6 and, accordingly, conclude that petitioners did not file Federal income tax returns for 1989, 1990, and 1991. B. Whether Petitioners Filed Refund Claims Generally, a refund claim must be verified under penalty of perjury in order to be valid. Secs. 6061, 6065; sec. 301.6402- 2(b), Proc. & Admin. Regs. It is well established, however, that an informal claim (i.e., one that contains formal defects) will suffice as long as it requests a refund and fairly advises respondent of the nature of the taxpayer's claim. United States v. Kales, 314 U.S. 186 (1941); see Lundy v. Commissioner, 516 U.S. 235 (1996). There are no bright line rules as to what constitutes an informal claim. New England Elec. Sys. v. United States, 32 Fed. Cl. 36 (1995). Rather, each case must be decided on its own particular set of facts. Id. The relevant question is whether respondent knew or should have known that a refund claim was being made. Id.; see Angelus Milling Co. v. United States, 325 U.S. 293, 297 (1945) (stating that the issue is whether respondent had notice, sufficient to focus attention on the merits of petitioner's claim). Over a 3-month period, Agent McClaughlin reviewed the photocopied returns, along with additional information that petitioners provided pursuant Agent McClaughlin's requests. The photocopied returns contained requests for respondent to credit petitioners' overpayments to subsequent years (i.e., requests for refunds) and adequately apprised respondent that petitionersPage: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next
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