A tax problem in Howard County can involve the IRS, the Comptroller of Maryland, or both. You may have a notice, an audit letter, a levy, or a card a revenue officer left at your door. A Columbia, MD tax attorney at Whiteford will explain what it means and which deadline you face.
The office on Stanford Boulevard serves Columbia, Ellicott City, Elkridge, Jessup, Savage, Laurel, Fulton, Scaggsville, Clarksville, and nearby areas. Route 100 and Route 32 also make it a short drive from northern Anne Arundel County and southwestern Baltimore County.
The two agencies keep separate clocks, and Maryland's tends to be shorter. So when a Maryland assessment runs beside a federal collection matter, the order in which you deal with them rarely follows the size of each balance.
A letter from the IRS or the Comptroller is usually one step in a process, not a final ruling. An IRS CP2000 notice, for example, only proposes changes. Before your reply is due, we work out with you whether the numbers hold up and how any balance could be resolved.
When you call, keep the notice at hand. Note the date on page one, the tax years and type of tax, and the name of any revenue agent or revenue officer who has contacted you.
Get directions 8830 Stanford Boulevard, Suite 400 By appointment only. to the Columbia office (opens Google Maps in a new tab)Common matters we see here
- Comptroller of Maryland assessments, audits, appeals, and wage liens, plus business license suspensions and tax-clearance holds on license or registration renewals
- Maryland residency and domicile disputes, including multistate problems that come with remote work
- IRS correspondence, office, and field audits, including eggshell audits where criminal exposure is possible
- Conferences with the IRS Independent Office of Appeals, Collection Due Process hearings, and Tax Court petitions
- Federal tax liens, bank and wage levies, and direct contact from an IRS revenue officer
- Penalty relief, including First Time Abate for a clean compliance record and reasonable cause requests for everyone else, plus returns that were never filed
- Trust fund recovery penalty exposure and payroll tax liability for responsible persons and business owners
- FBAR penalties, including the non-willful penalties the Supreme Court held in Bittner v. United States accrue per report rather than per account, offshore account reporting, and criminal tax investigations
Local regulators & venues
Comptroller of Maryland
The Comptroller has no branch office in Howard County. The nearest ones are in Windsor Mill and Baltimore, where many services need an appointment. In practice, most assessment disputes are handled by letter and at informal hearings, not at a counter.
Maryland Tax Court
The court sits in Baltimore. It hears an appeal from the Comptroller de novo, meaning from the beginning, under Md. Code Ann., Tax-Gen. § 13-523. Under § 13-528, though, the Comptroller's decision is affirmed unless there is affirmative evidence for the relief sought, or an error apparent on the face of the proceeding appealed from.
Circuit Court for Howard County
Judicial review of a Maryland Tax Court decision goes to the circuit court for the county where a party lives or has its principal place of business. For most Howard County taxpayers, that is the court in Ellicott City. Review there is limited to the administrative record.
U.S. Tax Court, Baltimore trial sessions
The court holds Maryland trial sessions in Baltimore, about half an hour from Columbia. It has no permanent courtroom there, so the notice of trial gives the address. In a deficiency case, where the IRS says you owe more tax, you can bring the case here before paying.
U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
Refund suits and collection litigation are heard here. The court sits in Baltimore and Greenbelt, and Howard County is in its Northern Division, which holds court in Baltimore.
Maryland assessments: time limits, appeals, and settlement
How far back Maryland can reach
Three time limits apply to every Comptroller of Maryland file. They decide how far back the state can reach before anyone argues about whether the tax is right.
- Three years to assess income tax, under Tax-Gen. § 13-1101
- Ten years to collect, under § 13-1103
- Twenty years for a state tax lien, under § 13-806
The three years start on the filing date or the due date, whichever is later. In some cases there is no limit at all. Under § 13-1101(b), the Comptroller can assess the tax at any time if:
- no return was filed;
- the return filed was incomplete;
- the return was false and filed with intent to evade the tax; or
- a willful attempt was made to evade the tax.
Those exceptions depend on conduct that is established, not merely alleged.
The lien arises on the date of notice that the tax is due, recorded or not. It lasts until it is satisfied or released, or until twenty years after the date of assessment, whichever comes first. Filing a notice of lien with the circuit court clerk under § 13-807 gives it the force of a judgment lien under § 13-808. Taxpayers who assume the lien ends with the ten-year collection period are often surprised at settlement.
How to appeal or settle
If the Comptroller's informal hearing does not resolve the dispute, the Maryland Tax Court hears the appeal from the beginning, rather than reviewing it for error. After that, judicial review is limited to the administrative record. So the evidence you gather early is the evidence that decides the case.
Maryland has no separate offer in compromise statute like the federal one, IRC § 7122. But Tax-Gen. § 13-816 does let the state compromise a tax claim it cannot collect in full. The Comptroller also runs its own compromise program, using Form MD 656 with Form MD 433-A for individuals.
The Maryland program is harder to qualify for than the federal one:
- the liability must be assessed and at least two years old;
- your returns must be filed for the current year and the six years before it;
- you cannot be in an open bankruptcy case; and
- for business taxes, the business must have closed.
You also cannot make an offer while any issue is under appeal.
Who handles a Howard County tax file
Michael March co-chairs Whiteford's Tax Section. His court admissions include the United States Tax Court and the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. They also include the United States Court of Federal Claims and the United States Court of International Trade.
Michael has defended people in federal criminal tax matters in federal district courts in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, Florida, and the District of Columbia. Those matters involved foreign bank account reporting, alleged bank fraud, and alleged tax evasion. Michael has also handled civil tax disputes that ran alongside IRS, Homeland Security, and FBI investigations.
An audit of a return your accountant prepared can change once the questions move from the numbers to your intent. Our page on eggshell audits explains why that is the time to bring in a lawyer.
Once a conflicts check and an engagement letter are done, we file a power of attorney. The IRS or the Comptroller then works through the firm instead of contacting you. In most collection matters, that one step redirects the phone calls while the work on your case begins. The IRS can still reach you directly in limited situations, such as under a summons or in a criminal investigation.
What we handle
IRS Audits
What an IRS audit involves, why the IRS opens one, and how an attorney protects your position from the first letter.
Learn more →IRS Collections
What the IRS can do to collect a tax debt, the rights that apply at each step, and the ways to stop enforcement.
Learn more →Tax Debt Relief
Offers in compromise, installment agreements, injured spouse relief, and other options for how to settle IRS debt and stop enforcement: what each one does, who qualifies, and what to expect.
Learn more →White Collar Tax Defense
When the IRS treats a tax problem as a crime, what conduct is charged, and how a defense attorney answers it.
Learn more →Why taxpayers choose Whiteford
- Michael March co-chairs Whiteford's Tax Section and is admitted to practice before the United States Tax Court.
- Whiteford's 19 offices cover ten states and the District of Columbia, which matters when a Howard County residency or filing question crosses a state line.
- The firm that handles your tax matter also has white collar defense, business litigation, and bankruptcy lawyers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which county's income tax applies if I moved into or out of Howard County during the year?
The Comptroller changed my Maryland return. Does my Howard County income tax change too?
Can unpaid Maryland taxes hold up the renewal of a business or professional license?
I owe the IRS and Maryland at the same time. Which one do I deal with first?
A notice says I owe more than my return showed. Does that mean I do?
What if I have not filed for several years?
Do I have to come to the Columbia office to work with you?
Meet Michael
