Tax News

CCH (cch.taxgroup.com) reports:

  The Tax Court had no jurisdiction to hear an appeal from an equivalent hearing conducted by an IRS Appeals officer. The communication that IRS Appeals sent the taxpayer informing her of the appeals officer's decision was not a notice of determination. Therefore, the court had no jurisdiction to hear the taxpayer's appeal under Code Sec. 6330(d)(1).

  The taxpayer submitted Form 12153 after the 30-day deadline for her to request a collection due process (CDP) hearing. Accordingly, she was not granted a CDP hearing by IRS Appeals, but instead was granted an equivalent hearing. After the equivalent hearing, IRS Appeals sent her a form letter entitled "NOTICE OF DETERMINATION CONCERNING COLLECTION ACTION(S) UNDER SECTION 6320 AND/OR 6330" informing her that the IRS could sustain a collection action against her. The letter contained boilerplate language stating that it was a "notice of determination" and that the taxpayer had 30 days from the date of the letter to file a petition with the Tax Court if she wanted to dispute the determination in the letter. However, notwithstanding the language in the communication from IRS Appeals, the letter was not a valid notice of determination, because an equivalent hearing is not considered a hearing under Code Sec. 6330.

M.P. Wilson, 131 TC No. 5, Dec. 57,535

Other References:

 
Code Sec. 6330

  CCH Reference - 2008FED ¶38,184.025

  CCH Reference - 2008FED ¶38,184.027

  CCH Reference - 2008FED ¶38,184.67

  CCH Reference - 2008FED ¶38,184.69

  Tax Research Consultant

  CCH Reference - TRC IRS: 51,056.20

  CCH Reference - TRC IRS: 51,056.35

  CCH Reference - TRC LITIG: 6,136.25