This is in regards to 2020 taxes where i filed in September as i was waiting for the SSN for my daughter who was born in 2020. Due to the Adoption process being very drawn out with getting a court date and then waiting for the birth certificates to be issued after the court date to be able to submit for a SSN we didn't get the social until around August of 2021. I filed my taxes and the IRS reduced my refund as the SSN was issued after the filing deadline. I was under the impression that no extension to file was needed since a refund was being issued and this was confirmed by the FAQ on turbotax which i posted below. I sent a letter back to the IRS to appeal and they denied it since no extension was filed. Is there any recourse for this as it seems like a crazy rule under the circumstances? The SSN issue date doesn't change the fact that my daughter was born in 2020 which seems to be disregarded. Thanks for any help.
Do I need to file an extension if I'm getting a refund?
Technically no, at least when it comes to your federal return.
Because the IRS calculates the late-filing penalty off of any additional taxes you owe ($0 in your case), there's no penalty because $0 × anything = $0.
