This week someone asked me to file their 2021 US tax return to claim a refund, believing the Israel disaster extensions also extended the deadline to claim refunds.

This week someone asked me to file their 2021 US tax return to claim a refund, believing the Israel disaster extensions also extended the deadline to claim refunds.

They didn’t.

This misunderstanding is extremely common.

Here’s the rule in plain English:

Disaster relief extends your time to file and your time to pay, however:

It does not extend your time to claim a refund.

Refund claims follow a strict 3-year statute of limitations based on the original due date of the return (or a valid extension, if you filed one).

For 2021 returns, the refund window closed in April 2025 (or October 2025 with extension).

You can still file the return for compliance reasons, but the IRS cannot legally pay out the refund anymore.

This surprises people, especially during disaster extensions, because it feels like everything should be extended together. But Congress sets different rules for filing deadlines and refund claim deadlines, and disaster notices only affect the first category.

If you think you may have unfiled returns from prior years, don’t wait.

Refund statutes close automatically, and once they do, the IRS cannot reopen them.

If you want help determining whether a refund statute is still open for your situation, feel free to reach out.