Tax Court Can Hear Late Tax Deficiency Cases, Sixth Circuit Says

The US Tax Court shouldn’t have dismissed a taxpayer’s petition without considering extenuating circumstances, the Sixth Circuit held, deepening a circuit split on whether a Tax Code filing deadline affects that court’s jurisdiction to hear the case.

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Monday reversed the Tax Court’s dismissal of Naysha Oquendo’s petition for redetermination of tax penalties.

IRC Section 6213(a), which gives taxpayers 90 days to contest a notice of tax deficiency from the date the IRS mails it, is a nonjurisdictional claim-processing rule that’s subject to equitable tolling, the appeals court said.

The ...