10-year Statute of Limitations

[ccristman]

I have a taxpayer that owes from the 2013 tax year. Her income was overstated (she put a prior year W2 on the return and then the IRS had the actual income for the year) and therefore she received a bill adjusting her return. We've been working on getting this resolved since Fall 2021 with no luck. She just received a letter last night stating they were disallowing her credit because they wanted the 1098-E from that year but have made no acknowledgement of the original income issue. We've tried contacting TAS but they have not done a thing either. Hasn't anyone had experience with whole 10-year statute of limitations?

[Rapid Robert]

"Hasn't anyone had experience with whole 10-year statute of limitations?"

Probably someone has. Is that really your only question? Here is what TheTaxBook states about it:

"After assessment of tax, collection activity must begin within 10 years after the date of assessment. The 10-year period may be extended in certain situations or by agreement between the parties"

[ccristman]

Let me change up the question since I know what the book/IRS says. The debt is from her 2013 return but there have been multiple attempts to resolve this debt over the past year and a half. The amended return should have fixed it, but it has not been processed properly to do so. How do I find out for sure if the ten years will be up in 2023 or if it's been extended due to correspondence with the IRS? I know that once the ten-year time frame is up, we can write to the IRS letting them know that they are now past their statute, but I do not want to do this prematurely.

[New York Enrolled Agent]

Let me change up the question since I know what the book/IRS says. The debt is from her 2013 return but there have been multiple attempts to resolve this debt over the past year and a half. The amended return should have fixed it, but it has not been processed properly to do so. How do I find out for sure if the ten years will be up in 2023 or if it's been extended due to correspondence with the IRS? I know that once the ten-year time frame is up, we can write to the IRS letting them know that they are now past their statute, but I do not want to do this prematurely.

The 10-year statute will not be extended by any correspondence of the type you state you have had.

Section 6502 provides the 10 years after an assessment of tax is made. You need to obtain a transcript of the taxpayer’s account and determine when the assessment was made. Always remember it is possible to have multiple assessments on an account. Each assessment has its own 10-year collection expiration date.

If it was a 2013 return, the earliest assessment date would be April 15, 2014. It is not clear from your post when/if any additional assessment was made.