Currently before the Supreme Court is the question of whether certain tax provisions of the Affordable Care Act are constitutional. If they are not constitutional, it could result in refunds being due to taxpayers who paid additional Medicare taxes and those high earners who paid the Net Investment Income Tax. Because the statute of limitations is running up on tax year 2017, affected taxpayers should consider filing a “protective claim” for refund. A protective claim can be either a formal claim or an amended return for credit or refund. Protective claims are often based on current litigation or expected changes in the tax law, other legislation or regulations, as noted by the Supreme Court actions above. A protective claim preserves the taxpayer’s right to claim a refund once the contingency is resolved and does not have to state a particular dollar amount or demand an immediate refund. Generally, the IRS will take no action on the protective claim until the particular contingency at issue is resolved. Without a protective claim, a taxpayer may see his or her opportunity for a refund expire – due to the statute of limitations – on the 2017 tax year.