Victory for the little guy in U.S. Tax Court

There's no better way to start up a new tax law practice than to report on a victory for the little guy in the U.S. Tax Court, released just last week. Husband & wife taxpayers had stopped paying their taxes due to health problems, unemployment, and foreclosure. The Court found that the IRS abused its discretion in three different ways by not even considering the effect of the couple’s circumstances on their ability to pay, and remanded the case back to the Appeals Office. Also, for those interested, the Court found that a collection officer’s rejection of a collection alternative was not an administrative or judicial proceeding, and therefore did not preclude reconsideration of that collection alternative at a CDP hearing even though the taxpayers had a prior opportunity to pursue reconsideration (note that this does not apply to disputes of underlying liability). The case is Loveland v. Commissioner, and you can find it here: https://www.ustaxcourt.gov/USTCInOP/OpinionViewer.aspx?ID=11775

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