IRS notices receive a “presumption of correctness” for a very good reason: without it, the IRS would lose every time. Here’s why: The rules of evidence require that testimony must be from personal, or “first-hand” knowledge. You as the petitioner are the only one...
FILING A PETITION in Tax Court is the only way you can contest an income tax liability without first paying the tax. If you miss your filing deadline, usually 90 days after the date of the Notice of Deficiency, the tax will be assessed under section § 6213(a). After...
The three elements of any legal case are issues, facts and law. Issues You are the plaintiff in a Tax Court case. That is to say, you are suing the IRS. Although we have become accustomed to the idea that American citizens are “innocent until proven guilty” that’s not...
THE OFFICIAL RULES of the court are titled The Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure. They are based on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, differing from them in small but important ways. Anyone conducting a case before the Tax Court is well advised to become...
Your ticket to tax court is either a statutory “Notice of Deficiency” following an audit, or a “Notice of Determination” following a Collections Due Process (CDP) hearing. Receipt of either of these notices allows you to petition the court for a decision. The...
The term ‘standard of review’ refers to how the court looks at various types of cases, what it will be looking for and what evidence it will consider in examining the case. The court applies different standards in examining different types of cases. It...
The procedures and requirements for writing a tax court petition are in Rule 34b of the Tax Court Rules. The rules for filing a petition in a lien or levy action are found in Title XXXII of the Rules. You can download the rules from the Tax Court website or order them...
If the amount in dispute is under $50,000, you may opt to have your case tried under the “Small Case Procedures.” See Section 7463. The advantage is that there are a few more places in the country where they try small cases, so you might not have to travel as...
