Lynda Q. Giang

15-23

On November 7, 2014, the Department denied the Taxpayer’s request for refund on her 2008 personal income taxes.  On December 4, 2014, the Department denied the Taxpayer’s request for refund on her 2009 personal income taxes.  On January 5, 2015, the Taxpayer filed a formal protest to the denials.  In 2014, the Taxpayer filed her personal income tax returns for several tax years, including 2008 and 2009.  The Department issued refunds for some of the tax years, but denied the refunds based upon the statute of limitations.   All claims for refund must be filed within three years of the end of the calendar year in which the payment was originally due (Section 7-1-26 NMSA 1978).  Therefore, the 2008 claim was required to be filed by the end of 2012, and the 2009 claim was required to be filed by the end of 2013.  Both claims were filed in 2014, beyond the three-year statute of limitations.  The Taxpayer explained that, though she was still working during the time, she was experiencing serious medical issues at the time the returns were due.  She also argued that it was unfair for the Department to keep the money just because she missed a deadline.  The Department argued that the statute of limitations is a strict deadline, and that the Taxpayer’s circumstances do not excuse late filing under the statute.  The Taxpayer’s protest was denied.