Tax Court’s Rigid Deadline Stance Cracks With Appellate Pressure

After three federal appeals courts reversed the US Tax Court’s longstanding position that it lacks the power to pause a key 90-day window taxpayers have to challenge the IRS, practitioners believe reconsideration is on the table.

Such a shift in the Tax Court’s stance would mark a significant turning point in the debate over whether taxpayers can obtain equitable relief when extraordinary circumstances prevent them from filing their petitions on time.

For taxpayers to gain entry into Tax Court, judges must first agree that one of several governing deadlines to file a tax challenge isn’t jurisdictional, allowing the court to ...