Timelines for Filing Amended Income Tax Returns Extended for Retro-VA Compensation Awards
Aug 29 2008
The Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008, signed into law on June 17, 2008, changed the federal income tax filing deadlines and the length of the look-back period for amended tax returns when retirees are affected by a retroactive VA disability compensation determination.
Amended tax returns usually are required when you have paid income taxes on past retirement income that later becomes tax-free income as a result of the award of retro-VA compensation.
The act amends the IRS Tax Code to the following:
For retro-VA compensation determinations as of June 18, 2008 or later, retirees have up to one year to file their amended return from the date of the VA determination. The retiree now can amend tax returns going back five years. It used to be a three-year look-back.
There also is a transition period allowed in the tax code change. For retro-VA compensation determinations from Jan. 1, 2001 through June 17, 2008, retirees have until June 17, 2009 to file amended returns for tax refunds for tax years 2001 to the present.
Please consult your tax specialist for more detailed information about how these changes affect you. Refer to H.R. 6081, Section 106, which amends the IRS Tax Code Section 6511(d) by adding a new paragraph (8).
Find a technical explanation of H.R. 6081 on the House of Represenative’s Web site.
Other references:
www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-6081
frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_bills&docid=f:h6081enr.txt.pdf
