United States Tax Court Representation

When all other IRS remedy opportunities have failed, the final chance for administrative success is often before the United States Tax Court. The Law Offices of Michael Raff has substantial experience resolving cases in this forum, which can be the last time that a taxpayer may be able to resolve a claim or dispute without having to pay the full or a partial amount of a tax due and owing.

Overview of US Tax Court

The U.S. Tax Court is an administrative trial court that specifically exists for IRS and tax-related disputes. Because the United States Tax Court is administrative, claims can be brought before the court before paying a proposed assessed tax. As an administrative court, its decisions may be appealed to the United States District Courts when a ruling is non-favorable to the taxpayer or the IRS. 

The Tax Court is independent of the IRS, so both Taxpayers and the IRS are considered parties to the case and have different burdens of proof depending on what is alleged in the Petition and Answer. A Taxpayer could be an individual, small business, or large corporation.

Eligibility for Representation

In an individual case, a taxpayer may represent himself before the United States Tax Court. Likewise, in a business matter, an officer of the entity may also file a petition on behalf of the enterprise. 

With that said, the Tax Court has very unique procedures with detailed requirements and strict deadlines. For example, the failure to file the original Petition in a timely manner will cause the entire case to fail to be heard. 

To that end, it is critical that an individual or business that is considering filing a U.S. Tax Court petition discuss their case with a professional that is admitted to practice before the Tax Court. Most typically, a tax attorney will be the one representing taxpayers in court.

Critically, accountants and enrolled agents are not allowed to practice before the court unless they obtain a special status called a United States Tax Court Practitioner. Unlike lawyers, these practitioners have not graduated from law school. 

For optimal results, consulting and retaining a tax attorney who has practiced before the United States Tax Court is critical. Taxpayers who attempt to go it alone or without a tax attorney will be starting at a disadvantage in the United States Tax Court. 

For those representing themselves (pro se), a lack of familiarity with the procedures, deadlines, attorneys, and judges could cause a default before the case is truly heard. 

If using professionals without the advantage of having attended law school, there is a high probability that a taxpayers case will not be presented in its best light without the advantage of performing full legal research.

Types of Cases Handled by the Tax Court

The United States Tax Court is authorized to hear a variety of tax dispute cases, including:

• Income tax deficiencies
• Certain penalty assessments assessed with Notices of Deficiency, such as fraud, accuracy, failure to file, and failure to pay
• Employment tax issues
• Innocent spouse relief
• Collection cases, including inappropriate levy and Notice of Federal Tax Lien Filings

The Law Offices of Michael Raff is equipped to handle these disputes from the initial filing of a Petition to start the case to arguing before the Tax Court judges at trial against IRS counsel.

Choosing the Right Representative

To achieve the best outcome, it is essential to consult and retain a tax attorney with experience practicing before the United States Tax Court. The Law Offices of Michael Raff has an impeccable record of helping clients resolve disputes with the IRS, most often before trial. This is accomplished through preparation, professionalism, and strategy, ensuring that the taxpayer’s case is presented in its best light to decision makers who can help to expediently resolve the issues.

Preparing for Your Tax Court Hearing

Tax Court differs from a general civil court in many areas. For one, a taxpayer is already coming to the court with an adverse ruling from the party that it is litigating against (the IRS). 

Second, there is almost always no formal discovery, often relying on informal requests known as Branerton exchanges. Additionally, there is no jury, as all cases will be decided by an administrative Tax Court judge. 

The Law Offices of Michael Raff helps its clients to prepare by:

• Thoroughly evaluating the record through audit, including the examiner’s write-up of the IRS and Taxpayer position, documentation presented, and legal arguments presented.
• Discussing realistic ranges for outcomes, including helping to set what would be a “good, better, best” scenario for a taxpayer post Tax Court.

• Organizing documentation and information into a comprehensive arsenal to attack the IRS’s weaknesses

• Developing a narrative to support the legal theory of the case, crafting affidavits, and preparing for depositions, if necessary.

Filing a Petition with the Tax Court

Filing a Petition with the United States Tax Court has several requirements, the first of which is timeliness.

In general, the Tax Court imposes strict time limits on when Petitions are due, often 90 days from a Notice of Deficiency or 30 days from a Notice of Decision. Failure to meet these deadlines will often result in immediate exclusion from your case being heard in this jurisdiction, which will lead to negative consequences such as assessment of tax owed or allowing the IRS to enforce collection actions. 

Additional filing requirements include appropriate redactions of sensitive information, choosing a location for hearing, and properly identifying the Court of the issues you expect it to hear. 

Strategic decisions must be made about how much or how little to include in the Petition, and a taxpayer should let an experienced practitioner discuss those pros and cons prior to filing. 

Understanding Tax Court Procedures 

After filing the Petition, in many circumstances, if the case has not previously been to IRS Appeals, the IRS counsel will send the case to their jurisdiction to see if a settlement can be reached. 

If the case comes back from Appeals with no resolution, the Taxpayer and the IRS will engage in informal Branerton discovery, which will be used similar to document requests and interrogatories that would commonly be found in civil litigation. 

The IRS and the Taxpayer will be given a trial date by the Tax Court several months after the petition is filed. 

Prior to trial, the Taxpayer and IRS are directed to file stipulations of fact with the Tax Court, as well as prepare a pre-trial memorandum that explains what the remaining unresolved issues in the case may be. 

If still not resolved, the parties trial date will commence administrative proceedings before a Tax Court Judge. The term trial date is slightly misleading, as that date is actually a calendar call which will determine which date in the next two weeks the trial will be heard, as well as allow counsel for both parties to specify the amount of hours they believe the trial will take. 

On the actual date of trial, witnesses will be called to offer testimony. Depending on the issue, the Taxpayer will likely testify, with credibility being a key issue. It is not uncommon in cases surrounding valuation for expert testimony to be present as well. Trials themselves typically last between a few hours and one and a half days. 

Months (or maybe longer) after a United States Tax Court trial, a Tax Court judge will issue an opinion on the matter. The opinion can be appealed to a district court by either the Taxpayer or the IRS, so this event may or may not end the Taxpayers tax court journey.