47.3 Stating the Reasons for Refund Claim

After entering changes to your original return on Form 1040X, in Part III of the form you explain the changes and tell the IRS why you are claiming a refund. Where appropriate, you should attach a statement explaining:

• All the facts that support the claim. Attach all supporting documents and tax forms supporting your claim.
• All the grounds for the claim. If you are uncertain about the exact legal grounds, alternate and even inconsistent grounds may be given. For example: “The loss was incurred from an embezzlement; if not, from a bad debt.” To protect against understating the amount of the claim, you might preface the claim with this phrase: “The following or such greater amounts as may be legally refunded.”

If your refund claim is denied by the IRS, it may become the basis of a court suit. If you have not stated all the grounds on Form 1040X, you may not be allowed to argue them in court.