Opinion
12023-23S
06-10-2024
ERIC LUSTIG & MARICELA DANIELS, Petitioners v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
Kathleen Kerrigan Chief Judge
The petition in the above-docketed matter was filed on July 27, 2023, and 2020 was referenced as the taxable year in dispute. Attached to the petition was a notice of deficiency dated April 26, 2023, issued to petitioners with respect to the 2020 taxable year. An answer to the petition followed on September 7, 2023, but did not address jurisdictional matters. Thereafter, and unexpectedly given the state of the record, the parties on May 21, 2024, submitted a stipulated decision resolving the case.
Nonetheless, review of the record suggested a fundamental jurisdictional defect. At that juncture, the Court by Order served May 22, 2024, directed the parties to show cause in writing why this case should not be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, on the ground that the petition was not mailed to or filed with the Tax Court within the time prescribed by section 6213(a) or 7502 of the Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C.). The Order also noted that the date of the notice of deficiency underlying this proceeding for 2020 indicated a statutory deadline for filing a petition pursuant to section 6213(a), I.R.C., which expired on July 25, 2023, while the envelope in which the petition was received was sent via FedEx Standard Overnight and bears a ship date of July 26, 2023.
On June 7, 2024, respondent filed a response to the Order To Show Cause, attaching supporting documentation in the form of a certified mail list to establish that the notice of deficiency was mailed one day later on April 27, 2023. As such, respondent explained that the petition sent July 26, 2023, by a designated private delivery service was timely.
Accordingly, insofar as the record now establishes that the petition was timely mailed, it is
ORDERED that the Court's Order To Show Cause, served May 22, 2024, is discharged. The Proposed Stipulated Decision will be entered.