Currently, there is a lack of IRS guidance regarding the federal tax treatment of a refund of a pass-through entity tax (PTET) payment to an individual taxpayer. There is confusion about whether and how the refund of a PTET payment to an individual taxpayer is federal taxable income under the tax benefit rule.
The IRS has only provided Notice 2020-75, and no other guidance regarding PTE federal tax issues, including on the federal tax treatment of PTET refunds, has been