Amend old tax returns

Forum|Forum|4 months ago
April 14, 2026
3 replies
33 views

I recently hired a pro CPA to check and review all my tax returns since 2015 and they were able to find several years where I overpaid taxes due to some mistakes and miscalculations. Is there any way to amend those returns older than 5 years? If not, will those excess taxes I paid be returned or counted toward a future year tax returns in any way?

MinhT1

Level 15

You cannot amend tax returns more than 3 years old.

This IRS says in this document:

The latest date, by law, you can claim a credit or federal income tax refund for a specific tax year is generally the later of these 2 dates:

3 years from the date you filed your federal income tax return, or
2 years from the date you paid the tax.

This time period is called the Refund Statute Expiration Date (RSED).

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yatoshuraAuthor

Level 4

So there is no way to use those excess tax payments for any future tax returns? Not even as deductions or credits?

DaveF1006

Level 15

Yes, that is correct. As @MinhT1 says, you can only amend the prior three years returns to claim a refund. Beyond that, the excess tax payments cannot be claimed.

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