Verification Requires Documents To Verify Procedures Have Been Met
Verification Requires Documents Law And Relevant Case Law Examples
The Law: Pursuant to sections 6320(c) and 6330(c)(1), at a collection due process hearing, the appeals officer is required to obtain verification from the Secretary that the requirements of any applicable law or administrative procedure have been met.Section 6330(c)(1) does not require the appeals officer to rely upon a particular document (e.g., the summary record of assessment) to satisfy the verification requirement.Section 6330(c)(1) also does not require the appeals officer to give the taxpayer a copy of the verification upon which the appeals officer relied. See also Treas. Reg. ” 301.6320-1(e)(1) and 301.6330-1(e)(1).There is no requirement in the statute or regulations that the taxpayer be provided with any documents as a part of the verification process. As a matter of practice, however, the taxpayer will be provided with a transcript of account such as a Form 4340 or MFTRA-X computer transcript.Transcripts such as the Form 4340 or MFTRA-X, which identify the taxpayer, the character of the liability assessed, the taxable period and the amount of the assessment, are sufficient to show the validity of an assessment, absent a showing of irregularity.
Relevant Case Law:
Standifird v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2002-245, 84 T.C.M. (CCH) 371 (2002), aff’d, 72 Fed. Appx. 729 (9th Cir. 2003) – MFTRA-X transcript may be used for verification.Schroeder v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2002-190, 84 T.C.M. (CCH) 141 (2002) – TXMOD-A transcript is sufficient for verification.Wagner v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2002-180, 84 T.C.M. (CCH) 96 (2002) – Individual Master FileBMartinsburg Computing Center Transcript is sufficient for verification.Craig v. Commissioner, 119 T.C. 252 (2002) – the court held that section 6330(c)(1) does not require the appeals officer to rely upon a particular document, such as the summary record of assessment, in order to satisfy the verification requirement of section 6330(c)(1). Nor does it mandate that the appeals officer actually provide the taxpayer with a copy of the verification upon which the appeals officer relied. Taxpayer was provided with Forms 4340, and did not demonstrate the invalidity of the assessment or any of the information contained in the Forms 4340.Nestor v.Commissioner, 118 T.C. 162 (2002) – appeals officer’s review of Forms 4340 is sufficient to meet the verification requirement in section 6330(c)(1). Actual production of documents is not required.Davis v. Commissioner, 115 T.C. 35 (2000) – appeals officer did not abuse his discretion in relying on a Form 4340 to verify the validity of an assessment, where the taxpayer can point to no evidence of irregularity in the assessment process.