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IRS disputes for Hampton Roads families and businesses, and the federal tax rules for service members, military spouses, and reservists.

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For military households in Virginia Beach and across Hampton Roads, service can change an IRS deadline, the tax owed, or how the IRS collects. Combat zone service pauses many IRS deadlines for the service member, and generally for the spouse at home too. Permanent change of station (PCS) orders can stretch the time limit for the home-sale exclusion. A reservist recalled to active duty may be able to defer collection of income tax owed from civilian life.

From Virginia Beach to Williamsburg, Whiteford Tax Defense represents service members and their families, business owners, closely held companies, and other individuals in federal tax disputes. Our tax attorneys handle each dispute from the first IRS notice through appeals and litigation.

Tax deadlines can be unforgiving, so the first conversation matters. Our team will go over the notice you received, whether an IRS examination letter or other correspondence, and explain your options before you decide on a lawyer.

Get directions 249 Central Park Avenue, Suite 300-91 By appointment only. to the Virginia Beach office (opens Google Maps in a new tab)

Common matters we see here

Local regulators & venues

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia (Norfolk Division)

This division sits in Norfolk. It hears federal tax cases arising in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, and Suffolk. They include refund suits and federal criminal tax prosecutions. Isle of Wight County, home to Smithfield, and Accomack and Northampton counties on the Eastern Shore also belong to this division.

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia (Newport News Division)

This division covers Hampton, Newport News, and Williamsburg, plus Gloucester, James City, Mathews, and York counties. It holds court at 2400 West Avenue in Newport News. The court's local rules require a civil case to be filed in the division where venue is proper. So a refund suit by a resident of those places belongs here, not in Norfolk.

U.S. Tax Court

No city in Hampton Roads is a Tax Court place of trial. The court's two Virginia places of trial are Richmond and Roanoke. A Virginia Beach petitioner who wants an in-state hearing asks for Richmond on a separate Request for Place of Trial. It is filed along with the petition, not written into it. Choosing a trial city does not change which court hears an appeal.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

Appeals from both local divisions go to this court in Richmond. A Tax Court appeal goes to the circuit of your legal residence when you petitioned. Under its Golsen rule, the Tax Court follows that circuit's settled law. For a household that makes its home here, that is the Fourth Circuit. A sailor stationed at Naval Station Norfolk with legal residence in Florida or Texas may be tried in Richmond under Eleventh or Fifth Circuit law. So cases on one Richmond calendar can be decided under different circuits' law.

Bases and cities across Hampton Roads

Every branch of the armed forces is represented in Hampton Roads. Naval Air Station Oceana, its Dam Neck Annex, and Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek–Fort Story are in Virginia Beach. Naval Station Norfolk sits at Sewell's Point, and Joint Base Langley–Eustis is split between Hampton and Newport News.

We work with clients in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg, Smithfield, and the Eastern Shore. Because IRS work is federal, we also represent Hampton Roads clients whose examinations run from IRS offices in other states. The same goes for clients from Virginia who now have filing obligations in Maryland, the District of Columbia, or another place where the firm has offices.

Tax rules written for the armed forces

These federal tax rules can apply to military households here:

  • A pay exclusion for service members in a combat zone
  • IRS deadlines that pause during combat zone service and after it
  • A longer look-back period for selling a home rented out after PCS orders
  • A moving-expense deduction for PCS moves, which most civilians have lost
  • Collection deferral for reservists recalled while owing the IRS from civilian life

The questions below explain the combat zone, PCS, and reservist rules in more detail.

Taking an IRS dispute to court

Most IRS work happens by mail and phone, not in a courtroom. Where you live may start to matter if a dispute goes beyond Appeals.

From there, two main routes lead to court. The U.S. Tax Court hears a deficiency case before you pay the tax, but the trial is held in Richmond. A refund suit can be heard closer to home, in Norfolk or Newport News. But first you must pay the tax and file a refund claim with the IRS.

Paying the tax generally means paying the full assessment. The exception is a divisible tax, like the trust fund recovery penalty. For such a tax, you can sue after paying the amount for one employee for one quarter.

Make that choice of court with care, ideally well before Appeals closes your file.

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

  • A full-service firm operating since 1933, with colleagues on staff in employment, corporate, bankruptcy, and white collar practice.
  • Virginia state and local tax matters that have reached the Supreme Court of Virginia.
  • If your issue is better served elsewhere, or does not require a lawyer, we will say so.

Frequently Asked Questions

My spouse's ship left Norfolk for the Red Sea, and we have received a notice of deficiency. Is the 90-day clock running?
Not while the ship is in the Red Sea, and not for 180 days after it leaves. The Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Gulf of Aden are all in the Arabian Peninsula combat zone. Combat zone service pauses many IRS deadlines, including those to petition the Tax Court or request a collection due process hearing. Because this notice came after the ship entered the zone, all 90 days start after the 180 end. The pause generally covers the spouse at home too, whether you file jointly or separately.
Is my spouse's military pay taxed while the ship from Norfolk is in the Red Sea?
Some or all of it can be excluded from income. Enlisted members and warrant officers exclude all military pay for any month with even one day in the combat zone. A commissioned officer's exclusion has a monthly cap. The exclusion is the service member's alone: a spouse at home shares the deadline relief, not the pay exclusion. The IRS may send a notice before it learns of a deployment. Give it a record of the dates of service.
We rented out our Virginia Beach house after PCS orders and are now selling it years later. Has the home-sale exclusion expired?
Not necessarily. The usual test covers the five years before the sale. You must have owned the house and lived in it as your main home for two of them. A service member or spouse can choose to suspend that window for up to ten years during qualified official extended duty. That means orders for more than 90 days, or with no end date. The duty station must be at least 50 miles away, or you must live in government quarters. The choice covers one property at a time.
When we sell the Virginia Beach house we rented out after PCS orders, is any of the gain still taxed?
Some can be. Gain equal to the depreciation for the rental years cannot be excluded, even depreciation you were entitled to but did not claim. If the orders came before you reached two years in the house, a reduced exclusion may still be available. A sale reported on Form 1099-S belongs on your return even when none of the gain is taxable. Leaving it off can prompt an IRS mismatch notice. The military choice to suspend the five-year test is made on the return for the year of sale.
I have been recalled from the reserves and still owe the IRS from civilian life. What does the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act change?
It may let you defer collection of the income tax, or cap its interest. The IRS treats your ability to pay as materially affected if your military pay is below what you earned right before the recall, after costs the service creates. You can then ask in writing to defer collection until as late as 180 days after release. The deferred tax draws no interest or penalty. A spouse on a joint return gets the same deferral. The IRS's time to collect pauses for your service plus 270 days.
Can every recalled reservist defer an IRS debt under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act?
Not always. The IRS grants deferral only for an initial period of service. That includes a recall from an inactive reserve or National Guard unit after a year or more out of military service. If deferral is denied, a tax debt from before active duty still gets a capped interest rate while you serve. For that cap, the IRS must receive a copy of your orders no later than 180 days after release.
Do you meet with clients at the Virginia Beach office?
Yes, by appointment. If you would rather meet in person, call ahead and we will set a time at the Central Park Avenue office. Many matters never need a meeting. We handle them by phone, video call, and secure document exchange. Clients across Hampton Roads often never have to come in.
What should I expect on my first call?
Find the notice or letter the IRS sent you, and keep it nearby when you call. We read it with you to see what it is and how long you have to act. Then we explain the realistic ways forward. The rest of your file can wait; the notice and the tax years it names are enough to start. You will hear before the call ends if we see criminal exposure or a deadline inside a few weeks.
A deadline on my IRS notice is a few weeks off. Is it too late for help?
In most cases, yes. The 30-day deadline to answer a proposed examination change is administrative. The IRS often extends it on request for reasonable cause, but do not count on that. The statute gives you 90 days from a notice of deficiency to petition the Tax Court. The Tax Court treats that limit as jurisdictional and will not extend it. Several courts of appeals have held it can be equitably tolled in narrow circumstances; the Fourth Circuit has not ruled. Call early. If a deadline has passed, call anyway.
Do I need a Virginia attorney to handle an IRS problem?
Not necessarily. Practice before the IRS is federal, and state bar admission does not limit it. So we can handle an examination or an Appeals conference from anywhere. Virginia admission does matter in Virginia state and local tax disputes, in the Virginia circuit courts, and in the Eastern District of Virginia.

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Michael March
Michael March
Partner, Co-Chair Tax Section
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