Tim’s Tax News on the Tenth – December 2022

In a currently pending US Tax Court case, Gaddie v. Commissioner (Docket No. 12604-22), the Tax Court struck a proposed Stipulated Decision for the Court’s review that was prepared by the IRS and the pro se taxpayer.

The rationale for the Court’s action was documented in the record. The Court merely entered the following:

ORDER

On November 21, 2022, the parties filed a Proposed Stipulated Decision for the Court’s consideration. However, the deficiency proposed therein for the 2018 taxable year, $5,173.00, is more than the deficiency determined for that year in the Notice of Deficiency, $3,449.00. Respondent did not assert an increased deficiency in the Answer and nothing below the line in the Proposed Stipulated Decision accounts for the increase. Accordingly, the Court is unable to process the parties’ Proposed Stipulated Decision.

For cause, it is

ORDERED that the Proposed Stipulated Decision, filed November 21, 2022, is hereby deemed stricken from the Court’s record in this case. It is further

ORDERED that the parties shall, on or before December 20, 2022, file a revised Proposed Stipulated Decision.

The government was not allowed to obtain an order against the taxpayer for an amount greater than the amount it sought in its Notice of Deficiency. The Notice of Deficiency was the catalyst for the lawsuit, the taxpayer filed suit to object to the amount in the Notice of Deficiency. Yet, despite the taxpayer signing off on the stipulation to a higher amount with the government, the Court refused to enter the decision against the taxpayer for the higher amount, without more steps taken by the government to prove its higher claim.

If you would like more details, please do not hesitate to call our office. Our office has been successful in helping taxpayers with IRS and IDOR collection problems for over 29 years. If you have a tax or debt problem, please contact me at 847-705-9698 or thughes@lavellelaw.com and find out how we can help you.

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