Opinion
6253-24S
07-19-2024
JACQUELINE D. COOPER, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER OF DISMISSAL FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION
Kathleen Kerrigan Chief Judge
On June 14, 2024, respondent filed in the above-docketed case a Motion To Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction, on the ground that the petition was not filed within the time prescribed by section 6213(a) or 7502 of the Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C.). Respondent attached to the motion copies of a notice of deficiency for 2021 and the corresponding certified mail list (U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Form 3877), as evidence of the fact that such notice dated January 11, 2024, had been sent to petitioner by certified mail on January 11, 2024.
The petition herein was filed with the Court on April 19, 2024, which date is 99 days after the date of the notice of deficiency for tax year 2021 mailed to petitioner. The petition had been received by the Court in an envelope that bears a postmark dated April 11, 2024, which date is 91 days after the date of the notice.
This Court is a court of limited jurisdiction. It may therefore exercise jurisdiction only to the extent expressly provided by statute. Breman v. Commissioner, 66 T.C. 61, 66 (1976). In a case seeking the redetermination of a deficiency, the jurisdiction of the Court depends, in part, on the timely filing of a petition by the taxpayer. Rochelle v. Commissioner, 293 F.3d 740, 741 (5th Cir. 2002) (per curiam), aff'g 116 T.C. 356 (2001); Hallmark Rsch. Collective v. Commissioner, 159 T.C. 126, 130, n.4 (2022) (collecting cases); Brown v. Commissioner, 78 T.C. 215, 220 (1982); see Sanders v. Commissioner, No. 15143-22, 161 T.C., slip op. at 7-8 (Nov. 2, 2023) (holding that the Court will continue treating the deficiency deadline as jurisdictional in cases appealable to jurisdictions outside the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit). In this regard, section 6213(a), I.R.C., provides that the petition must be filed with the Court within 90 days, or 150 days if the notice is addressed to a person outside the United States, after the notice of deficiency is mailed (not counting Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday in the District of Columbia as the last day). The Court has no authority to extend this 90-day (or 150-day) period. Hallmark Rsch. Collective v. Commissioner, 159 T.C. at 166-67; Joannou v. Commissioner, 33 T.C. 868, 869 (1960). However, a petition shall be treated as timely filed if it is filed on or before the last date specified in such notice for the filing of a Tax Court petition, a provision which becomes relevant where that date is later than the date computed with reference to the mailing date. Sec. 6213(a), I.R.C. Likewise, if the conditions of section 7502, I.R.C., are satisfied, a petition which is timely mailed may be treated as having been timely filed.
A petition is ordinarily "filed" when it is received by the Tax Court in Washington, D.C. See, e.g., Leventis v. Commissioner, 49 T.C. 353, 354 (1968). Although the Court may sit at any place within the United States, its principal office, its mailing address, and its Clerk's office are in the District of Columbia. Sec. 7445, I.R.C.; Rule 10, Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure. And a document that is electronically filed with the Court is filed when it is received by the Court as determined in reference to where the Court is located. Nutt v. Commissioner, No. 15959-22, 160 T.C. (May 2, 2023).
In the present case, the time for filing a petition with this Court expired on April 10, 2024. However, the petition was not filed within that period.
Petitioner was served with a copy of respondent's motion to dismiss and, on July 8, 2024, filed an initial brief objection, with a more detailed first supplement to that objection following on July 10, 2024. Therein, petitioner did not directly deny the jurisdictional allegations set forth in respondent's motion and did not allege that petitioner had filed with the Tax Court before the statutory deadline. Rather, the submissions explained as follows regarding the timeliness of the petition: "notice of incident why petition may have been late mailed. We are in a Federal Declaration Disaster Area at the time of filing due to flooding. The flooding of roads prevented the rural postal driver from getting to all post offices in the area as well as prevention for people leaving home to go to work or anywhere. The petition was not intentionally filed late since you stated you receive it late. I'm sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. I asked if you would please accept my petition so that we may get this tax issue resolved." Petitioner also went on to explain how an earlier natural disaster, i.e., Hurricane Laura in 2020, was continuing to cause hardship and had affected petitioner's ability to respond. To wit, her home had been badly damaged, records had been packed away in storage, and insurance payments had not been forthcoming. Petitioner closed with a request for consideration.
Unfortunately, while natural disasters can often be a cause of extensions for tax-related deadlines, no such relief is applicable in the context of this particular proceeding. Petitioner's address of record in this case, and the address to which the notice of deficiency was sent, is in Bon Wier, a town in Newton County, Texas. A FEMA disaster declaration was made for "Texas Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding" as DR-4781-TX on May 17, 2024, for the incident period of April 26, 2024 to June 5, 2024. Newton County was incorporated in the declaration. Consistent therewith, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced tax relief for individuals and businesses in Texas impacted by severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding as TX-2024-13. That relief extended the time for tax filing and payment deadlines for the period beginning April 26, 2024, until November 1, 2024, with Newton County amongst the covered areas. Thus, while petitioner is correct in noting that her area has been the subject of a disaster declaration, the period for which that declaration was made, and the corresponding tax relief that would have extended the filing deadline for the petition in this case to November 1, 2024, only applies to due dates falling on or after April 26, 2024. The petition in this case, as explained above, was due on April 10, 2024. The deadline had already expired before any relief came into effect.
Hence, while the Court is sympathetic to petitioner's situation and understands the unintentional character of the inadvertence here, as well as the challenges of the circumstances faced and the good faith efforts made, the fundamental nature of the filing deadline precludes the case from going forward. As a Court of limited jurisdiction, the Court is unable to offer any remedy or assistance when a petition is filed late. Rather, the Court is barred from considering in any way petitioner's case or the correctness of petitioner's claims. Unfortunately, governing law within the Fifth Circuit recognizes no reasonable cause or other applicable exception to the statutory deadline, and the allegation that the petition was sent one day late remains unrebutted.
The Court has no authority to extend that period provided by law for filing a petition "whatever the equities of a particular case may be and regardless of the cause for its not being filed within the required period." Axe v. Commissioner, 58 T.C. 256, 259 (1972). Accordingly, since petitioner has failed to establish that the petition was mailed to or filed with this Court within the required 90-day period, this case must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. The Court would, however, encourage petitioner, despite the frustrations, to continue working administratively through the IRS, which, being entirely separate from the Tax Court, may be able to offer alternative avenues for relief, not dependent on the existence of a Tax Court case, such as audit reconsideration or a refund action.
The premises considered, it is
ORDERED that respondent's Motion To Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction is granted, and this case is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.