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Petitioner asserts a claim for equitable relief. The
December 14, 1998, “REQUEST FOR YOUR TAX RETURN” notice sent by
respondent listed a credit balance of $11,807 and asked for an
explanation as to how petitioner wanted the credit balance
handled. Petitioner asserts that respondent should therefore be
estopped from denying application of the credit for overpayment
to his tax liabilities for years subsequent to 1991.
We are bound by the strict terms of the statutory provisions
limiting refunds or credits for overpayments to those claimed
within the time limitations of section 6511. United States v.
Brockamp, 519 U.S. 347, 352-354 (1997)(finding that Congress did
not intend courts to read equitable exceptions into section
6511); Landry v. Commissioner, 116 T.C. at 62-63. Equitable
relief is therefore unavailable to petitioner.
We said in Allen v. Commissioner, 99 T.C. 475, 480 (1992),
affd. without published opinion 23 F.3d 406 (6th Cir. 1994), that
As is true in many of the cases in this field, the
result may seem harsh in view of an actual overpayment,
but * * * [taxpayer] failed to file his income tax
return more promptly, and the statute is precise. The
unhappy result for * * * [taxpayer] is the consequence
of a “problem of * * * [his] own creation”. * * * The
situation is not an unfamiliar one, and has been before
us in a variety of other circumstances. [Citations
omitted.]
Unfortunately for petitioner, these words apply with equal force
in his case. The bar against application of any part of his
overpayment of 1991 estimated tax to later years is a situation
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