Question 1

The Tax Court hears cases only if the tax has been assessed or paid.

Accepted Answer

A taxpayer does not have to pay the tax before petitioning the Tax Court.

Question 2

Taxpayers may request a determination letter from the National Oﬃce of the IRS.

Accepted Answer

Taxpayers may request a determination letter from the District Director.

Question 3

A jury trial is allowed in the Tax Court.

Accepted Answer

A jury is not allowed in the Tax Court, only in the District Court.

Question 4

The U.S. Tax Court is an independent judicial body that has no connection with the Internal Revenue Service.

Accepted Answer

The U.S. Tax Court is an independent judicial body that hears disputes between taxpayers and the IRS, and is not part of the IRS.

Question 5

The Tax Court is less likely to be lenient in its enforcement of the rules of evidence than the District Court or the Court of Federal Claims.

Accepted Answer

The Tax Court is more likely to be lenient in its enforcement of the rules of evidence

Question 6

A notice of deﬁciency received by a taxpayer from the Internal Revenue Service means that a proposed tax liability has been automatically assessed and the taxpayer can no longer take his or her case to the Tax Court.

Accepted Answer

The taxpayer can still go to the Tax Court.

Question 7

An unenrolled individual may represent his or her regular full-time employer before the Internal Revenue Service.

Accepted Answer

An unenrolled individual may represent his or her regular full-time employer before the Internal Revenue Service, as long as they are not being compensated for their representation.

Question 8

Doris Duncan received a statutory notice of deﬁciency at her residence in Ohio. If she wishes to appeal the deﬁciency to the Tax Court, she may ﬁle a petition at any time within 120 days of the issuance of the notice.

Accepted Answer

Doris Duncan may ﬁle a petition at any time within 90 days of the issuance of the statutory notice of deﬁciency.

Question 9

A practitioner who is an income tax return preparer and who ﬁles a power of attorney with the Internal Revenue Service may receive and endorse a taxpayer's refund check.

Accepted Answer

Endorsing a taxpayer's refund check is not allowed and there is a preparer penalty for doing so.

Question 10

An accountant discovers an error on a client's returns. The accountant must advise the client and the Internal Revenue Service of the error.

Accepted Answer

The accountant should advise the client but not the Internal Revenue Service

Question 11

An individual who is a regular full-time employee of a partnership may represent the partnership before the Internal Revenue Service.

Accepted Answer

According to the IRS, a regular full-time employee of a partnership may represent the partnership in tax matters before the IRS. However, a partner who is not also an employee cannot represent the partnership unless authorized to do so by the partnership.

Question 12

The taxpayer or the Government may appeal decisions of a District Court to the Court of Appeals.

Accepted Answer

Both the taxpayer and the Government have the right to appeal decisions made by the District Court to the Court of Appeals. This is a part of the appeals process in the United States legal system.

Question 13

Determination letters regarding the written qualiﬁcations of an individually designed retirement plan are issued by the Internal Revenue Service's National Oﬃce in Washington.

Accepted Answer

Determination letters are issued by the District Director.

Question 14

The U.S. Supreme Court is not obligated to hear all tax cases that are appealed to it.

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court has discretion over which cases it will hear, including tax cases that are appealed to it.

Question 15

Arnold Ames, a partner in an accounting ﬁrm, discovers that one of his clients omitted a substantial amount of gross income. Arnold should immediately notify his partners and the IRS.

Accepted Answer

It is not the responsibility of an accountant to notify the IRS (see AICPA Statement No. 6).

Question 16

Payment of tax is not necessary to litigate in the District Court.

Accepted Answer

Payment of tax is necessary to litigate in the District Court or the Court of Federal Claims, but not in the Tax Court.

Question 17

An examination of Farley Field's 2012 income tax return resulted in an unagreed deﬁciency of $20,000, and he has requested that his case be heard by the Tax Court under the Small Tax Case procedures. If his case is handled using these procedures, he cannot appeal the decision.

Accepted Answer

This is true according to the rules of the Small Tax Case procedures set by the Tax Court. Once a decision is made under these procedures, it is final and cannot be appealed.

Question 18

Decisions of the Court of Federal Claims are appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Accepted Answer

Decisions of the Court of Federal Claims are ﬁrst appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and then may be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Question 19

The Commissioner of Internal Revenue may appeal an adverse decision of the Tax Court.

Accepted Answer

The Commissioner of Internal Revenue has the right to appeal a decision of the Tax Court to the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Question 20

A claim for refund (Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return) must be ﬁled within three years from the date the return was due or ﬁled, or within two years from the date the tax was paid, whichever is later.

Accepted Answer

A claim for refund must be filed within three years from the date the return was due or filed, or within two years from the date the tax was paid, whichever is later.

Quiz 2: Tax Research, Practice and Procedure