11th Circuit Reverses Tax Court on IRS Penalty Approval Timing

A requirement for the IRS to obtain supervisory approval of penalty determinations is satisfied if the approval comes before the penalty assessment, a federal appeals court ruled.

The Tuesday decision from the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed a 2020 US Tax Court decision. The US Tax Court had said the IRS couldn’t assess about $2 million in penalties against Burt Kroner because the agency had failed to secure a supervisor’s approval at the time it sent Kroner a letter saying he owed penalties. The penalties arose ...