The Internal Revenue Service is giving taxpayers until the end of the year before it stops its temporary procedures for faxing in Forms 1045 and 1139 for claiming tentative tax refunds, instead of mailing them, which it has allowed as part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In April, the IRS began allowing taxpayers to file both forms by fax while many IRS employees worked remotely and were unable to process the mail.
Jordan Birnbaum has been with ADP since 2015, as vice president and chief behavioral economist. He directs the application of behavioral economics principles into new product development in the human capital management market. Prior to joining ADP, he was the owner/operator of The Vanguard in Los Angeles, a hybrid media production and live music venue, employing more than 150 people for close to a decade. He was a founding employee and senior vice president of business development of Juno Online Services, playing a key role in a successful IPO and then beating analysts’ estimates for six consecutive quarters. Jordan graduated from Cornell University with a BS, Policy Analysis, and from NYU with an MA in Industrial / Organizational Psychology.
Deb is highly respected throughout the insurance industry for strategic thinking, thought provoking research, and advisory skills. Insurers and solution providers turn to Deb for insight and guidance on business and IT linkage, IT strategy, architecture, and eBusiness. Those seeking an edge in today's highly competitive world turn to Deb to capitalize on her deep industry knowledge and experience and her specialized understanding of distribution and underwriting automation.Deb has held leadership roles in premier insurance companies, professional services firms, and research advisory organizations, where she consistently demonstrated the ability to find new ways to leverage technology to achieve optimal business outcomes. Her skill set includes linking business strategy to IT strategy; development of business and IT road maps; selection, shaping, and delivery of enterprise/core solutions; and implementation of right-sized governance models.Prior to founding SMA, Deb served as Chief Transformation Officer for Insurance Company of the West (CIO) where she was recruited to deliver as much IT functionality to the business operations as possible in the least amount of time. Deb led company-wide change that included developing and integrating the corporate business strategies into 5 Strategic Initiatives. Before joining ICW, Deb launched and served as Managing Director of TowerGroup's Insurance Research & Consulting Practice. As a Partner at KPMG LLP, she launched an IT consulting practice specializing in the assessment and management of IT risks. She began her career at Liberty Mutual, where she directed a variety of large-scale system development projects and rose to leadership of the commercial lines application development group.Deb's expert opinion and counsel is in demand by press, clients, and major industry events. She is a frequent contributor to leading insurance trade journals and has been a keynote speaker at major conferences such as ACORD/LOMA Forum, NAMIC, ISOTECH, and IASA. Deb is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire with a B.S. in Business Administration.
Derek Rine is the benefits practice leader at David Rine Insurance.
An individual, estate or trust can file Form 1045, Application for Tentative Refund, to apply for a quick tax refund resulting from the carryback of a net operating loss, the carryback of an unused general business credit, the carryback of a net section 1256 contracts loss, or an overpayment of tax due to a claim of right adjustment under section 1341(b)(1) of the Tax Code.

Corporations (other than S corps) can file Form 1139, Corporation Application for Tentative Refund, to apply for a quick refund of taxes from the carryback of a net operating loss (or a loss from operations of a life insurance company), the carryback of a net capital loss, the carryback of an unused general business credit, or an overpayment of tax from a claim of right adjustment under section 1341(b)(1).
The CARES Act, which Congress passed in March in response to the coronavirus crisis, included some provisions allowing companies to carryback their net operating losses for five years and file refund claims, giving them a quick capital infusion in the midst of the pandemic. Taxpayers with a net operating loss arising in a tax year starting in 2018, 2019 or 2020 can carry that loss back to each of the five preceding years unless the taxpayer elects to waive or reduce the carryback. The law also allows a carryback for a two-year period of NOLs for a tax year that began in 2017 and ended during 2018.
Another section of the CARES Act modifies the credit for prior-year minimum tax liability of corporations, including to accelerate the recovery of remaining minimum tax credits of a corporation for its 2019 taxable year from its 2021 taxable year and to allow a corporation to elect instead to recover 100 percent of any of its remaining minimum tax credits in its 2018 taxable year. In April, the IRS began allowing taxpayers on a temporary basis to fax in Forms 1045 and 1139 to expedite the tax refund process.
However, on Wednesday, the IRS added an entry to its Frequently Asked Questions page describing the temporary procedures to say the procedure will end on Dec. 31, 2020. After midnight on New Year’s Eve, the fax numbers will no longer be operational. The IRS noted that the end of the faxing process is independent of any filing due dates. For example, the last day to file Form 1139 electing to take the 100 percent refundable minimum tax credit in 2018, is Dec. 30, 2020.
“Additionally, if you file one application for a tentative refund and claim both the NOL carryback and the minimum tax credit at the same time, you must file the application by the earliest applicable deadline,” the IRS noted.
