Bloomberg Tax
April 13, 2020, 6:40 PM

IRS Allows Businesses to Fax Refund Claims Tied to Virus Relief

Allyson Versprille
Allyson Versprille
Reporter

The IRS is temporarily allowing businesses to file forms to claim quick refunds by fax so that they can immediately take advantage of perks in the latest coronavirus relief package.

The agency posted the temporary procedures to its website Monday. It provided two fax numbers where taxpayers can send the refund claims beginning April 17.

  • Even though the numbers aren’t operational yet, businesses should start preparing their forms and calculating their refunds, Sunita Lough, the deputy commissioner for services and enforcement at the IRS, said Monday on a webcast hosted by the Tax Policy Center.
  • Lough asked taxpayers not to mail in the forms during the pandemic.
  • The coronavirus relief law (Public Law 116-136) allows businesses to carry losses incurred in 2018, 2019, or 2020 back five years to get a refund. It also allows businesses to immediately access any outstanding alternative minimum tax credits.
  • The IRS has had to close all of its major campuses to protect employees from Covid-19. That has created issues for many processes, including the quick refund claim process, that typically occur by mail.

To contact the reporter on this story: Allyson Versprille in Washington at aversprille@bloombergtax.com

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Patrick Ambrosio at pambrosio@bloombergtax.com; Colleen Murphy at cmurphy@bloombergtax.com