Opinion ID: 76636
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: introduction

Text: 5 Appellant Williams-Russell & Johnson, Inc. (WRJ), brought this action to recover from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) an overpayment tax refund that WRJ claims it is due under 26 U.S.C. § 7422. The district court dismissed the case for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, finding that there was no overpayment and in any event the claim was time-barred. WRJ appeals. 6 In that the tax code can be difficult to follow, we first pause to explain the general framework that applies to this situation. Companies like WRJ must pay employment taxes over time. The IRS is supposed to keep track of these payments and periodically make assessments which determine and inform taxpayers what they actually owe (ideally for both sides, this amount reflects what the taxpayer has paid, or thinks he should have paid). 7 But, the IRS makes mistakes, and so it does not always get around to timely assessing liability. The question for us, then, is what effect such a mistake (a late assessment) has on a taxpayer's liabilities and rights.