Taxpayers who receive a statutory notice of deficiency (also called a 90-day letter) has 90-days to file a tax court petition. After a tax court petition is filed the IRS will “answer” the petition. Additionally, the IRS Office of Chief Counsel will refer the case to IRS Office of Appeals for possible settlement. The tax matter is now a “docketed” appeals case. The word docketed means the case has been assigned a tax court docket number. Additionally, the IRS Appeals Office is granted broad authority to settle docketed appeals cases to avoid the “hazards of litigation.” We believe taxpayers are in the best position to settle a tax matter with the IRS in docketed appeals situations.
Other Advantages of Tax Court:
- Taxpayer does not have to pay the underlining tax to petition U.S. Tax Court.
- Taxpayer may file a tax court petition pro se (without using an attorney).
- U.S. Tax Court rules are very informal compared to other courts.
Disadvantages of Tax Court:
- The IRS Council is going to have a working relationship with the tax court judges.
If you receive a notice of deficiency you have 90 days to petition tax court.
If you want to discuss your tax matter with an experienced tax attorney, please contact our law firm at (212) 520-2906.