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Virginia

Roanoke

Roanoke Valley railroad retirees, farm owners and businesses bring IRS audits, notices and Tax Court cases to our Jefferson Street office.

Talk to our team today Or call (540) 759-3560

Our tax attorneys help Roanoke-area taxpayers answer an IRS examination letter, a collection notice or any other tax notice. Clients across the Roanoke and New River Valleys meet with us by appointment on Jefferson Street, or by video.

Railroad jobs follow a separate set of federal tax rules, and railroad retirement benefits are taxed in two parts. For farm owners, the IRS may ask whether a farm that keeps losing money is a business or a hobby.

A court case may not have to leave Roanoke at all. Both the Tax Court and the federal district court hear cases in the city.

At Whiteford Tax Defense, we represent individuals, business owners and closely held companies through every stage of a dispute, from the first notice to appeals and litigation. Tax deadlines can force quick decisions, so get in touch early. When we talk, have the notice in front of you. We work back from its deadline and explain what your options may be, before you commit to hiring anyone.

Get directions 10 S Jefferson Street, Suite 1110 By appointment only. to the Roanoke office (opens Google Maps in a new tab)

Common matters we see here

Local regulators & venues

U.S. District Court, Western District of Virginia (Roanoke Division)

The Roanoke Division sits in the Poff Federal Building on Franklin Road. It covers Alleghany, Botetourt, Carroll, Craig, Floyd, Franklin, Giles, Henry, Montgomery, Patrick, Pulaski, and Roanoke counties. It also covers Covington, Galax, Martinsville, Radford, Roanoke, and Salem. Federal criminal tax prosecutions and refund suits that arise in this area are heard here.

U.S. Tax Court

Roanoke is one of two designated places of trial in Virginia; Richmond is the other. The Court has no permanent courtroom here, so it holds sessions from time to time. Since September 8, 2026, regular and small cases can both be heard at any place of trial. To ask for Roanoke, you submit Tax Court Form 5, a separate Request for Place of Trial, with the petition. The request states a preference, not a promise. If you file no request, the IRS designates the place instead.

U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Virginia

Its main office is in Roanoke. It prosecutes federal crimes that arise in the district, including tax crimes investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation. Under the court's local rules, an indictment is filed in the division where the conduct allegedly took place. So a case about conduct in the Roanoke Valley is ordinarily filed in the Roanoke Division.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

This court sits in Richmond and takes appeals from the Roanoke Division. It also takes Tax Court appeals from people and companies based in Southwest Virginia. That puts both federal trial courts in Roanoke under the same appeals court. The Tax Court follows the precedent of whichever circuit an appeal would reach, a practice called the Golsen rule. A Fourth Circuit ruling squarely on point therefore governs a Roanoke taxpayer's Tax Court case. That holds even where the Tax Court has ruled differently for taxpayers elsewhere.

Circuit Court of the City of Roanoke

The 23rd Judicial Circuit covers the City of Roanoke, the City of Salem, and Roanoke County.

Railroad pay and retirement benefits

Railroad work has its own federal payroll tax. Railroad employers and their employees pay Railroad Retirement Tax Act taxes in place of FICA's Social Security and Medicare taxes. These taxes are reported on Form CT-1. The railroad retirement taxes an employer withholds are trust fund taxes, like any others.

The Railroad Retirement Board has a field office in Roanoke for rail workers and retirees across Southwest Virginia. Their retirement benefits are taxed under rules of their own, in two parts, as the FAQs below explain. If a return doesn't match the forms the IRS receives, the IRS may send a CP2000 notice proposing changes.

Local employers and farms

Healthcare and manufacturing are big parts of Roanoke's economy, and farming runs through the counties around the city. Employers in all three withhold income tax and their workers' share of Social Security and Medicare from wages. They hold that money in trust until they deposit it. If a responsible owner or officer willfully fails to pay it over, the IRS can assess the trust fund recovery penalty against them personally.

Farms add two more federal issues. First, a farm reports farmworkers' wages on Form 943, not Form 941. Second, if a farm loses money year after year, the IRS may ask whether it is run for profit. The hobby loss rules set the test, and the FAQs below apply it to a Franklin County farm.

Tax cases in Roanoke's federal courts

Most IRS work happens by phone, by mail and through the Independent Office of Appeals, not in a courtroom. None of it needs a lawyer who is physically in Roanoke. The location of the courts matters once a dispute moves past Appeals.

At that point you choose between two paths, and both can run through Roanoke. In the Tax Court, you can contest a deficiency, meaning tax the IRS says you still owe, before paying it. Or you can pay first, file a refund claim, and then bring a refund suit in the Roanoke Division. Choose with care, and usually long before Appeals is done with your case.

Divisible taxes work differently. That group covers the trust fund recovery penalty as well as employment taxes. For a divisible tax, only the amount attributable to one employee in one quarter has to be paid up front, rather than the whole assessment.

Either way, a Roanoke taxpayer has an unusually short list of trips. The district court is here. A Tax Court case designated for Roanoke will ordinarily be tried here too. But the Court works on periodic calendars and sits only where suitable facilities are available, so it may move a trial to a reasonably close city. Even then, the trip is much shorter than most of the country faces.

Cities, towns and counties we serve

We represent clients from Roanoke, Salem and Roanoke County, and from Botetourt and Franklin counties. In the New River Valley, our clients include people and businesses in Blacksburg, Christiansburg and Radford. We also serve Martinsville, Covington, Galax and Lynchburg.

Lynchburg is served from this office, but it sits in a different federal division. The Western District's local rules place the city in the Lynchburg Division. So a refund suit by a Lynchburg resident is filed there, not in Roanoke. The same goes for an indictment over conduct alleged to have occurred in Lynchburg.

Because IRS practice is federal, it does not matter if IRS staff in another state handle your examination. We can also help if you have returns to file in Maryland, the District of Columbia, or other states with a Whiteford office.

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.

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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.

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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.

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A note on admissions Federal tax matters are handled nationwide, including IRS examinations, appeals, collection, and Tax Court litigation. Virginia state and local tax matters are handled together with Whiteford attorneys admitted in Virginia, or with co-counsel where a matter requires it.

Why taxpayers choose Whiteford

  • Roanoke is one of only two cities in Virginia where the U.S. Tax Court sits; the federal district court is also here.
  • Our tax practice is part of a full-service firm that dates to 1933, with corporate, employment, bankruptcy, and white collar colleagues in house.
  • Some problems are better handled elsewhere, and some do not need a lawyer; when yours is one of them, we will tell you.

Frequently Asked Questions

I retired from the railroad. Why does the IRS treat my benefits as two kinds of income?
Because the tax rules split them into two groups. The part of tier 1 equal to what Social Security would have paid is taxed as a Social Security benefit. It is reported on Form RRB-1099. The rest of tier 1, tier 2, and any vested dual benefit or supplemental annuity are taxed like payments from an employer pension plan. They are reported on Form RRB-1099-R. Each group has its own rules for how much is taxable. So a return can include every dollar and still reach the wrong figure.
The IRS sent me a CP2000 notice about my railroad retirement. What should I do?
The notice calls for a reply by the date shown on it. The IRS compares returns with the forms it receives, and a mismatch can bring a CP2000 that proposes changes. In your reply, say whether you agree or disagree, and include supporting documents. The Railroad Retirement Board's field office in Roanoke can supply copies of your RRB forms.
The IRS says the losses from our Franklin County farm come from a hobby. What will it weigh?
Whether the farm is run to make a profit, judged on all the facts and not the losses alone. No single factor decides it. The factors in the regulations include whether the farm is run like a business, with complete and accurate books. They also include the owners' time, farming knowledge and the advice they seek. Others are whether the land and other assets are expected to rise in value, the history of income and losses, and how much of the activity is personal pleasure.
Our Franklin County farm has made a profit in some years. Can that help show it is a business?
It can. The tax code presumes a profit motive if the farm shows a profit in at least three of five consecutive years. For breeding, training, showing, or racing horses, it is two years out of seven. The farm's books and records bear on this and on most other factors, so start with them.
Can my Tax Court case be tried here in Roanoke?
Yes. Roanoke and Richmond are Virginia's two designated places of trial. You request one by filing a separate Request for Place of Trial along with the petition. There is no permanent courtroom in Roanoke. Sessions are scheduled from time to time, and the notice of trial gives the address. The Court's published calendars list Richmond and Roanoke together as one two-city session. The Winter 2026 and Winter 2027 terms each carried one, a hybrid session hearing both regular and small cases.
My Tax Court case is set for Richmond. Could it be heard in Roanoke instead?
Possibly, if you ask early. Since September 8, 2026, regular cases as well as small ones may request any place of trial. In a pending case, that takes a motion to change the place of trial, stating your reasons. A motion filed after the notice setting the case for trial has been served may be treated as dilatory and denied. The exception is a reason that arose afterward, or a good reason for the delay.
Can I meet an attorney in person in downtown Roanoke?
Yes, by appointment at our Jefferson Street office. Call ahead, and we will set aside time to go over the notice with you. That said, we handle many matters entirely by phone, video and secure document exchange. Clients across Southwest Virginia often never need to come downtown.
I have a letter from the IRS. What happens when I call the Roanoke office?
The call starts with the notice or letter, so have it nearby. We figure out what kind of notice it is and which deadline applies. Then we walk you through the realistic paths forward. We need only the notice and the tax years involved, not the rest of the file. If the matter carries criminal exposure, or the deadline is only a few weeks out, we say so on that call, not afterward.
Can I get more time to answer an IRS letter?
It depends on the letter. After a statutory notice of deficiency, the law gives you 90 days to petition the Tax Court. Nobody can extend them. A proposed examination change is different: its 30 day window is administrative. The IRS extends that window as a matter of routine. Letting it lapse does not cost you the right to go to the Tax Court after the notice of deficiency arrives. Call early either way, since the options narrow considerably after a deadline passes.

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Michael March
Michael March
Partner, Co-Chair Tax Section
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