Opinion
759-24
04-17-2024
BARBARA HEARNE, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER OF DISMISSAL FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION
Kathleen Kerrigan, Chief Judge.
Pending before the Court is respondent's Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction, filed March 5, 2024, on the grounds that the Petition was not filed within the time prescribed in the Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C.). Although the Court provided petitioner an opportunity to file an objection, if any, to respondent's motion to dismiss, petitioner has not done so.
The record reflects that, on October 16, 2023, respondent sent by certified mail to petitioner's last known address a notice of deficiency for petitioner's 2021 tax year. The notice stated that the last day to file a petition with the Tax Court was January 16, 2024, which was a Tuesday. At 1:04 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, the Petition was electronically filed by petitioner from Texas, where it was 12:04 a.m. on Wednesday, January 17.
Like all federal courts, the Tax Court is a court of limited jurisdiction. In a deficiency case, I.R.C. section 6213(a) provides that the Petition must be filed with this 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). See also Rule 13(a), (c), Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure; Rochelle v. Commissioner, 293 F.3d 740 (5th Cir. 2002) (per curiam), aff 'g 116 T.C. 356 (2001); Hallmark Rsch. Collective v. Commissioner, No. 21284-21, 159 T.C. (Nov. 29, 2022); Monge v. Commissioner, 93 T.C. 22, 27 (1989); Normac, Inc. v. Commissioner, 90 T.C. 142, 147 (1988).
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) ("[A] petition, in order to be timely filed, must be received by the Court in Washington, D.C., on or before the 90th day."). Here, the last date petitioner could timely file a Petition was Tuesday, January 16, 2024. Petitioner electronically filed the Petition in this case on Wednesday, January 17, 2024. Therefore, the record in this case establishes that the Petition was not timely filed, and we are obliged to dismiss this case for lack of jurisdiction. However, although petitioner cannot prosecute this case in this Court, petitioner may still pursue an administrative resolution of petitioner's 2021 tax liability directly with the Internal Revenue Service.
Upon due consideration of the foregoing, it is
ORDERED that respondent's Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction is granted and this case is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction because the Petition was not filed within the period prescribed in I.R.C. section 6213(a).