IRS Appeals representation in Baltimore

Baltimore taxpayers who disagree with an IRS audit result, a penalty or a collection action can ask the IRS Independent Office of Appeals to review it. Appeals is part of the IRS, but it works apart from the examiner or collection staff who made the decision. From our Baltimore office, Michael March handles these IRS appeals for individuals, closely held businesses, estates and nonprofits.

An audit protest is only one way in. Your case may instead call for a collection hearing, or an appeal of a penalty the IRS refused to remove. Other appeals follow a rejected offer in compromise or a denied request for innocent spouse relief.

The courts behind a Baltimore IRS appeal

Appeals can settle a case on the hazards of litigation, meaning how a court would likely rule if the case went to trial. For a Baltimore taxpayer, that court would usually be the U.S. Tax Court or the federal district court in Baltimore. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit generally hears any appeal from either one.

That matters before trial, too. In a Maryland case, the Tax Court follows Fourth Circuit precedent, a practice known as the Golsen rule. The IRS manual for Appeals officers covers the rule in its settlement guidance. So a Fourth Circuit decision on your issue can change how Appeals values a Baltimore case.

In an audit case, the IRS sends a notice of deficiency if Appeals does not settle. You have 90 days from the date on that notice to petition the U.S. Tax Court, and no payment is due before you file. With every petition, you also file a request for a place of trial. Baltimore is the only Maryland city on the court's list. Because the court has no courtroom of its own in Baltimore, the trial notice tells you where to appear.

The other road to court is a refund suit. You pay the tax first and then claim it back. If the IRS denies the claim or six months pass without an answer, you can sue. A Baltimore taxpayer can sue in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland or the Court of Federal Claims. The district court's local rules generally send a Baltimore case to a judge at 101 West Lombard Street.

Our Baltimore tax litigation page explains what happens once a case reaches court.

How we build an appeal

We start with your deadline and the examiner's findings, including what they rest on and where they are weak. Then we write the protest, the document that carries your case at Appeals. It gives the Appeals officer the facts, the law and the records needed to justify a settlement. We also represent you at the conference and in any settlement talks.

Our page on IRS administrative appeals explains the formal written protest and the small case request, a shorter option for smaller disputes.

Collection cases follow their own track. In a Collection Due Process hearing, Appeals reviews a lien or levy, and you have 30 days to ask the Tax Court to review its decision. The Collection Appeals Program also covers liens, levies and payment plans. It is usually quicker, but no judge reviews the result.