The United States Tax Court is an independent Federal court with headquarters at 400 Second Street, N.W., in Washington, D.C. The Tax Court provides a national forum for the resolution of disputes between taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The Tax Court conducts trial sessions and hearings in Washington, D.C., and in 73 other cities throughout the United States. The vast majority of Federal tax litigation takes place in the Tax Court. Tax Court cases are tried by Judges without a jury.
The scope of the Tax Court’s jurisdiction is set forth in various provisions of Title 26 of the U.S. Code (the Internal Revenue Code). The Court’s jurisdiction includes income, estate, gift, and certain excise tax deficiencies, collection due process cases, claims for spousal relief from joint and several liability, partnership proceedings, declaratory judgments, disclosure cases, interest abatement actions, review of awards under the IRS whistleblower program, and review of denial, revocation, or limitation of a passport due to delinquent taxes.
The Court maintains a data network that operates in a Windows environment and supports approximately 250 internal users. The Court currently contracts with Iron Bow Technologies, LLC, for a broad variety of network-related services.
The Court currently has about 22,000 open cases. About 27,000 cases were filed with the Court during the government fiscal year ending September 30, 2017.
A Tax Court proceeding commences with the filing of a Petition. A “Petitioner” is the party who initiates the case; the IRS is always the “Respondent”. Approximately 80% of Petitioners are self-represented. Petitioners can choose their location of trial from any of the 74 places of trial where the Court holds sessions across the country.
A Tax Court case is not automatically assigned to a Judge when the Petition is filed. A Tax Court case is maintained in the “general docket” under the supervision of the Chief Judge until it is calendared for trial or assigned to a Judge.
The Court requires certain specified categories of case filings to be made electronically. The Court also allows for in person and electronic access to most categories of case records.
The Bar of the Tax Court includes all attorneys and non-attorneys who are admitted to practice before the Court on behalf of either a Petitioner or the IRS. There are currently approximately 25,000 registered Tax Court practitioners.
The following Court units currently support and oversee the various aspects of the Court’s current case management processes:
- Office of the Chief Judge: General Docket Attorneys under the Chief Judge provide legal advice to the Court and assist with the Court’s general docket.
- Intake Section: The Intake Section (“Intake”) is responsible for receiving and processing all incoming mail before its distribution.
- Petitions Section: The Petitions Section (“Petitions”) receives and processes all Petitions and any accompanying documents as part of the case initiation process.
- Docket Section: The Docket Section (“Docket”) receives and processes documents (other than Petitions) and maintains the “docket record” for each case. A docket record lists every document that is part of the Court’s official record in the case.
- Records and Reproduction Section: The Records and Reproduction Section (“Records”) is both the Court’s copy center and responsible for maintaining the Court’s official case records.
- Calendar Section: The Calendar Section (“Calendar”) prepares term calendars, schedules cases for trial, and issues trial notices and orders.
- Trial Clerks: A trial clerk attends each trial session with a Judge. While at a trial session, the trial clerk calls the calendar of cases, swears in witnesses, processes documents submitted at the session, orders the official transcripts of the proceedings, prepares a minute sheet of the proceedings, and prepares draft orders for the Judge.
- Reporter’s Office: The Reporter’s Office reviews all opinions before release to ensure stylistic conformity with Tax Court standards. It also processes all opinions for filing, both in slip opinion format and electronically, on the Court’s Intranet and on its Internet Website. The Reporter’s Office coordinates publication of Division Opinions and Court-reviewed Opinions in the United States Tax Court Reports by the U.S. Government Publishing Office.
- Admissions Section: The Admissions Section (“Admissions”) processes new applications to be admitted to the Court’s Bar. Admissions is also responsible for assisting with the administration of the Court’s Bar, verifying that practitioners appearing on behalf of a Petitioner are admitted to practice and in good standing before the Court, and administering the biannual non-attorney examination.