Should i petition tax court

These types of petitions have different deadlines for filing, so you should pay close attention to the correspondence you receive from the IRS regarding any due date for filing a petition. Your petition may be hand-delivered to the drop box at the Tax Court, which reopened on July 10, Petitions may be hand-delivered between am and pm Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays. Then if you still want to dispute the liability, you will need to file a refund claim with the IRS and subsequently a refund suit in a U.

District Court or the U. Court of Federal Claims. By not filing a timely petition, you may be assessed taxes and penalties that you otherwise would not owe, which is contrary to the right to pay no more than the correct amount of tax.

You may be able to resolve your case without going to court if you contact the IRS directly. You can contact the person at the top of the first page of the Statutory Notice of Deficiency with any questions. If you prefer, you can write to the address at the top of the first page of the Statutory Notice of Deficiency.

Does it cost anything to petition the Tax Court? You may pay by check or money order. Tax practitioners volunteer their time to assist unrepresented low income taxpayers through professional organizations.

If there is a participating Calendar Call Program in the city where you have requested trial, the judge may identify the volunteer practitioners at the beginning of the trial session.

These tax clinics and Bar-related calendar call programs are not part of the Internal Revenue Service or the Tax Court. The Tax Court does not endorse or recommend any particular tax clinic or Bar-related calendar call program. You may be represented in your Tax Court case by a private attorney, a clinic representative, or other person admitted to practice before the Court.

The agreement of representation is between you and the representative and is independent of the Tax Court or the IRS.

Your representative must be admitted to practice before the Tax Court. You may want to contact one of the clinics in your geographic area. The Tax Court will send you information about tax clinics when you file your petition.

The Court will also send tax clinic information when the Notice of Trial is sent to you. The Tax Court does not endorse or recommend any particular tax clinic or organization. You may file a petition with the Tax Court even if you do not have a representative. You may also present your case to a Judge without being represented. This guide is provided to help you in that process.

If you decide to file a petition and to proceed to trial without a representative, you must pay close attention to all the Tax Court orders and notices you receive and all the instructions provided. A petitioner who is not represented is still required to abide by the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure Rules. If you have difficulty reading, writing, or understanding written instructions, you should seek help. All proceedings in the Tax Court are in English. The Tax Court does not have staff available to assist non-English speaking petitioners.

The Tax Court Rules provide that it is the responsibility of the parties to make arrangements for and compensate interpreters. You can review the Court's list or the Taxpayer Advocate's IRS more extensive list and find a clinic convenient to you that may provide the language assistance you need. Ordinarily, the parties are expected to arrange for and compensate any needed interpreters. There may, however, be extraordinary situations in which the Court will compensate an interpreter.

You may file a motion requesting that the Court pay the expenses of an interpreter. In your motion you must satisfy the Court that 1 a language barrier exists you speak primarily a language other than English or you have a hearing impairment ; 2 you do not have the financial means to pay for an interpreter; and 3 the case presents a substantial question which is not frivolous.

A Judge has discretion to grant or deny your motion to pay the expenses of an interpreter. You should make arrangements as early as possible to have an interpreter available. If you are unable to afford an interpreter, you should file a motion to request that the Court pay the expenses of an interpreter as soon as possible and generally no later than 30 days before trial. In your motion you should explain to the Court that you satisfy the three conditions set forth above: 1 A language barrier exists you speak primarily a language other than English or you have a hearing impairment ; 2 you do not have the financial means to pay for an interpreter; and 3 the case presents a substantial question which is not frivolous.

It is difficult to know the circumstances in which you believe your case was settled. To protect yourself against an unagreed assessment of tax or collection action, you should file a petition within the period set forth in the notice. You may also wish to contact the IRS about the status of your case. You can fill out a petition on the Tax Court website and print it, print out the petition form and fill it out, or fill in the petition form contained in the informational packet available from the Court.

You may also file a petition online. To file a paper petition: 1. First, fill in your full name on the line at the top left of the petition. If you are a married couple filing a joint petition or if you were married in the tax year the return was filed and wish to file a joint petition, fill in both names on this line.

Next, check the appropriate box on line 1 for the type of case you intend to file. Place an X in the box that represents the type of letter you received from the IRS. For example, if you received a Notice of Deficiency, check that box. If you have a collection case, that is, the IRS has filed a Federal tax lien against property you own or has proposed a levy on your wages, bank accounts, State tax refunds, etc. If you received a notice of determination concerning a request for relief from joint and several liability innocent spouse relief , or if you filed a claim with the IRS for relief from joint and several liability, six months have passed, and the IRS has not issued a determination letter, check the box marked Notice of Determination Concerning Your Request for Relief From Joint and Several Liability.

On line 2, put the mailing date of the notice you received. You should also enter the city and State of the IRS office that issued you the notice.

Put the tax year s for which the notice was issued on line 3. On line 4, you should choose whether you want your case conducted as a regular or small tax case and check the appropriate box. If you do not check a box, the Court will file your case as a regular case. The tax laws provide for small S case procedures for resolving disputes between taxpayers and the IRS.

To have your case tried as an S case, you must qualify and choose to have S case procedures applied to your case and the Tax Court must agree with your choice. Generally, the Tax Court will agree with your request if you qualify for S case procedures. Do I qualify for S case procedures? What should I consider in deciding whether to choose S case procedures? You should consider the following: A. S case trials are held in about 15 more cities than are regular cases.

Pretrial and trial procedures are less formal in S cases. The Federal Rules of Evidence which provide many of the rules that regulate the conduct of the trial are relaxed in S cases. This means that the Judge can consider any evidence that is relevant. There is no right of appeal to a U. Court of Appeals from a decision in an S case. If you lose your case, or lose some issues in your case, you cannot appeal the decision of the Tax Court to one of the U.

Courts of Appeals. If you win your case, or win some issues in your case, the IRS cannot appeal. Court of Appeals. How do I choose S case procedures? If you are filing in paper and you are using a Form 2, Petition Simplified Form , place an X in the box on the petition form that indicates that you want your case conducted under small tax case procedures.

If you are eFiling your petition, choose S case when prompted. Use Form 1, Petition Sample Format , file Form 2, Petition Simplified Form , and place an X in the box on the petition form that indicates that you want your case conducted under regular tax case procedures, or file Form 3, Petition for Administrative Costs I.

If you qualify, you can generally choose S case procedures anytime before trial. After your trial begins, however, it is too late to choose S case status. What if I chose, and the Tax Court granted me, S case status but I changed my mind and want my case heard as a regular case? How do I change the status of my case? You can change from S case to regular case status. You need to make the choice, however, before the trial of your case begins. You should make the request to the Tax Court in writing and should include your name and the docket number in your request.

Because the Tax Court has about 15 more places of trial in S cases than in regular cases, it is possible that the place of trial might need to be changed if you change from S case to regular case status. How can I tell whether my case is an S case? Look at the number in the upper right corner of any document you have received from the Tax Court. If that number has an S at the end, it means that your case is an S case. Example: S is an S case docket number because it ends in S. Now that you have decided whether you will or will not elect the small tax case S case procedures, the next step is to file your petition.

Line 5 of the petition asks you to tell the Court why you disagree with the IRS determination in your case. You should list clearly and concisely the errors that you believe the IRS made in the notice of deficiency or the notice of determination that was sent to you. List each issue separately using letters or numbers for each item, and briefly state why you disagree with the IRS.

Be sure to list each item in the notice of deficiency or notice of determination with which you disagree. For example: A. On line 6 of the petition you should briefly state the facts on which you rely to support your position.

List each statement of facts in the same order as you listed the issues on line 5. Clearly stating why you believe the IRS is wrong and what facts you rely upon will help the Tax Court understand your position. Lastly, sign your name, preferably in blue ink, on the line for signature of petitioner. If you are filing a joint petition, be sure to have your spouse sign the petition as well. It is important that each signature be an original signature and not a copy.

Fill in your address and phone number on the lines provided. If the petition is a joint petition, your spouse must provide his or her address and phone number. If you are filing a joint petition—paper or electronic—be sure to have your spouse sign the petition. It is important that each signature on a paper petition be an original signature and not a copy. The tax laws set forth the different time limits for filing petitions in different kinds of cases.

The IRS notice usually provides the number of days that you will have to file a petition, counting from the date the IRS notice was mailed to you.

That date is usually stamped on the notice of deficiency or the notice of determination. In addition, the IRS notice may state the last date for filing the petition. The tax laws are very strict on filing dates and do not allow extra time for filing a petition.

No documents can be filed with the Court at this email address. For all non-technical questions, contact the Office of the Clerk of the Court at All Rights Reserved. How to Create a Case. Check the Deadline for Filing.

Confirm Your Identity. Prepare the Petition. Technical Questions?