June 25, 2026
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 you (the “Taxpayer”) for the taxable year ended December 31, 2020.
FACTS
The Taxpayer timely filed his Virginia individual income tax return for the 2020 taxable year. Subsequently, he filed an amended return requesting a refund. The Department denied the refund on the basis that the amended return was filed outside of the statute of limitations. The Taxpayer submitted an application for correction, requesting that the Department issue the refund because the late filing was due to extraordinary circumstances beyond his control.
DETERMINATION
Virginia Code § 58.1-499 A provides that, in the case of any overpayment of any tax, whether by reason of excessive withholding, overestimating and overpaying estimated tax, or error on the part of the taxpayer, the Department shall order a refund of the overpayment. Virginia Code § 58.1-499 D specifies, however, in pertinent part that:
No refund under this section . . . shall be made . . . whether on discovery by the Department or on written application of the taxpayer, if such discovery is not made or such written application is not received within three years from the last day prescribed by law for the timely filing of the return . . . . [Emphasis added].
In addition, under Virginia Code § 58.1-1823 the general rule is that an amended return must be filed within three years from the last day prescribed by law for the timely filing of the return to claim a refund. This code section includes a number of exceptions to the general rule when specific circumstances are present. In this case, none of those circumstances apply and thus the general three-year rule must be used to determine the date by which the Taxpayer must have filed the amended return to claim a refund.
Virginia Code § 58.1-341 A requires that taxpayers file individual income tax returns by May 1 of the year following the tax year for which the return is filed. For the 2020 taxable year, however, Governor Northam announced that Virginia would extend the individual income tax filing and payment deadline for calendar year filers from May 1, 2021, to May 17, 2021, and the corresponding extended due date from November 1, 2021, to November 17, 2021. See Virginia Tax Bulletin (VTB) 21-5 (4/9/2021).
The Taxpayer had three years from May 17, 2021, to file a 2020 amended return to claim a refund. The Taxpayer filed his amended 2020 return on January 16, 2025, outside of the three-year statute of limitations. Therefore, the Department properly denied the refund.
The Taxpayer concedes that he submitted his 2020 Virginia amended return outside of the statute of limitations to claim a refund. However, he contends that the Department should allow an exception because the late filing was due to circumstances beyond his control. In particular, he explains that his employer did not provide him with the tax reporting statement until December 2024. Such circumstances, however, would not have extended the applicable filing deadline or otherwise have affected the statute of limitations. See Public Document (P.D.) 22-9 (1/18/2022) and P.D. 24-48 (5/16/2024).
The provisions of Virginia Code § 58.1-499 D are clear and do not provide the Department with any discretion in enforcing the three-year limitations period to apply for a refund. Accordingly, the request for a refund of the overpayment of Virginia income tax for the taxable year ended December 31, 2020, cannot be granted.
The Code of Virginia sections cited are available online at law.lis.virginia.gov. The public documents and tax bulletin cited are available at tax.virginia.gov in the Laws, Rules, & Decisions section of the Department’s website. If you have any questions regarding this determination, you may contact ***** in the Office of Legal Affairs, Tax Adjudication and Resolution Division, at ***** or *****.
Sincerely,
Kristin L. Collins
Tax Commissioner
Commonwealth of Virginia
AR 5159.Q