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comply with sec. 301.6402-3(a)(2), Proced. & Admin. Regs., and
make such claims by filing Forms 1040X for 1989 and 1990.
Nevertheless, petitioners claim that they filed “timely, valid[,]
informal claims” to carry back their 1992 NOL to 1989 and 1990:
“Petitioners informal claims for * * * 1992 consist of oral and
written communications with Respondent, which placed Respondent
on notice that Petitioners were claiming net operating losses in
* * * 1992.” Respondent answers that petitioners’ oral and
written communications did not constitute adequate notice that
petitioners were requesting refunds and, thus, do not constitute
informal claims for refund.
B. Discussion
1. Informal Claims
It is well established that an informal claim for refund
(i.e., one that does not comply with the formal requirements of
the statute and regulations) 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, 194
(1941). As we summarized in Turco v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo.
1997-564: There are no bright line rules as to what constitutes
an informal claim. Rather, each case must be decided on its own
particular set of facts. The relevant question is whether
respondent knew or should have known that a refund claim was
being made. Also, an informal claim must have some written
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