Where Do I File?
After you complete your return, you must send it to the IRS.
You can mail it or you may be able to file it electronically. See Does My Return Have
To Be On Paper, earlier.
Mailing your return. If an addressed envelope came with your tax
forms package, you should mail your return in that envelope.
If you do not have an addressed envelope or if you moved during the year, mail your
return to the Internal Revenue Service Center for the area where you now live. A list of
Service Center addresses is shown in your tax forms package.
What Happens
After I File?
After you send your return to IRS, you may have some questions. This section discusses
concerns you may have about recordkeeping, your refund, and what to do if you move.
What Records
Should I Keep?
 You
must keep records so that you can prepare a complete and accurate income tax return.
The law does not require any special form of records. However, you should keep all
receipts, canceled checks or other proof of payment, and any other records to support any
deductions or credits you claim.
If you file a claim for refund, you must be able to prove by your records that you have
overpaid your tax.
How long to keep records. You must keep your records for as long as
they are important for the federal tax law.
Keep records that support an item of income or a deduction appearing on a return until
the period of limitations for the return runs out. (A period of limitations is the period
of time after which no legal action can be brought.) For assessment of tax you owe, this
generally is 3 years from the date you filed the return. For filing a claim for credit or
refund, this generally is 3 years from the date you filed the original return, or 2 years
from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later. Returns filed before the due date are
treated as filed on the due date.
If you did not report income that you should have reported on your return, and it is
more than 25% of the income shown on the return, the period of limitations does not run
out until 6 years after you filed the return. If a return is false or fraudulent with
intent to evade tax, or if no return is filed, an action can generally be brought at any
time.
You may need to keep records relating to the basis of property longer than the period
of limitations. Keep those records as long as they are important in figuring the basis of
the original or replacement property. Generally, this means for as long as you own the
property and, after you dispose of it, for the period of limitations that applies to you.
See chapter 14 for information on basis.
Note. If you receive a Form W-2, keep Copy C until you begin
receiving social security benefits. This will help protect those benefits, just in case
there is a question about your work record or earnings in a particular year. Review the
information shown on your annual (for workers over age 25) Social Security Statement.
Copies of returns. You should
keep copies of tax returns you have filed and the tax forms package as part of your
records. They may be helpful in amending filed returns or preparing future ones.
If you need a copy of a prior year tax return, you can get it from the IRS. Use Form 4506, Request for Copy or Transcript of
Tax Form. There is a charge for a copy of a return, which you must pay with
Form 4506.
Transcript. You can also use Form 4506 to ask for a
transcript of your return filed this year or during the 3 preceding years. It will show
most lines from your original return, including accompanying forms and schedules.
Tax account information. If you need a statement of your tax account
showing any later changes that you or the IRS made to the original return, you will need
to ask for tax account information.
Do not use Form 4506 for tax account information. Instead, contact the
IRS. You should have your name and address, social security number or employer
identification number (if applicable), tax period, and form number available. You will get
the following information:
- Type of return filed,
- Filing status,
- Federal income tax withheld,
- Tax shown on return,
- Adjusted gross income,
- Taxable income,
- Self-employment tax,
- Number of exemptions,
- Refund,
- Earned income credit, and
- Mortgage interest deduction or real estate tax deduction.
More information. For more information on recordkeeping, get
Publication 552, Recordkeeping for Individuals.
Interest on Refunds
If you are due a refund, you may get interest on it. The
interest rates are adjusted quarterly.
If the refund is made within 45 days after the due date of your return, no interest
will be paid. If you file your return after the due date (including extensions), no
interest will be paid if the refund is made within 45 days after the date you filed. If
the refund is not made within this 45-day period, interest will be paid from the due date
of the return or from the date you filed, whichever is later.
Accepting a refund check does not change your right to claim an additional refund and
interest. File your claim within the period of time that applies. See Amended Returns
and Claims for Refund, later. If you do not accept a refund check, no more interest
will be paid on the overpayment included in the check.
Interest on erroneous refund. All or part of any interest you were
charged on an erroneous refund generally will be forgiven. Any interest charged for the
period before demand for repayment was made will be forgiven unless:
- You, or a person related to you, caused the erroneous refund in any way, or
- The refund is more than $50,000.
For example, if you claimed a refund of $100 on your return, but the IRS made an error
and sent you $1,000, you would not be charged interest for the time you held the $900
difference. You must, however, repay the $900 when the IRS asks.
Past-Due Refund
You can check on the status of your 2002 refund if it has been at
least 4 weeks from the date you filed your return (3 weeks if you filed
electronically). Be sure to have a copy of your 2002 tax return available because you will
need to know the filing status, the first social security number shown on the return, and
the exact whole-dollar amount of the refund. To check on your refund, do
one of the following.
- Go to www.irs.gov, and click on Where's My Refund.
- Call 1-800-829-4477 for automated refund information, and follow the recorded
instructions.
- Call 1-800-829-1954 during the hours shown in your form instructions.
Change of Address
If you have moved, file your return using your new address.
If you move after you filed your return, you should give the IRS clear and concise
written notification of your change of address. The notification should be sent to the
Internal Revenue Service Center serving your old address. You can use Form 8822, Change
of Address. If you are expecting a refund, also notify the post office serving your
old address. This will help in forwarding your check to your new address (unless you chose
Direct Deposit of your refund).
Be sure to include your social security number (and the name and social security number
of your spouse, if you filed a joint return) in any correspondence with the IRS.
What If I Made
a Mistake?
Errors may delay your refund or result in notices being sent to you. If you discover an
error, you can file an amended return or claim for refund.
Amended Returns and
Claims for Refund
You should correct your return if, after you have filed it, you find
that:
- You did not report some income,
- You claimed deductions or credits you should not have claimed,
- You did not claim deductions or credits you could have claimed, or
- You should have claimed a different filing status. (You cannot change your filing status
from married filing jointly to married filing separately after the due date of the
original return. However, an executor may be able to make this change for a deceased
spouse.)
If you need a copy of your return, see Copies of returns under What
Records Should I Keep, earlier in this chapter.
Form 1040X. Use Form 1040X, Amended
U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, to correct the return you have already
filed. An amended tax return cannot be filed electronically under the e-file
system.
Completing Form 1040X. On Form 1040X, write your income,
deductions, and credits as you originally reported them on your return, the changes you
are making, and the corrected amounts. Then figure the tax on the corrected amount of
taxable income and the amount you owe or your refund.
If you owe tax, pay the full amount with Form 1040X. The tax owed will not be
subtracted from any amount you had credited to your estimated tax.
If you cannot pay the full amount due with your return, you can ask to make monthly
installment payments. See Installment Agreement, earlier.
If you overpaid tax, you can have all or part of the overpayment refunded to you, or
you can apply all or part of it to your estimated tax. If you choose to get a refund, it
will be sent separately from any refund shown on your original return.
Filing Form 1040X. After you finish your Form 1040X, check
it to be sure that it is complete. Do not forget to show the year of your original return
and explain all changes you made. Be sure to attach any forms or schedules needed to
explain your changes. Mail your Form 1040X to the Internal Revenue Service Center serving
the area where you now live (as shown in the instructions to the form).
File a separate form for each tax year involved.
Time for filing a claim for refund. Generally, you must file your
claim for a credit or refund within 3 years after the date you filed your original return
or within 2 years after the date you paid the tax, whichever is later. Returns filed
before the due date (without regard to extensions) are considered filed on the due date
(even if the due date was a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday). These time periods are
suspended while you are financially disabled, discussed later.
If the last day for claiming a credit or refund is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal
holiday, you can file the claim on the next business day.
If you do not file a claim within this period, you may not be entitled to a credit or a
refund.
Late-filed return. If you were due a refund but you did not
file a return, you generally must file within 3 years from the date the return was
originally due to get that refund.
Limit on amount of refund. If you file your claim within 3 years
after the date you filed your return, the credit or refund cannot be more than the part of
the tax paid within the 3-year period (plus any extension of time for filing your return)
immediately before you filed the claim. This time period is suspended while you are
financially disabled, discussed later.
Tax paid. Payments made before the due date (without regard
to extensions) of the original return are considered paid on the due date. Examples
include federal income tax withheld from wages and estimated income tax.
Example 1. You made estimated tax payments of $500 and got an
automatic extension of time to August 15, 2000, to file your 1999 income tax return. When
you filed your return on that date, you paid an additional $200 tax. On August 15, 2003,
you filed an amended return and claimed a refund of $700. Because you filed your claim
within 3 years after you filed your original return, you can get a refund of up to $700,
the tax paid within the 3 years plus the 4-month extension period immediately before you
filed the claim.
Example 2. The situation is the same as in Example 1,
except you filed your return on October 27, 2000, 2½ months after the extension period
ended. You paid an additional $200 on that date. On October 27, 2003, you filed an amended
return and claimed a refund of $700. Although you filed your claim within 3 years from the
date you filed your original return, the refund was limited to $200, the tax paid within
the 3 years plus the 4-month extension period immediately before you filed the claim. The
estimated tax of $500 paid before that period cannot be refunded or credited.
If you file a claim more than 3 years after you file your return,
the credit or refund cannot be more than the tax you paid within the 2 years immediately
before you file the claim.
Example. You filed your 1999 tax return on April 17, 2000. You
paid taxes of $500. On November 1, 2001, after an examination of your 1999 return, you had
to pay an additional tax of $200. On May 13, 2003, you file a claim for a refund of $300.
However, because you filed your claim more than 3 years after you filed your return, your
refund will be limited to the $200 you paid during the 2 years immediately before you
filed your claim.
Financially disabled. The time
periods are suspended for the period in which you are financially disabled. You are
financially disabled if you are unable to manage your financial affairs because of a
medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in
death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less
than 12 months. However, you are not treated as financially disabled during any period
your spouse or any other person is authorized to act on your behalf in financial matters.
To claim that you are financially disabled, you must send in the following written
statements with your claim for refund.
- A statement from your qualified physician that includes:
- The name and a description of your physical or mental impairment,
- The physician's medical opinion that the impairment prevented you from managing your
financial affairs,
- The physician's medical opinion that the impairment was or can be expected to result in
death, or that its duration has lasted, or can be expected to last, at least 12 months,
- The specific time period (to the best of the physician's knowledge), and
- The following certification signed by the physician: I hereby certify that, to the
best of my knowledge and belief, the above representations are true, correct, and
complete.
- A statement made by the person signing the claim for credit or refund that no person,
including your spouse, was authorized to act on your behalf in financial matters during
the period of disability (or the exact dates that a person was authorized to act for you).
Exceptions for special types of refunds. If you file a claim for one
of the items listed below, the dates and limits discussed earlier may not apply. These
items, and where to get more information, are as follows.
- A bad debt. (See Nonbusiness Bad Debts in chapter 15.)
- A worthless security. (See Worthless securities in chapter 15.)
- Foreign tax paid or accrued. (See Publication 514, Foreign Tax Credit for
Individuals.)
- Net operating loss carryback. (See Publication 536, Net Operating Losses (NOLs) for
Individuals, Estates, and Trusts.)
- Carryback of certain business tax credits. (See Form 3800, General Business Credit.)
- A claim based on an agreement with the IRS extending the period for assessment of tax.
- An injured spouse claim. (See Offset against debts, earlier.)
Processing claims for refund. Claims are usually processed shortly
after they are filed. Your claim may be accepted as filed, disallowed, or subject to
examination. If a claim is examined, the procedures are the same as in the examination of
a tax return.
If your claim is disallowed, you will receive an explanation of why it was disallowed.
Taking your claim to court. You can sue for a refund in court, but
you must first file a timely claim with the IRS. If the IRS disallows your claim or does
not act on your claim within 6 months after you file it, you can then take your claim to
court. For information on the burden of proof in a court proceeding, see Publication 556, Examination
of Returns, Appeal Rights, and Claims for Refund.
The IRS provides a fast method to move your claim to court if:
- You are filing a claim for a credit or refund based solely on contested income tax or on
estate tax or gift tax issues considered in your previously examined returns, and
- You want to take your case to court instead of appealing it within the IRS.
When you file your claim with the IRS, you get the fast method by requesting in writing
that your claim be immediately rejected. A notice of claim disallowance will then be
promptly sent to you.
You have 2 years from the date of mailing of the notice of disallowance to file a
refund suit in the United States District Court having jurisdiction or in the United
States Court of Federal Claims.
Interest on refund. If you
receive a refund because of your amended return, interest will be paid on it from the due
date of your original return or the date you filed your original return, whichever
is later, to the date you filed the amended return. However, if the refund is not made
within 45 days after you file the amended return, interest will be paid up to the date the
refund is paid.
Reduced refund. Your refund may
be reduced by an additional tax liability that has been assessed against you.
Also, your refund may be reduced by amounts you owe for past-due child support, debts
to another federal agency, or for state tax. The refund procedures discussed in this
chapter will not be available to you to get back the reduction. See Offset against
debts, earlier.
Effect on state tax liability. If your return is changed for any
reason, it may affect your state income tax liability. This includes changes made as a
result of an examination of your return by the IRS. Contact your state tax agency for more
information.
Penalties
The law provides penalties for failure to file returns or pay taxes as required.
Civil Penalties
If you do not file your return and pay your tax by the due date, you may have to pay a
penalty. You may also have to pay a penalty if you substantially understate your tax, file
a frivolous return, or fail to supply your social security number. If you provide
fraudulent information on your return, you may have to pay a civil fraud penalty.
Filing late. If you do not file
your return by the due date (including extensions), you may have to pay a failure-to-file
penalty. The penalty is based on the tax not paid by the due date (without
regard to extensions). The penalty is usually 5% for each month or part of a month that a
return is late, but not more than 25%.
Fraud. If your failure to file is due to fraud, the penalty
is 15% for each month or part of a month that your return is late, up to a maximum of 75%.
Return over 60 days late. If you file your return more than
60 days after the due date or extended due date, the minimum penalty is the smaller of
$100 or 100% of the unpaid tax.
Exception. You will not have to pay the penalty if you show
that you failed to file on time because of reasonable cause and not because of willful
neglect.
Paying tax late. You will have
to pay a failure-to-pay penalty of ½ of 1% (.50%) of your unpaid taxes
for each month, or part of a month, after the due date that the tax is not paid.
This penalty does not apply during the automatic 4-month extension of time to file period,
if you paid at least 90% of your actual tax liability on or before the due date of your
return and pay the balance when you file the return.
The monthly rate of the failure-to-pay penalty is half the usual rate (.25% instead of
.50%) if an installment agreement is in effect for that month. You must have filed your
return by the due date (including extensions) to qualify for this reduced penalty.
If a notice of intent to levy is issued, the rate will increase to 1% at the start of
the first month beginning at least 10 days after the day that the notice is issued. If a
notice and demand for immediate payment is issued, the rate will increase to 1% at the
start of the first month beginning after the day that the notice and demand is issued.
This penalty cannot be more than 25% of your unpaid tax. You will not have to pay the
penalty if you can show that you had a good reason for not paying your tax on time.
Combined penalties. If both the failure-to-file penalty and the
failure-to-pay penalty (discussed earlier) apply in any month, the 5% (or 15%)
failure-to-file penalty is reduced by the failure-to-pay penalty. However, if you file
your return more than 60 days after the due date or extended due date, the minimum penalty
is the smaller of $100 or 100% of the unpaid tax.
Accuracy-related penalty. You
may have to pay an accuracy-related penalty if:
- You underpay your tax because of either negligence or disregard of
rules or regulations, or
- You substantially understate your income tax.
The penalty is equal to 20% of the underpayment. The penalty will not be figured on any
part of an underpayment on which the fraud penalty (discussed later) is charged.
Negligence or disregard. The term negligence includes a failure to make a reasonable attempt to
comply with the tax law or to exercise ordinary and reasonable care in preparing a
return. Negligence also includes failure to keep adequate books and records. You will not
have to pay a negligence penalty if you have a reasonable basis for a position you took.
The term disregard includes any careless, reckless, or intentional disregard.
Adequate disclosure. You can avoid the penalty for
disregard of rules or regulations if you adequately disclose on your return a position
that has at least a reasonable basis. See Disclosure statement, later.
Substantial understatement of income tax.
You understate your tax if the tax shown on your return is less than the
correct tax. The understatement is substantial if it is more than the larger of 10%
of the correct tax or $5,000. However, the amount of the understatement is reduced to the
extent the understatement is due to:
- Substantial authority, or
- Adequate disclosure and a reasonable basis.
Substantial authority. Whether there is or was substantial
authority for the tax treatment of an item depends on the facts and circumstances.
Consideration will be given to court opinions, Treasury regulations, revenue rulings,
revenue procedures, and notices and announcements issued by the IRS and published in the Internal
Revenue Bulletin that involve the same or similar circumstances as yours.
Disclosure statement. To
adequately disclose the relevant facts about your tax treatment of an item, use Form 8275, Disclosure Statement.
You must also have a reasonable basis for treating the item the way you did.
In cases of substantial understatement only, items that meet the requirements of
Revenue Procedure 2002-66 (or later update) are considered adequately disclosed on your
return without filing Form 8275.
Use Form 8275-R, Regulation Disclosure Statement, to disclose items or
positions contrary to regulations.
Reasonable cause. You will not have to pay a penalty if you
show a good reason (reasonable cause) for the way you treated an item. You must also show
that you acted in good faith.
Frivolous return. You may have
to pay a penalty of $500 if you file a frivolous return. A frivolous return is one
that does not include enough information to figure the correct tax or that contains
information clearly showing that the tax you reported is substantially incorrect.
You will have to pay the penalty if you filed this kind of return because of a
frivolous position on your part or a desire to delay or interfere with the administration
of federal income tax laws. This includes altering or striking out the preprinted language
above the space provided for your signature.
This penalty is added to any other penalty provided by law.
The penalty must be paid in full upon notice and demand from IRS even if you protest
the penalty.
Fraud. If there is any
underpayment of tax on your return due to fraud, a penalty of 75% of the underpayment due
to fraud will be added to your tax.
Joint return. The fraud penalty on a joint return does not
apply to a spouse unless some part of the underpayment is due to the fraud of that spouse.
Failure to supply social security number. If you do not include your social security number (SSN) or the SSN of another
person where required on a return, statement, or other document, you will be
subject to a penalty of $50 for each failure. You will also be subject to
a penalty of $50 if you do not give your SSN to another person when it is required on a
return, statement, or other document.
For example, if you have a bank account that earns interest, you must give your SSN to
the bank. The number must be shown on the Form 1099-INT or other statement the bank sends
you. If you do not give the bank your SSN, you will be subject to the $50 penalty. (You
also may be subject to backup withholding of income tax. See chapter 5.)
You will not have to pay the penalty if you are able to show that the failure was due
to reasonable cause and not willful neglect.
Failure to furnish tax shelter registration number.
A person who sells (or otherwise transfers) to you an interest in a tax
shelter must give you the tax shelter registration number or be subject to a $100
penalty. If you claim any deduction, credit, or other tax benefit because of the tax
shelter, you must attach Form 8271, Investor
Reporting of Tax Shelter Registration Number, to your return to report this
number. You will have to pay a penalty of $250 for each failure to report a tax shelter
registration number on your return. The penalty can be excused if you have a reasonable
cause for not reporting the number.
Criminal Penalties
You may be subject to criminal prosecution (brought to trial) for
actions such as:
- Tax evasion,
- Willful failure to file a return, supply information, or pay any tax due,
- Fraud and false statements, or
- Preparing and filing a fraudulent return.
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