My husband just became a us resident ..they told us when he became legal they would refund us our taxes for the past 3 years is that possible?

[SweetieJean]

Who are "they?"

[deidramata]

My accountant that filled our previous taxes. But he no longer does taxes ..

[Opus 17 · Accepted solution]

No.

There are certain tax benefits that a person is eligible for when they are a citizen or permanent resident (green card holder) that are more generous than they are eligible for when they are a non-resident alien or resident alien.  In the past it was possible to amend a return to retroactively claim those benefits.

However, due to a law passed a couple of years ago, that is no longer allowed.  He only qualifies as a citizen on any tax return that is filed after the awarding of citizenship, and only if the return is "timely filed."  That means that if you have not filed a 2016 tax return yet and you have an approved extension, you could file the 2016 return with him as a citizen. But you can't amend earlier years.  And if you already filed your 2016 return, you can't amend it either.