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under section 6015.4 Moreover, even if it is determined that the
individual has an overpayment, the amount of any refund or credit
to which the individual is entitled may depend upon other issues
arising outside the scope of section 6015, such as whether the
overpayment should be reduced by various offsets that the
Secretary is authorized to make under section 6402.
Accordingly, inasmuch as there can be no determination as to
whether an individual is entitled to a refund or credit unless
there is first a determination whether the individual has an
overpayment, and inasmuch as it cannot be determined “under”
section 6015 whether the individual has an overpayment or to what
4 The following discussion illustrates some of the types of
issues that arise in determining the amount of tax payments for
purposes of determining whether there is an overpayment:
Before an overpayment can exist, a taxpayer must have
“paid” the amount as tax. Not all remittances are
treated as payments of tax when they are received by
the Service. For example, remittances of withholding
tax and estimated tax made by taxpayers before the due
date of the return for the year are not considered
“paid” until the due date of payment; that is, the date
the return for the year is due without regard to any
extension for filing the return. Section 6401(c)
indicates that despite the fact that no return is yet
due or filed nor an assessment of tax made, a taxpayer
may nevertheless be considered to have made an
overpayment. Although the Service treats an amount a
taxpayer remits before the sending of a notice of
deficiency as a deposit in the nature of a cash bond,
not as a payment, the issue of whether a remittance is
considered a payment or cash bond has provoked much
litigation. [Saltzman, IRS Practice and Procedure, par.
11.02[2], at 11-16 and 11-17 (rev. 2d ed. 2002); fn.
ref. omitted.]
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