If an individual taxpayer wants to file a claim for refund for the year 2017, what is the latest date they can file?

When determining the deadline for filing a claim for refund for a specific tax year, it's important to understand the general rules regarding tax refunds. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows taxpayers to request a refund within three years from the due date of the return for the tax year in question.

For the tax year 2017, the return was due on April 15, 2018. Therefore, if a taxpayer wishes to file a claim for refund for 2017, they can do so up until three years later, which would be April 15, 2021. However, there’s an extended period for specific circumstances, like filing an amended return, given certain conditions are met.

In this case, the latest date to file a claim would extend to October 15, 2022, if the taxpayer had filed for an extension for the original filing date in 2018. This allowed them some additional time to file and thus submit any claims for a refund.

Hence, choosing October 15, 2022, is correct because it aligns with the time limits set for seeking refunds after an extension and allows the taxpayer to appropriately claim any refunds for the 2017 tax year under the law.