Christina L. Evaro

15-39

On April 6, 2015, the Department denied the Taxpayer’s claim for refund of 2010 personal income taxes, citing that the statute of limitations had expired for the claim.  On June 25, 2015, the Taxpayer protested the Department’s denial.  The Taxpayer recalls mailing her 2010 PIT-1 return on or before April 15, 2011, she claimed a refund.  The Taxpayer’s 2010 wage withholding received by the Department in 2010 were sufficient to pay er entire 2010 liability.  The Department has no record of receiving that return.  Even if the Department had received the return and failed to act on the claim for refund, statute allows the Taxpayer only 210-days to file a protest or civil suit.  In March 2015, the Taxpayer logged into the Department’s Taxpayer Access Point (TAP) system to file her 2014 PIT-1 return.  While reviewing her account, she noticed that the Department had not received her 2010 return.  On March 17, 2015, using a paper copy of her 2010 return, the Taxpayer completed her 2010 return online through TAP, showing a refund due to the Taxpayer.  The Department denied the claim for refund because it was more than three years from the end of the calendar year in which the taxes were due.  On April 16, 2015, the Taxpayer made a payment towards her 2010 personal income taxes, an amount that the Taxpayer did not owe.  The Department refunded the payment because the return did not establish any tax liability.  Pursuant to Section 7-1-26 (D)(1) NMSA 1978, no refund can be granted unless as a result of a claim made within three years of the end of the calendar year in which the tax is due.  In this situation, the Taxpayer had until December 31, 2014 to make a claim for refund for 2010 personal income taxes.  Any claim made after that date is barred by the statute of limitations.  The Taxpayer argued that Section 7-1-26 (D)(4) NMSA 1978 indicates that if the payment of tax was not made within three years of the end of the calendar year in which it was due, a claim for refund can be made within a year of the date on which the tax was paid.  However, in this case the Taxpayer’s withholding provided to the Department in 2010 paid all of the Taxpayer’s 2010 liability, the erroneous payment she made in 2015 was never due or owing and does not result in an additional year to claim a refund. The Taxpayer’s protest was denied.