erin M. Collins noting in a blog post last week that the tax agency has gone through more than 91 million individual tax returns filed for the 2020 tax year and issued more than 68 million refunds so far.
Is there a statute of limitations on filing back taxes?
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) technically doesn’t impose a statute of limitations on how long you have to file past-due tax returns. You can do it at any time—the IRS won’t decline your return—but you only have three years to file if you want to claim a refund for a tax year, and the IRS might take action against you after six years.
