Where
a taxpayer disagrees with the findings in Appeals, the taxpayer
may appeal to the United States Tax Court. The Appeals Office
will issue a "90-day Letter" to the taxpayer which
essentially provides the taxpayer with up to 90 days to file
a petition with the Tax Court and have his case heard by a
judge.
At
this stage, any professional who is to represent you in Tax
Court must be admitted to practice before Tax Court. Most
non-lawyers are not qualified to practice before Tax Court
and would, therefore, be unable to represent you.
The United States Tax Court is a Federal court of record established
by Congress under Article I of the Constitution of the United
States. Congress created the Tax Court to provide a judicial
forum in which affected persons could dispute tax deficiencies
determined by the IRS prior to payment of the disputed amounts.
The jurisdiction of the Tax Court includes the authority to
hear tax disputes concerning notices of deficiency, notices
of transferee liability, certain types of declaratory judgment,
readjustment and adjustment of partnership items, review of
the failure to abate interest, administrative costs, worker
classification, relief from joint and several liability on
a joint return, and review of certain collection actions.
Unlike
appeals to other Federal courts, there is no requirement to
pay any of the disputed tax liability in order to have your
case heard in Tax Court.
The
Tax Court is composed of 19 presidentially appointed judge-members.
Trial sessions are conducted and other work of the Court is
performed by these judges, by senior judges serving on recall,
and by special trial judges. All of the judges have expertise
in tax law and apply that expertise in a manner to ensure
that taxpayers are assessed only what they owe, and no more.
Although the Court is physically located in Washington, D.C.,
the judges travel nationwide to conduct trials in various
designated cities.
A
case in the Tax Court is commenced by the filing of a petition.
The petition must be filed within the allowable time limit.
The Court cannot extend the time for filing which is set by
statute. A $60 filing fee must be paid when the petition is
filed. Once the petition is filed, payment of the underlying
tax is ordinarily postponed until the case has been decided.
In
certain tax disputes involving $50,000 or less, taxpayers
may elect to have their case conducted under the Court's simplified
small tax case procedure. Trials in small tax cases are generally
less formal and result in a speedier disposition. However,
decisions entered pursuant to small tax case procedures are
not appealable.
Cases
are calendared for trial as soon as practicable (on a first
in/ first out basis) after the case becomes at issue. When
a case is calendared, the parties are notified by the Court
of the date, time, and place of trial. Trials are conducted
before one judge, without a jury. Only those practitioners
that are admitted to the Bar of the Tax Court may practice
before this court.
Usually
a case is settled by mutual agreement without the necessity
of a trial. However, if a trial is conducted, in due course
a report is ordinarily issued by the presiding judge, setting
forth findings of fact and an opinion. The case is then closed
in accordance with the judge's opinion by entry of a decision.
By
engaging the services of Jeffrey B. Kahn, P.A., you can be
assured that your petition and each stage of the litigation
process will be most persuasive because we know how to present
your case with legal argument and tax authority.
For
prompt evaluation of your case, we encourage you to click
here to register for our Tax Advisory Service. You
may also contact us using our toll-free number at 866.494.6829.
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