§6532 Periods of Limitation on Suits

Summary

You cannot sue to get back tax money, penalties, or other tax sums until six months after you file your refund claim, unless the IRS decides your claim sooner. You must start the suit within two years after the IRS mails you a certified or registered notice saying it denied the part of your claim you are suing over. You and the IRS can agree in writing to extend that two-year deadline. If you sign a written waiver giving up the right to be mailed a denial notice, the two-year clock starts when you file the waiver. Any IRS action after it mails a denial does not extend the deadline. In bankruptcy cases, the six-month wait can be shortened to 120 days under bankruptcy rules. If the government sues to get back a bad refund, it must start within two years of the refund, unless fraud or a false material statement was involved, in which case it has five years. If someone other than the taxpayer sues over a levy or agreement, they must begin within two years of that levy or agreement. If they asked for the return of property, that two-year period is extended either 12 months from the request or six months from the IRS mailing a denial of the request, whichever is shorter.