There are a number of legal principles that apply when it comes to civil litigation. Some of these rules apply in tax disputes and others do not. And tax disputes add other legal principles that are unique to tax. For example, our Federal tax system is premised on a concept of sovereign immunity where the…
Category: Tax Litigation
Tax Litigation
Tax litigation involves disputes between taxpayers and the IRS that are resolved in court. We help clients navigate tax litigation and protect their rights. Give us a call to see how we can help, (713) 909-4906.
Taxpayer Loses for Tax Court Petition Filed 11 Seconds Late
The voluntary nature of income tax returns in the United States means that taxpayers are responsible for reporting their income and paying the appropriate taxes. Taxpayers do this largely as it is the right thing to do. This is premised on a perception that the tax system has some elements of being fair and uniform…
Recovering Legal Expenses for Mistaken IRS Audit of Non-Resident
The U.S. has significant and complex reporting and filing and notice requirements. This includes a myriad of state and local requirements and federal requirements, including income tax return filing requirements. As odd as it sounds, it is part of what makes America great. We often don’t think about it, but these filing requirements are part…
Recovering Taxes Paid for Another Party
If you pay tax for another party, can you recover the payment if the tax is not owed? The answer is generally “no,” as you cannot sue the Federal government unless it consents and it only consents in limited circumstances. One such consent is the ability to sue for a refund. The rules that allow…
Using Accounting Records in Tax Court
Whether one likes it or not, the federal government is their business partner. The tax code is often compared to a partnership agreement that sets out the share of the income that belongs to the federal government. Continuing the analogy, the records the business keeps are the support for making the allocation between the taxpayer…
Can a Forensic Accountant Testify as an Expert?
One of the most frequent disputes in IRS audits is whether the taxpayer had unreported income. This is income that the taxpayer failed to report on his or her income tax return. This typically involves cash a business or service provider received from clients. It may also include non-cash deposits into financial accounts. This “income…
The U.S. Tax Court: 1 Day Late
In many ways the U.S. Tax Court is a court and operates like other courts. But in other ways, the U.S. Tax Court is more akin to a government agency. This quasi-court status has raised a number of interesting issues about how to litigate a case in tax court and what standards apply and what…
Right to Tax Court When a Taxpayer Dies
What do you do if a loved one is under audit by the IRS and then dies before the audit is closed? Imagine that the IRS issues a Notice of Deficiency to the taxpayer. Do you have the right to petition the U.S. Tax Court for the taxpayer? The court recently addressed this in Sanders…
New Issues: The Downside to U.S. Tax Court Litigation
Justice is not a word that is often mentioned in tax cases. While justice may be handed out in the opinions, the term “justice” isn’t usually expressly stated in the opinion or in the rules that the courts go by. There are exceptions. One exception is in the rules that allow IRS attorneys to raise…
The “Non-Suit” in U.S. Tax Court Cases
The U.S. Tax Court is unique in many ways. It has its own rules and the rules do not always comport with the rules that apply in other Federal courts. One example is that a party cannot just “non-suit” a case in tax court. A non-suit is the process of simply dismissing an action that…