Opinion
3798-24S
06-11-2024
RALPH L. HAYES & CATHERINE B. HAYES, Petitioners v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER OF DISMISSAL FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION
Kathleen Kerrigan Chief Judge
On March 5, 2024, the Court received and filed the Petition to commence this case. Therein petitioners indicate that they are disputing notices of deficiency issued with respect to tax years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 ("tax years 2010 through 2024").
On May 2, 2024, respondent filed a Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction on grounds that (1) no notice of deficiency was issued to petitioners with respect to tax years 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022, 2023, or 2024; (2) the petition was not filed within the time prescribed in the Internal Revenue Code with respect to notices of deficiency issued to petitioners for tax years 2010, 2018, 2019, and 2021; and (3) petitioners previously sought review of a notice of deficiency issued with respect to tax year 2011 in their case at Docket No. 24966-14. Respondent further asserts that no other determination was made with respect to tax years 2010 through 2024 that would confer jurisdiction on this Court.
On June 6, 2024, the Court received and filed petitioners' document titled "Motion to Withdraw Petition." Petitioners state therein that they agree with respondent's Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction; their filing is accordingly more in the nature of a notice of no objection.
Like all federal courts, the Tax Court is a court of limited jurisdiction. 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 deficiency case, this Court's jurisdiction depends on the issuance of a valid notice of deficiency and the timely filing of a petition 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). Hallmark Rsch. Collective v. Commissioner, 159 T.C. 126, 130 n.4 (2022); Monge v. Commissioner, 93 T.C. 22, 27 (1989); Normac, Inc. v. Commissioner, 90 T.C. 142, 147 (1988); 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).
Petitioners have not produced or otherwise demonstrated that they have been issued any notice of deficiency, or that respondent has made any other determination, as to tax years 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022, 2023, or 2024 that would permit them to invoke the jurisdiction of this Court. Further, the record in this case establishes that the Petition was not timely filed with respect to tax years 2010, 2018, 2019, and 2021: the Petition was filed after the last date for filing a petition for tax years 2010, 2018, and 2019, and it was filed prematurely with respect to a notice of deficiency issued to petitioners, subsequent to the filing of the Petition, for tax year 2021. Finally, with respect to tax year 2011, petitioners previously challenged a notice of deficiency issued for that year in the case at Docket No. 24966-14. The Court entered an Order of Dismissal for Lack of Jurisdiction in the case at Docket No. 24966-14 on April 29, 2015. That order is now final.
The Court is obliged to dismiss this case for lack of jurisdiction. However, we note that petitioners may be able to file a new petition as to the notice of deficiency issued with respect to their 2021 tax year. The last date for filing such a petition, as stated on the notice of deficiency provided by respondent, is June 27, 2024.
Upon due consideration, and for cause, it is
ORDERED that petitioners' Motion to Withdraw Petition, filed June 6, 2024, is recharacterized as a Notice of No Objection to Respondent's Motion To Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction. It is further
ORDERED that respondent's Motion To Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction is granted, and this case is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.