J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2013: For Preparing Your 2012 Tax Return

47.5 Interest Paid on Refund Claims

If a refund claim is filed within the time limits in 47.2 and the IRS pays the refund within 45 days, interest is paid from the date of overpayment to the date the claim was filed. If the refund is not made within the 45-day period, interest is paid from the date of overpayment to a date set by the IRS that is not more than 30 days before the date of the refund check.

The IRS does not have to pay interest on overpayments resulting from net operating loss carrybacks or business credit carrybacks if a refund is paid within 45 days of the filing of the refund claim. If a refund claim based on a loss or credit carryback is filed and subsequently a quick refund claim is filed on Form 1045 for the same refund, the 45-day period starts to run on the date Form 1045 is filed.

Interest rates applied to overpayments are as follows:

Amounts outstanding between—	Overpayment rate is—
10/1/2011 − 12/31/2012	3%
4/1/2011 − 9/30/2011	4
1/1/2011 − 3/31/2011	3
4/1/2009 − 12/31/2010	4
1/1/2009 − 3/31/2009	5