A Matter of Time (And Innocent Spouses)

The Tax Court recently decided a pair of cases related to the innocent spouse provisions of §6015 and time limits on filing for relief.  In the case of Mannella v. Commissioner, 132 T.C. No. 10 the Tax Court held that even if the notice of intent to levy and rights under the innocent spouse provisions were never seen by the taxpayer, the two year period for relief under §6015(b) and (c) that is specifically imposed by statute begin to run.However, the Court held in this case and the earlier case of Lantz v. Commissioner, 132 T.C. No. 8 that the IRS regulation that imposed a similar two year time limit on equitable relief under §6015(f) was invalid, thus allowing the taxpayers to move forward with a claim for equitable relief.The materials for this podcast are at http://www.edzollars.com/2009-04-19_6015.pdf .The podcast is sponsored by Leimberg Information Services, located on the web at http://www.leimbergservices.com .