Edgar T. Crismon and Maxine Crismon, His Wife v. United States

Taxpayers Edgar T. Crismon and his wife, Maxine (The Crismons), brought suit in the district court below, seeking a tax refund. They claimed a refund of federal taxes paid in the 1966 tax year. The basis was a net operating loss in the tax year 1969 which they proposed to carry back to the year 1966. The district court dismissed the suit for lack of jurisdiction because the Crismons had not filed a proper claim for a refund within the statutory time period. We affirm.

Under 26 U.S.C. § 6511 (d)(2)(A) the Crismons had until the 15th day of the 40th month after the end of the taxable year 1969 to file a claim for a refund. This made the last day to file April 15, 1973. They did not file the proper claim for a refund (Form 843) until September 24, 1973, outside the statutory time limit. The Crismons argue that a Form 1045 (Application for Tentative Refund from Carryback of Net Operating Loss) which was filed on March 6, 1973, was a timely informal claim for a refund. We disagree. The Internal Revenue Code ( 26 U.S.C. § 6411 (a), the Treasury Regulations (§ 1.6411 — 1(b)(2), and Form 1045 itself all state specifically that Form 1045, Application for Tentative Carryback Adjustment, is…