Summary written by Pardis Akhavan, associate at Resnik Hayes Moradi LLP
Duggan v. Commissioner of IRS, 879 F.3d 1029 (9th Cir 2018)
Issue: Is the thirty-day deadline to file a petition for review of IRS’s determination with the Tax Court jurisdictional or can the deadline be tolled equitably?
Holding: No, § 6330(d)(1) conditions the Tax Court’s jurisdiction on timely filing of a petition for review.
The IRS mailed two Notices of Determination to taxpayer which proposed collection of unpaid income taxes. Both notices informed the taxpayer that he could dispute the IRS’s determination by “fil[ing] a petition with the United States Tax Court within a 30-day period beginning the day after the date of this letter.” Thirty one days after receipt of the Notice of Determinations the taxpayer mailed a petition for review to the Tax Court. The IRS Commissioner moved to dismiss the petition for lack of jurisdiction. The Tax Court agreed and granted the motion dismissing the petition on jurisdictional grounds. Read more…