[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 26, Volume 18]
[Revised as of April 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 26CFR301.7502-1]

[Page 544-548]
 
                       TITLE 26--INTERNAL REVENUE
 
    CHAPTER I--INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 
                               (CONTINUED)
 
PART 301_PROCEDURE AND ADMINISTRATION--Table of Contents
 
                          Judicial Proceedings
 
Sec. 301.7502-1  Timely mailing of documents and payments treated as 
timely filing and paying.

    (a) General rule. Section 7502 provides that, if the requirements of 
that section are met, a document or payment is deemed to be filed or 
paid on the date of the postmark stamped on the envelope or other 
appropriate wrapper (envelope) in which the document or payment was 
mailed. Thus, if the envelope that contains the document or payment has 
a timely postmark, the document or payment is considered timely filed or 
paid even if it is received after the last date, or the last day of the 
period, prescribed for filing the document or making the payment. 
Section 7502 does not apply in determining whether a failure to file a 
return or pay a tax has continued for an additional month or fraction 
thereof for purposes of computing the penalties and additions to tax 
imposed by section 6651. Except as provided in section 7502(e) and Sec. 
301.7502-2, relating to the timely mailing of deposits, and paragraph 
(d) of this section, relating to electronically filed documents, section 
7502 is applicable only to those documents or payments as defined in 
paragraph (b) of this section and only if the document or payment is 
mailed in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section and is delivered 
in accordance with paragraph (e) of this section.
    (b) Definitions--(1) Document defined. (i) The term document, as 
used in this section, means any return, claim, statement, or other 
document required to be filed within a prescribed period or on or before 
a prescribed date under authority of any provision of the internal 
revenue laws, except as provided in paragraph (b)(1)(ii), (iii), or (iv) 
of this section.
    (ii) The term does not include returns, claims, statements, or other 
documents that are required under any provision of the internal revenue 
laws or the regulations thereunder to be delivered by any method other 
than mailing.
    (iii) The term does not include any document filed in any court 
other than the Tax Court, but the term does include any document filed 
with the Tax Court, including a petition and a notice of appeal of a 
decision of the Tax Court.
    (iv) The term does not include any document that is mailed to an 
authorized financial institution under section 6302. However, see Sec. 
301.7502-2 for special rules relating to the timeliness of deposits and 
documents required to be filed with deposits.
    (2) Claims for refund. In the case of certain taxes, a return may 
constitute a claim for credit or refund. In such a case, section 7502 is 
applicable to the claim for credit or refund if the conditions of such 
section are met, irrespective of whether the claim is also a return. For 
rules regarding claims for refund on late filed tax returns, see 
paragraph (f) of this section.
    (3) Payment defined. (i) The term payment, as used in this section, 
means any payment required to be made within a prescribed period or on 
or before a prescribed date under the authority of any provision of the 
internal revenue laws, except as provided in paragraph (b)(3)(ii), 
(iii), (iv), or (v) of this section.
    (ii) The term does not include any payment that is required under 
any provision of the internal revenue laws or the regulations thereunder 
to be delivered by any method other than mailing. See, for example, 
section 6302(h) and the regulations thereunder regarding electronic 
funds transfer.
    (iii) The term does not include any payment, whether it is made in 
the form of currency or other medium of payment, unless it is actually 
received and accounted for. For example, if a check is used as the form 
of payment, this section does not apply unless the check is honored upon 
presentation.
    (iv) The term does not include any payment to any court other than 
the Tax Court.
    (v) The term does not include any deposit that is required to be 
made with an authorized financial institution under section 6302. 
However, see Sec. 301.7502-2 for rules relating to the timeliness of 
deposits.
    (4) Last date or last day prescribed. As used in this section, the 
term the last date, or the last day of the period, prescribed for filing 
the document or making the payment includes any extension of

[[Page 545]]

time granted for that action. When the last date, or the last day of the 
period, prescribed for filing the document or making the payment falls 
on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, section 7503 applies. Therefore, 
in applying the rules of this paragraph (b)(4), the next succeeding day 
that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday is treated as the last 
date, or the last day of the period, prescribed for filing the document 
or making the payment. Also, when the last date, or the last day of the 
period, prescribed for filing the document or making the payment falls 
within a period disregarded under section 7508 or section 7508A, the 
next succeeding day after the expiration of the section 7508 period or 
section 7508A period that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday is 
treated as the last date, or the last day of the period, prescribed for 
filing the document or making the payment.
    (c) Mailing requirements--(1) In general. Section 7502 does not 
apply unless the document or payment is mailed in accordance with the 
following requirements:
    (i) Envelope and address. The document or payment must be contained 
in an envelope, properly addressed to the agency, officer, or office 
with which the document is required to be filed or to which the payment 
is required to be made.
    (ii) Timely deposited in U.S. mail. The document or payment must be 
deposited within the prescribed time in the mail in the United States 
with sufficient postage prepaid. For this purpose, a document or payment 
is deposited in the mail in the United States when it is deposited with 
the domestic mail service of the U.S. Postal Service. The domestic mail 
service of the U.S. Postal Service, as defined by the Domestic Mail 
Manual as incorporated by reference in the postal regulations, includes 
mail transmitted within, among, and between the United States of 
America, its territories and possessions, and Army post offices (APO), 
fleet post offices (FPO), and the United Nations, NY. (See Domestic Mail 
Manual, section G011.2.1, as incorporated by reference in 39 CFR 111.1.) 
Section 7502 does not apply to any document or payment that is deposited 
with the mail service of any other country.
    (iii) Postmark--(A) U.S. Postal Service postmark. If the postmark on 
the envelope is made by the U.S. Postal Service, the postmark must bear 
a date on or before the last date, or the last day of the period, 
prescribed for filing the document or making the payment. If the 
postmark does not bear a date on or before the last date, or the last 
day of the period, prescribed for filing the document or making the 
payment, the document or payment is considered not to be timely filed or 
paid, regardless of when the document or payment is deposited in the 
mail. Accordingly, the sender who relies upon the applicability of 
section 7502 assumes the risk that the postmark will bear a date on or 
before the last date, or the last day of the period, prescribed for 
filing the document or making the payment. See, however, paragraph 
(c)(2) of this section with respect to the use of registered mail or 
certified mail to avoid this risk. If the postmark on the envelope is 
made by the U.S. Postal Service but is not legible, the person who is 
required to file the document or make the payment has the burden of 
proving the date that the postmark was made. Furthermore, if the 
envelope that contains a document or payment has a timely postmark made 
by the U.S. Postal Service, but it is received after the time when a 
document or payment postmarked and mailed at that time would ordinarily 
be received, the sender may be required to prove that it was timely 
mailed.
    (B) Postmark made by other than U.S. Postal Service--(1) In general. 
If the postmark on the envelope is made other than by the U.S. Postal 
Service--
    (i) The postmark so made must bear a legible date on or before the 
last date, or the last day of the period, prescribed for filing the 
document or making the payment; and
    (ii) The document or payment must be received by the agency, 
officer, or office with which it is required to be filed not later than 
the time when a document or payment contained in an envelope that is 
properly addressed, mailed, and sent by the same class of mail would 
ordinarily be received if it were postmarked at the same point of

[[Page 546]]

origin by the U.S. Postal Service on the last date, or the last day of 
the period, prescribed for filing the document or making the payment.
    (2) Document or payment received late. If a document or payment 
described in paragraph (c)(1)(iii)(B)(1) is received after the time when 
a document or payment so mailed and so postmarked by the U.S. Postal 
Service would ordinarily be received, the document or payment is treated 
as having been received at the time when a document or payment so mailed 
and so postmarked would ordinarily be received if the person who is 
required to file the document or make the payment establishes--
    (i) That it was actually deposited in the U.S. mail before the last 
collection of mail from the place of deposit that was postmarked (except 
for the metered mail) by the U.S. Postal Service on or before the last 
date, or the last day of the period, prescribed for filing the document 
or making the payment;
    (ii) That the delay in receiving the document or payment was due to 
a delay in the transmission of the U.S. mail; and
    (iii) The cause of the delay.
    (3) U.S. and non-U.S. postmarks. If the envelope has a postmark made 
by the U.S. Postal Service in addition to a postmark not so made, the 
postmark that was not made by the U.S. Postal Service is disregarded, 
and whether the envelope was mailed in accordance with this paragraph 
(c)(1)(iii)(B) will be determined solely by applying the rule of 
paragraph (c)(1)(iii)(A) of this section.
    (2) Registered or certified mail. If the document or payment is sent 
by U.S. registered mail, the date of registration of the document or 
payment is treated as the postmark date. If the document or payment is 
sent by U.S. certified mail and the sender's receipt is postmarked by 
the postal employee to whom the document or payment is presented, the 
date of the U.S. postmark on the receipt is treated as the postmark date 
of the document or payment. Accordingly, the risk that the document or 
payment will not be postmarked on the day that it is deposited in the 
mail may be eliminated by the use of registered or certified mail.
    (d) Electronically filed documents--(1) In general. A document filed 
electronically with an electronic return transmitter (as defined in 
paragraph (d)(3)(i) of this section and authorized pursuant to paragraph 
(d)(2) of this section) in the manner and time prescribed by the 
Commissioner is deemed to be filed on the date of the electronic 
postmark (as defined in paragraph (d)(3)(ii) of this section) given by 
the authorized electronic return transmitter. Thus, if the electronic 
postmark is timely, the document is considered filed timely although it 
is received by the agency, officer, or office after the last date, or 
the last day of the period, prescribed for filing such document.
    (2) Authorized electronic return transmitters. The Commissioner may 
enter into an agreement with an electronic return transmitter or 
prescribe in forms, instructions, or other appropriate guidance the 
procedures under which the electronic return transmitter is authorized 
to provide taxpayers with an electronic postmark to acknowledge the date 
and time that the electronic return transmitter received the 
electronically filed document.
    (3) Definitions--(i) Electronic return transmitter. For purposes of 
this paragraph (d), the term electronic return transmitter has the same 
meaning as contained in section 3.01(4) of Rev. Proc. 2000-31 (2000-31 
I.R.B. 146 (July 31, 2000))(see Sec. 601.601(d)(2) of this chapter) or 
in procedures prescribed by the Commissioner.
    (ii) Electronic postmark. For purposes of this paragraph (d), the 
term electronic postmark means a record of the date and time (in a 
particular time zone) that an authorized electronic return transmitter 
receives the transmission of a taxpayer's electronically filed document 
on its host system. However, if the taxpayer and the electronic return 
transmitter are located in different time zones, it is the taxpayer's 
time zone that controls the timeliness of the electronically filed 
document.
    (e) Delivery--(1) Except as provided in section 7502(f) and 
paragraph (d) of this section, section 7502 is not applicable

[[Page 547]]

unless the document or payment is delivered by U.S. mail to the agency, 
officer, or office with which the document is required to be filed or to 
which payment is required to be made. However, in the case of a document 
(but not a payment) sent by registered or certified mail, proof that the 
document was properly registered or that a postmarked certified mail 
sender's receipt was properly issued and that the envelope was properly 
addressed to the agency, officer, or office constitutes prima facie 
evidence that the document was delivered to the agency, officer, or 
office.
    (2) Section 7502 is applicable to the determination of whether a 
claim for credit or refund is timely filed for purposes of section 
6511(a), assuming all the requirements of section 7502 are satisfied. 
Section 7502 is also applicable when a claim for credit or refund is 
delivered after the last day of the period specified in section 
6511(b)(2)(A) or in any other corresponding provision of law relating to 
the limit on the amount of credit or refund that is allowable.
    (3) Example. The rules of paragraph (e)(2) of this section are 
illustrated by the following example:

    Example. (i) Taxpayer A, an individual, mailed his 1998 Form 1040, 
``U.S. Individual Income Tax Return,'' on May 10, 1999, but no tax was 
paid at that time because the tax liability disclosed by the return had 
been completely satisfied by the income tax that had been withheld on 
A's wages. On April 15, 2002, A mails in accordance with the 
requirements of this section, a Form 1040X, ``U.S. Amended Individual 
Income Tax Return,'' claiming a refund of a portion of the tax that had 
been paid through withholding during 1998. The date of the postmark on 
the envelope containing the claim for refund is April 15, 2002. The 
claim is received by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on April 18, 
2002.
    (ii) Under section 6511(a), A's claim for refund is timely if filed 
within three years from May 10, 1999, the date on which A's 1998 return 
was filed. However, as a result of the limitations of section 
6511(b)(2)(A), if his claim is not filed within three years after April 
15, 1999, the date on which he is deemed under section 6513 to have paid 
his 1998 tax, he is not entitled to any refund. Thus, because A's claim 
for refund is postmarked and mailed in accordance with the requirements 
of this section and is delivered after the last day of the period 
specified in section 6511(b)(2)(A), section 7502 is applicable and the 
claim is deemed to have been filed on April 15, 2002.

    (f) Claim for credit or refund on late filed tax return--(1) In 
general. Generally, an original income tax return may constitute a claim 
for credit or refund of income tax. See Sec. 301.6402-3(a)(5). Other 
original tax returns can also be considered claims for credit or refund 
if the liability disclosed on the return is less than the amount of tax 
that has been paid. If section 7502 would not apply to a return (but for 
the operation of paragraph (f)(2) of this section) that is also 
considered a claim for credit or refund because the envelope that 
contains the return does not have a postmark dated on or before the due 
date of the return, section 7502 will apply separately to the claim for 
credit or refund if--
    (i) The date of the postmark on the envelope is within the period 
that is three years (plus the period of any extension of time to file) 
from the day the tax is paid or considered paid (see section 6513), and 
the claim for credit or refund is delivered after this three-year 
period; and
    (ii) The conditions of section 7502 are otherwise met.
    (2) Filing date of late filed return. If the conditions of paragraph 
(f)(1) of this section are met, the late filed return will be deemed 
filed on the postmark date.
    (3) Example. The rules of this paragraph (f) are illustrated by the 
following example:

    Example. (i) Taxpayer A, an individual, mailed his 2001 Form 1040, 
``U.S. Individual Income Tax Return,'' on April 15, 2005, claiming a 
refund of amounts paid through withholding during 2001. The date of the 
postmark on the envelope containing the return and claim for refund is 
April 15, 2005. The return and claim for refund are received by the 
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on April 18, 2005. Amounts withheld in 
2001 exceeded A's tax liability for 2001 and are treated as paid on 
April 15, 2002, pursuant to section 6513.
    (ii) Even though the date of the postmark on the envelope is after 
the due date of the return, the claim for refund and the late filed 
return are treated as filed on the postmark date for purposes of this 
paragraph (f). Accordingly, the return will be treated as filed on April 
15, 2005. In addition, the claim for refund will be treated as timely 
filed on April 15, 2005. Further, the entire amount of

[[Page 548]]

the refund attributable to withholding is allowable as a refund under 
section 6511(b)(2)(A).

    (g) Effective date--(1) In general. Except as provided in paragraphs 
(g)(2) and (3) of this section, the rules of this section apply to any 
payment or document mailed and delivered in accordance with the 
requirements of this section in an envelope bearing a postmark dated 
after January 11, 2001.
    (2) Claim for credit or refund on late filed tax return. Paragraph 
(f) of this section applies to any claim for credit or refund on a late 
filed tax return described in paragraph (f)(1) of this section except 
for those claims for credit or refund which (without regard to paragraph 
(f) of this section) were barred by the operation of section 6532(a) or 
any other law or rule of law (including res judicata) as of January 11, 
2001.
    (3) Electronically filed documents. This section applies to any 
electronically filed return, claim, statement, or other document 
transmitted to an electronic return transmitter that is authorized to 
provide an electronic postmark pursuant to paragraph (d)(2) of this 
section after January 11, 2001.

[T.D. 8932, 66 FR 2258, Jan. 11, 2001]