Posts by Ruth Ann Michnay, P.A.

IRS Independent Office of Appeals  Recovering Administrative and Litigation Costs (Part IV) You are not the prevailing party if: The United States establishes that its position was substantially justified. If the IRS does not follow applicable published guidance, the United States is presumed to not besubstantially justified. This presumption is rebuttable. Applicable published guidance means…

IRS Independent Office of Appeals  Recovering Administrative and Litigation Costs (Part III) To qualify as a prevailing party, you must: -Substantially prevail on the amount in controversy or the most significant issue(s)presented, or obtain a final judgment that is less than or equal to a “qualified offer” thatthe IRS rejected, AND– Meet the applicable net…

IRS Independent Office of Appeals  Recovering Administrative and Litigation Costs (Part II) Recoverable litigation or administrative costs may include: -In general, attorney fees that do not exceed a maximum hourly rate, which changes fromyear to year. Fees in excess of the maximum can be awarded in limited circumstances.– Reasonable amounts for court costs or any…

IRS Independent Office of Appeals  Recovering Administrative and Litigation Costs (Part I) You may be able to recover your reasonable administrative and litigation costs if you are theprevailing party and if you meet the other requirements. For example, you must exhaust youradministrative remedies within the IRS including participating in the Appeals process, and youmust not…

IRS Independent Office of Appeals  Other Options – Pass-Through Entity Appeals (BBA) The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA), as amended, repealed the Tax Equity and FiscalResponsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA) partnership procedures and electing large partnershipprovisions and replaced them with an entirely new centralized partnership audit regime. BBA isgenerally effective for tax years beginning…

IRS Independent Office of Appeals  Other Options – Innocent Spouse Appeals (Part II)If you are the requesting spouse, you can petition the U.S. Tax Court to review your request forinnocent spouse relief if:

IRS Independent Office of Appeals  Other Options – Innocent Spouse Appeals (Part I) If you are the spouse who filed Form 8857, Request for Innocent Spouse Relief, requestinginnocent spouse relief (the “requesting spouse”), you can generally request an appeal if the IRSdenies your request in whole or in part. If you are a non-requesting spouse,…

IRS Independent Office of Appeals  Other Options – District Court and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims You can take your case to your U.S. District Court or the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, butgenerally only after you have fully paid the amount and timely filed a claim for refund with theIRS.If you are a…

IRS Independent Office of Appeals  Other Options – United States Tax Court (Part II) You can get more information about the U.S. Tax Court’s procedures and other matters on thecourt’s website at www.ustaxcourt.gov or by writing to: U.S. Tax CourtAttn: Office of the Clerk of the Court400 Second Street, N.W.Washington, DC 20217-0002 If you timely…

IRS Independent Office of Appeals  Other Options – United States Tax Court (Part I) You may be able to file a petition with the U.S. Tax Court to review the changes proposed by theIRS. The U.S.Tax Court is generally a “prepayment” forum, which means you can petition the U.S. Tax Courtbefore making full payment, but…