Tax Return Preparer Penalties

A recent District Court decision was reported dealing with Tax Return Preparer Penalties.  J. Frank Best, Tax Controversy CPA/U. S. Tax Court Litigator with locations in North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach, SC & Raleigh and Wilmington, NC works to stay current on all IRS decisions concerning tax litigation to ensure we are fully informed and prepared for clients. J. Frank Best is rated in the Top 5 Tax Controversy CPA Profiles/Linkedin.

Tax Return Preparer Penalties

In Taylor v. Comm’r, 2018 PTC 236 (9th Cir. 2018), the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s dismissal for lack of jurisdiction of an action by a tax return preparer seeking an abatement of Tax Return Preparer Penalties after rejecting the taxpayer’s argument that an exception in Code Sec. 6694(c) relieved him of his obligation to pay the penalties in full before bringing a refund suit in the district court. The court noted that, while Code Sec. 6694(c) confers district court jurisdiction when a tax return preparer has paid at least 15 percent of a penalty if the refund action is begun within 30 days after the earlier of the IRS’s denial of the refund claim or the expiration of six months after the day on which the refund claim is filed, the taxpayer did not file within those time limits and thus was not eligible to bring suit in the district court for Tax Return Preparer Penalties.