Statute of Limitations for Superseding Return

The statute of limitations is the period in which the IRS has to audit your return or in which you can file a claim for refund. If this period expires, the IRS usually can’t audit you (there is an exception for fraud) and you can’t obtain a refund even though otherwise eligible for it. What happens if you file a return and then file a subsequent return for the same year?

If the subsequent return, called a “superseding return,” is filed before the original due date, is has no effect on the statute of limitations. This is because the period begins to run from the original due date, no matter how early the return is filed.

But if there is a filing extension and a subsequent return is filed before the extended due date, the IRS has ruled that the original return filed on extension starts the running of the statute of limitations (Chief Counsel Memorandum 202026002). For example, assume an individual obtained a filing extension for a 2019 return so that the deadline is October 15, 2020. The 2019 return is filed on September 5, 2020, and then a superseding return on October 10, 2020. The period in which the IRS can audit the return or the individual can file a claim for refund begins to run on September 5, 2020. This IRS conclusion is backed up by several court decisions on the matter.