Tax court petition filing.

• Author: Laffie, Lesli S.

The Service's failure to stamp a Tax Court petition filing deadline on a deficiency notice did not render the deficiency invalid, according to Eric E. Smith, 114 TC No. 29. The Tax Court ruled that the failure to provide a date was insufficient to toll the statute of limitations.

In March 1999, the taxpayers received a deficiency notice concerning their timely filed 1995 return. The notice did not list a Tax Court petition filing deadline. In response to notification from the taxpayers' attorney, the taxpayers received another copy of the notice with a stamped petition filing deadline of June 3, 1999. The taxpayers timely filed a Tax Court petition contesting the deficiency.

Sec. 6212(a) provides that a taxpayer has 90 days after the mailing of a deficiency notice to file a petition for redetermination with the Tax Court. The Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, Section 3463(a), required that deficiency notices...