Tax Court
What Is Tax Court?
A specialized court of law that hears and adjudicates tax-related disputes and issues. The tax court in the United States is a federal court established by Congress to provide a judicial forum where an entity could contest a tax deficiency determined by the Internal Revenue Service before paying the disputed amount.
Who Can Represent Me In Tax Court?
A lawyer can represent a client in federal tax court. A certified public accountant who has a current license in any state can represent a client. An enrolled agent, an enrolled actuary or an enrolled retirement plan agent may also act as a representative in court. According to the Internal Revenue Service, the non-attorney tax professional is not considered to be practicing law in these cases and does not gain the right to practice law.
Can I Challenge The IRS If I Get Audited?
You do not have to accept any audit report; you can appeal it by sending a protest letter to the IRS within 30 days after receiving the audit report. If you request an appeals consideration, you will be granted a meeting with an appeals officer who is not part of the IRS division that performed your audit.If your appeal fails, you can then file a petition in tax court. This is a fairly inexpensive and simple process, if the audit bill is for less than $50,000. If it’s for more, you will most likely need the help of a tax attorney.Generally, it pays to contest an audit report by appealing and going to court. About half the people who challenge their audit report are successful in partially lowering their tax bill.
How Can Your Firm Help Me?
We are a fully licensed CPA firm with 30 years experience. We have an A+ BBB rating. We have seen thousands of IRS cases and successfully handled them. We have internal software to assure that you do not miss any important IRS deadlines. We have the professional experience to walk you through the IRS process and relieve you from the stress of dealing with your tax problems.
Genesis of a Tax Court dispute
Many Tax Court cases involve disputes over Federal income tax and penalties, often after an examination by the Internal Revenue Service of a taxpayer’s return. After issuance of a series of preliminary written notices and a lack of agreement between the taxpayer and the IRS, the IRS formally “determines” the amount of the “deficiency” and issues a formal notice called a “statutory notice of deficiency,” or “ninety day letter”. In this context, the term “deficiency” is a legal term of art, and is not necessarily equal to the amount of unpaid tax (although it usually is). The deficiency is generally the excess of the amount the IRS contends is the correct tax over the amount the taxpayer showed on the return—in both cases, without regard to how much has actually been paid.Upon issuance of the statutory notice of deficiency (after IRS determination of the tax amount, but before the formal IRS assessment of the tax), the taxpayer generally has 90 days to file a Tax Court petition for “redetermination of the deficiency”. If no petition is timely filed, the IRS may then statutorily “assess” the tax. To “assess” the tax in this sense means to administratively and formally record the tax on the books of the United States Department Of the Treasury. This formal statutory assessment is a critical act, as the statutory tax lien that later arises is effective retroactively to the date of the assessment, and encumbers all property and rights to property of the taxpayer.