The IRS assessed the owner of a stone mason business for tax deficiencies which occurred between 2005 through 2008. The taxpayer claimed the three-year statute of limitations barred the assessment. The district court found the three-year statute of limitation period never started because the taxpayer did not file the “the return,” specifically the required Form 945 to report backup withholdings for the subcontractors the taxpayer had hired. The 5^th Circuit reversed, finding the taxpayer had filed the required Forms 1040 and 1099 for those years, and those forms contained sufficient information to alert the IRS that the taxpayer was liable for taxes assessed as well as the amount of the tax liability. This amounted to a “return” which started the statute of limitations period.

Quezada v. IRS, 2020 WL 7310680 (5th Cir. 2020).