Opinion
11367-20
02-23-2022
MICHAEL P. FREDERICK & CATHY S. FREDERICK, Petitioners v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER AND ORDER OF DISMISSAL FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION
Emin Toro, Judge
A petition commencing this case was filed on August 10, 2020. Petitioners seek review of a notice of deficiency dated May 13, 2019, issued to them for the taxable year 2016. Attached to the petition is a copy of the May 13, 2019, notice of deficiency stating that the last day for filing a timely Tax Court petition was August 12, 2019.
The petition, filed on August 10, 2020, arrived at the Court in an envelope with a postmark of August 3, 2020. On December 10, 2021, the parties filed a Proposed Stipulated Decision (Doc. 6) for the Court's consideration.
An examination of the petition and the copy of the notice of deficiency suggested to the Court that the petition might not have been timely filed. If that is correct, the Court would lack jurisdiction to review the May 13, 2019, notice of deficiency for the taxable year 2016 upon which this case is based. I.R.C. §§ 6213(a), 7502; Brown v. Commissioner, 78 T.C. 215, 220 (1982); Rule 13(c), Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure.
Accordingly, on December 14, 2021, the Court issued an Order to Show Cause directing the parties to show cause in writing on or before January 3, 2022, why this case should not be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction on the ground that the petition was not timely filed. In addition, the Court ordered respondent to file a response to the order and attach thereto a copy of a postmarked United States Postal Service Form 3877, or other proof of mailing, showing the date respondent sent the deficiency notice for the taxable year 2016 to petitioners at their last known address by certified mail.
On January 3, 2022, respondent sought additional time to respond to the Court's December 14, 2021, Order, and the Court granted that request, extending the time for a response to February 18, 2022.
On February 18, 2022, respondent filed a response to the December 14, 2021, Order providing the documentation sought by the Court. That documentation shows that respondent mailed a notice of deficiency for tax year 2016 to each of the petitioners at their last known address by certified mail on May 13, 2019. Respondent further noted that petitioners reached an administrative settlement with the IRS that resolves the dispute for the tax year 2016. Respondent has stated that this settlement will be given effect even if the Court dismisses the case for lack of jurisdiction.
To date, petitioners have not responded to the Court's December 14, 2021, Order to Show Cause.
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 addition, jurisdiction must be proven affirmatively, and a taxpayer invoking our jurisdiction bears the burden of proving that we have jurisdiction over the taxpayer's case. See Fehrs v. Commissioner, 65 T.C. 346, 348 (1975); Wheeler's Peachtree Pharmacy, Inc. v. Commissioner, 35 T.C. 177, 180 (1960).
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. See I.R.C. § 6213(a); see also Rule 13(c), Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure; Brown, 89 T.C. at 220. In this regard, and as relevant here, I.R.C. § 6213(a) provides that a petition must be filed with the Court within 90 days after the notice of deficiency is mailed (not counting Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday in the District of Columbia as the last day). A timely mailed petition may be treated as though it were timely filed. I.R.C. § 7502(a). Thus, if a petition is received by the Court after the expiration of the 90-day period, it is deemed to be timely if the postmark date showing on the envelope in which the petition was mailed is within the time prescribed for filing.
The record establishes that the petition in this case was not timely filed. Respondent mailed the notice of deficiency for tax year 2016 to petitioners by certified mail on May 13, 2019. Pursuant to I.R.C. § 6213(a) and 7503, the period for filing a petition with this Court expired on August 12, 2019. The petition was received by the Court and filed on August 10, 2020. The petition was contained in an envelope bearing a postmark USPS stamp of August 3, 2020, a date long after August 12, 2019.
The Court has no authority to extend the period for timely filing the 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). But, although petitioners may not prosecute this case in the Tax Court, respondent has advised us that an administrative settlement petitioners reached with the IRS will be given effect even if the Court dismisses the case for lack of jurisdiction.
Upon due consideration, it is hereby
ORDERED that the Court's Order to Show Cause dated December 14, 2021, is hereby made absolute. It is further
ORDERED that the parties' Proposed Stipulated Decision, filed December 10, 2021, is hereby deemed stricken from the Court's record in this case. It is further
ORDERED that, on the Court's own motion, this case is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction on the ground that the petition was not timely filed.