This IRM provides guidance and information to assist ATEs in meeting the Appeals mission when working docketed cases.

As stated in IRC 7803(e)(3), Purposes and Duties of Office, the Appeals mission is to resolve Federal tax controversies without litigation on a basis that is fair and impartial to both the Government and the taxpayer, promotes a consistent application and interpretation of, and voluntary compliance with, the Federal tax laws, and enhances public confidence in the integrity and efficiency of the Internal Revenue Service.

Appeals accomplishes its mission by considering protested and Tax Court-docketed cases, holding conferences, and negotiating settlements in a manner which ensures Appeals employees are familiar with and follow the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TBOR) in every interaction with taxpayers.

The TBOR lists rights that already existed in the tax code, putting them in simple language and grouping them into 10 fundamental rights. Employees are responsible for being familiar with and acting in accord with taxpayer rights. See IRC 7803(a)(3), Execution of Duties in Accord with Taxpayer Rights. For additional information about the TBOR, see https://www.irs.gov/taxpayer-bill-of-rights.

In accordance with IRM 25.30.2.3, Statement of Commitment, Appeals will work collaboratively with the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) to enhance the taxpayer experience. For more information, see IRM 25.30.2, Service Level Agreement between the IRS Independent Office of Appeals and the Taxpayer Advocate Service.

Rev. Proc. 2016-22, which supersedes Rev. Proc. 87-24, describes the Appeals process for cases docketed before the United States Tax Court.

The Policy analyst shown on the Product Catalog page as the originator is the assigned author of this IRM.

Policy, Planning, Quality and Analysis (PPQ&A) provides trend and data analyses and detailed summary reports for Appeals.

See IRM Exhibit 8.1.1-1, Common Terms Used in Appeals, for common terms and definitions used in IRM Part 8. Terms listed in this exhibit are not included in this section.

The following table lists commonly used acronyms and their definitions for relevant terms used in this IRM:

This IRM is the primary source of guidance to Appeals on this program. The text of this IRM contains various references to assist employees who work docketed cases.

The Tax Court uses the following identification terms or letters after the docket number to designate different types of docketed cases:

The Tax Court website case listings under the "Docket Search" tab reflect the designated Tax Court docket number, along with the identification terms or letters. You can search cases on the Tax Court website by docket number.

Counsel uses the Tax Litigation Counsel Automated Tracking System (TLCATS), a nationwide computerized case tracking system for docketed and nondocketed cases, which tracks the entire history of a case from opening through closing. TLCATS does not reflect the docket number identification terms or letters used by the Tax Court. Instead, TLCATS uses a separate letter coding system for docketed case type on TLCATS Case Screen 1.

TLCATS uses the following letters after the docket number to identify different types of docketed cases:

No-deficiency and overassessment years are not subject to the Tax Court's jurisdiction.

Appeals may consider a work unit containing both docketed and nondocketed years.

When the petition appears to be untimely, the ATE should immediately contact the Field Counsel attorney assigned the case to discuss the possibility of Counsel filing a motion to dismiss. The original administrative file should be obtained and reviewed prior to filing a motion to dismiss.

A dismissal for lack of jurisdiction may be based on circumstances which favor the taxpayer. For example, a deficiency notice may be determined to be invalid because it was not sent to the taxpayer's last known address.

In docketed Tax Court cases, suits for refund, and bankruptcy cases that are judicial tax proceedings, no power of attorney (POA) is required from a counsel of record (a.k.a. an attorney of record (AOR)). An attorney becomes the petitioner’s counsel of record by filing a petition or refund suit, or by entering an appearance in the case. A counsel of record is authorized to act on behalf of the petitioner in the court proceedings, access the tax information of the person they represent, and represent the taxpayer before the IRS. In a case docketed in the Tax Court, anyone other than the counsel of record must be eligible to practice before the IRS and, in order to be recognized, must present a Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, or other POA plus a declaration.

See the following table for additional information on an AOR:

When a taxpayer is represented by a counsel of record, the ATE should communicate exclusively with the counsel of record. See IRM 8.6.1.4.4(5), Copies of Written Communications. See also 26 C.F.R. Section 601.509.

Appeals cannot request a Technical Advice Memorandum (TAM) or a Technical Expedited Advice Memorandum (TEAM) on any issue if the same issue is involved in a docketed case for any taxpayer for any taxable year. Instead, Appeals requests legal advice from Field Counsel.

TAMs and TEAMs are advice published by the Office of Associate Chief Counsel concerning the interpretation and proper application of the tax law, tax treaties, regulations, revenue rulings, notices or other precedents to a set of specific facts involving a specific taxpayer.

When requesting legal advice in a docketed case, send one information copy of the request for legal advice to the Field Counsel attorney/paralegal assigned to the docketed case and his/her supervisor.

The request must clearly indicate that it involves a docketed case. In docketed cases, do not advise the taxpayer (petitioner) that legal advice was requested.

See IRM 8.6.3, Appeals Rulings, for detailed information on requesting advice.

A new issue in a docketed case is any adjustment to or change to an item that affects the petitioner's tax liability that was not included in the notice of deficiency and is raised or discussed during consideration of the case.

Appeals will not raise a new issue in a docketed case. However, Appeals will consider new issues the government raises in its pleadings, and may consider any new evidence developed by Compliance or Counsel to support the government's position.

Whenever a petitioner raises an issue not previously examined or raised in the petition, the assigned ATE must prepare a brief memorandum to the assigned Field Counsel attorney. Submit the completed memorandum to the ATM to be forwarded to Counsel. The memorandum must:

Advise the petitioner that no settlement discussion will take place with respect to the new issue until the assigned Field Counsel attorney determines whether a formal amendment of the pleadings is needed to raise the new issue pursuant to Tax Court Rule 41(a).

Within 10 business days of receipt of the memorandum from Appeals, the assigned Field Counsel attorney will notify Appeals in writing as to whether Appeals may consider the new issue raised by the petitioner in the absence of a formal amendment to the pleadings.

Where the taxpayer (or representative) offers to make payment of additional tax liability for slush fund or improper payment deductions, or reveals their existence to Appeals for the first time, the ATE will discontinue Appeals’ consideration of the case and immediately contact the assigned Field Counsel attorney.

There are a number of circumstances where Counsel and Appeals may request and provide assistance to each other in the working of docketed cases.

Appeals may request the assistance of Counsel in docketed cases in the same manner as prescribed in IRM 8.2.1.7.1, Assistance from Counsel in Pre-90-Day Cases.

Counsel may request assistance from Appeals during trial preparation of cases in which Appeals developed knowledge and expertise that is beneficial to Counsel. If resources and workloads permit, Appeals assists Counsel as an advisor and, if appropriate, shares in some part of trial preparation.

No settlement offer will be accepted by Appeals where there is a related case in Counsel unless both offices agree that the offer is acceptable.

Disagreements between Appeals and Counsel on whether a settlement offer should be accepted are resolved by the Counsel office to which the responsible Field Counsel attorney is assigned, with the advice and assistance of the ATE’s Appeals Area Director and the Associate Chief Counsel responsible for the issue.

Counsel should review Appeals-proposed statutory notices of deficiency, claim disallowances, and final adverse letters for any case related to a docketed case before such notices or letters are issued to the taxpayer.

In most docketed cases settled by Appeals, an Appeals employee prepares the necessary settlement documents and has these documents executed by the taxpayer or counsel of record.

Appeals will prepare simple settlement documents. For these decision documents, ATEs will use the decision document macro contained in APGolf in ACDS. Once generated by ACDS, the ATE will review the decision document to ensure it is accurate and properly formatted. Typically, the following simple stipulation decision documents are prepared by Appeals:

In complicated settlements, Appeals will ask Counsel to prepare the settlement documents. Complicated situations generally include, but are not limited to, the following:

For cases where Field Counsel is responsible for preparing the decision documents, Field Counsel will:

During an in-person conference, the ATE will prepare settlement documents and seek the necessary signatures, if possible. If not, or when the conference is conducted by any other method, the ATE will mail settlement documents to the petitioner or counsel of record as soon as possible after the conference.

Where unusual or complex circumstances exist, proposed settlements of regular docketed cases are reviewed by the ATM before the settlement documents are forwarded to the petitioner for signing.

To assist Appeals with drafting decision documents for which Appeals is responsible, Counsel has prepared the Appeals Decision Document Guidebook. This comprehensive guidebook offers useful information and guidance about preparing decision documents in Appeals, including relevant formatting requirements. ATEs will review this guidebook and consult it whenever they have questions with respect to drafting, preparing, and formatting decision documents.

Counsel reviews the format and accuracy of all settlement documents prepared by Appeals before filing with the Court.

Taxpayers may report a net operating loss or credit carryback loss as a tentative allowance on Form 1045, Application for Tentative Refund, for individuals, or Form 1139, Corporation Application for Tentative Refund. This is called a tentative allowance or tentative carryback.

Compliance usually secures Form 1045/Form 1139 and places it in the case file along with the return. If the form is not in the case file, the ATE should take steps to secure a copy so an analysis can be made to determine what year the carryback originated and the amount of the carryback allowed.

Further discussion of tentative allowances (Form 1045/Form 1139) is found at IRM 8.17.4.14, Tentative Allowances and Other Carryback Claims in Notice of Deficiency Statement.

Taxpayers may claim a net operating loss or unused credit carryback on an amended return using Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, or Form 1120X, Amended U.S. Corporation Income Tax Return. This is called a claim for credit or refund:

Compliance usually secures Form 1040X or Form 1120X and places it in the case file along with the return. If the form is not in the case file, the ATE should take steps to secure a copy so an analysis can be made to determine what year the carryback originated and the amount of the carryback allowed.

Further discussion of other carryback claims (Form 1040X or Form 1120X) is found at IRM 8.17.4.14, Tentative Allowances and Other Carryback Claims in Notice of Deficiency Statement.

If a taxpayer-husband and taxpayer-wife file an original return prior to submission of a case to court for decision, they will be allowed joint rates if they have not previously filed separate returns.

If the joint return is filed after submission of a case to court for decision, the joint rates will not be allowed.

Submission of a case to court for decision occurs when the case has been either fully stipulated or tried and submitted to the court for opinion and decision. See CCDM 35.1.2, Tax Court Terms and Definitions.

A Form 3623, Statement of Account, may be required for a docketed case. See IRM 8.17.3, Preparing a Statement of Account, for details on when a statement of account is required and how to request one.

Procedures for advance payment remittances in docketed cases are the same as in nondocketed cases. Assessment may be made at any time upon a specific request from Counsel or from the taxpayer.

For details on processing advance payment remittances, see IRM 8.20.6, Interim Actions.

ATEs who process remittances should see IRM 8.7.17, Appeals Remittance Procedures, for more information.

For cases in which the petitioner or AOR accepts electronic delivery, regardless of whether Appeals or Counsel is responsible for drafting the decision document, the ATE will use the Electronic Delivery Method to transmit the decision document and close the case.

After the decision document has been prepared by Appeals or Counsel and uploaded in ACDS, the ATE will gather the settlement computations and decision documents and transmit them to the petitioner or AOR using the agreed-to, IRS-approved method for electronically transmitting documents.

The ATE will await the return of the signed decision document from the petitioner or AOR.

If a properly executed decision document is not received from the petitioner or AOR within 15 business days, the ATE will close the case unagreed for trial preparation. See IRM 8.4.1.16 (2), Closing Docketed Cases, and IRM 8.4.1.18, Docketed Case Not Settled by Appeals – Jurisdiction Released to Counsel.

Upon receipt of a properly executed decision document from the petitioner or AOR, the ATE will confirm that the decision document returned matches the decision document sent to the petitioner or AOR and will upload the original, unaltered file received from the petitioner or AOR in ACDS.

The ATE will then prepare and upload the following documents in ACDS:

The ATE will input ACDS action code AC-FR, which signifies that the case is being submitted to the ATM fully resolved. The ATE will then submit the case, including any paper files, to the ATM for review.

Upon receipt of the case, the ATM will take the following actions:

For cases in which electronic delivery was declined by the petitioner or AOR and for which Counsel is responsible for drafting the decision document, the ATE will use this Letter 1220 Method to transmit the decision documents for signing and close the case.

After Counsel has provided the decision document to the ATE, the ATE will upload the decision document in ACDS (or ensure it has been uploaded in ACDS).

The ATE will then prepare and upload either Letter 1220, Docketed Case Decision Document Transmittal – Deficiency, if the settlement results in a deficiency, or Letter 1220-A, Docketed Case Decision Document Transmittal - No Amount Due, if the settlement results in no amount due. The ATE will list any additional enclosures (e.g., settlement computations) that are included in the mailing to the petitioner or AOR and will ensure that those documents have been uploaded in ACDS.

The ATE will prepare all listed enclosures, including the decision document in triplicate. If mailing to an authorized representative is necessary, the ATE will also prepare Letter 937, Transmittal for Power of Attorney, and include a copy of the Letter 1220 or Letter 1220-A to the petitioner and one copy of each of its enclosures sent to the petitioner.

The ATE will await the return of the signed decision document from the petitioner or AOR.

If a properly executed decision document is not received from the petitioner or AOR within 15 business days, the ATE will close the case unagreed to Counsel for trial preparation. See IRM 8.4.1.16 (2), Closing Docketed Cases, and IRM 8.4.1.18, Docketed Case Not Settled by Appeals – Jurisdiction Released to Counsel.

Upon receipt of a properly executed decision document from the petitioner or AOR, the ATE will confirm that the decision document returned matches the decision document sent to the petitioner or AOR. The ATE will then scan and upload the documents received from the petitioner or AOR in ACDS.

Before submitting the case to the ATM, the ATE will prepare and upload the following documents in ACDS:

The ATE will then enter the AC-FR and submit the case, including any paper files and the executed decision documents, to the ATM for review.

Upon receipt of the case, the ATM will take the following actions:

For cases in which electronic delivery was declined by the petitioner or AOR and for which Appeals is responsible for drafting the decision document, the ATE will use this EZ Close method for closing the case.

Even if a case would qualify to be closed via EZ Close based on paragraph (1), above, EZ Close cannot be used for any cases subject to TEFRA or BBA. Instead, see IRM 8.19.13, Docketed and Department of Justice Cases, and IRM 8.19.14, Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 Procedures, for TEFRA and BBA cases, respectively.

The ATE will prepare the decision document and review it for accuracy and format.

In addition to preparing the decision document, the ATE will also prepare and upload to ACDS, or will ensure that the following documents have been uploaded to ACDS:

To indicate that the case is being closed by EZ Close, the ATE will input feature code EZ.

Before submitting the case to the ATM for closure, the ATE will prepare and upload the following documents in ACDS:

The ATE will enter the AC-FR and submit the case, including any paper files, to the ATM for review.

Upon receipt of the case, the ATM will take the following actions:

When the ATM enters an ACAP date, a new record for STIPFF is generated in APS inventory. An APS PTM assigns each record for processing.

Depending on the presence or absence of the following feature codes at closing, the ATE may have to take the corresponding action:

ATEs may be present at Tax Court calendar trial sessions to consider cases amenable to settlement. Appeals' consideration is requested by Counsel or the Tax Court judge.

ATEs may, with the appropriate approval, in accordance with local procedures, attend trials for cases in which they were involved.

ATEs may also be permitted to attend trials for training purposes.

The Tax Court Calendar program (TAXCAL) is a subsystem of ACDS developed and maintained by Appeals.

The TAXCAL program provides Appeals offices with a method to identify and monitor Tax Court calendar cases and generate Tax Court calendar reports within ACDS.

As soon as a calendar is established, Counsel provides Appeals with an electronic file for each Tax Court Calendar to upload into TAXCAL. Fresno APS is responsible for uploading all Tax Court Calendars onto TAXCAL.

The TAXCAL functionality is menu based and user-friendly. Based upon the permissions of the user, the program allows appropriate functionality.

The TAXCAL permissions levels are as follows:

ACDS' web-based technology allows the program to match a docket number to any case on ACDS, in any Appeals office.

A calendared case input on a Tax Court calendar created in any Appeals office will appear on the appropriate group's or ATE's report.

The TAXCAL program provides the following functionality:

Tax Court Calendars are the responsibility of both the Field Appeals and the Campus Appeals offices.

A TAXCAL report listing all Dockets on the calendar in Docket Number order should be generated by the Field Appeals office and faxed to the Field Counsel responsible for the calendar within five business days of receipt of the calendar. This list shows the name of the ATE assigned to the case and if the case is unassigned or unmatched. The Field Appeals office is responsible for resolving unassigned or unmatched cases.

Appeals provides Field Counsel with periodic calendar status reports. The Appeals office responsible for the calendar generates the report monthly. These calendar status reports are generated from TAXCAL and provide the following information:

The report is forwarded to each Field Counsel responsible for the calendar. Field Counsel updates the list with the name of the attorney/paralegal assigned to the case within two workdays from the date of receipt of the list. Field Counsel delivers or faxes the list back to the Appeals office responsible for the calendar so that the ACDS database can be updated with the corrections. Subsequent lists contain those corrections.

The TAXCAL Users' Manual is posted on the Appeals website on the ACDS page.

The Tax Court may dismiss a case for lack of jurisdiction for a variety of reasons, such as:

Generally, a Tax Court dismissal for lack of jurisdiction does not favor the taxpayer; however, the dismissal can be based on circumstances that do favor the taxpayer. For example, a deficiency notice may be determined to be invalid because it was not sent to the taxpayer's last known address. The Tax Court lacks jurisdiction over a case that is based upon an invalid notice.

Each Appeals office designates an employee with responsibility for review of dismissed cases prior to assessment. In the following circumstances, the ATM considers assigning the case to an ATE and assessing an amount less than the amount shown on the notice of deficiency:

Appeals will not, on its own initiative, contact taxpayers for the purpose of exploring adjustments to the amount of tax determined in the notice of deficiency prior to assessment unless circumstances favor the taxpayer (as described in paragraph (2), above).

As a general rule, unless unusual circumstances exist, if a taxpayer contacts Appeals and requests an adjustment after Appeals has made an assessment and closed the case, the taxpayer is advised to request an audit reconsideration with Compliance.

Appeals gives no further consideration to cases that are dismissed by the Tax Court for lack of prosecution.

Unless there is concern about an imminent statute of limitations, cases in which additional consideration results in a reduced deficiency are closed by simply assessing a reduced amount. If an imminent statute of limitations is involved, it may be necessary to assess the tax reflected in the notice of deficiency and then work the case as an informal claim for abatement.

Charge time to the docketed work unit, and when consideration of the case is complete, close the case on ACDS with the appropriate closing code.

There may be instances in which a taxpayer is successful in having an Order of Dismissal vacated.

In these circumstances, normal consideration by Appeals is appropriate.

The supervisor of the assigned Field Counsel attorney will be invited to participate in preconferences on all docketed team cases.

For additional information on Appeals’ procedures for working team cases, see IRM 8.7.11, Working Appeals Team Cases.

In cases where the liability in personal holding company tax has been established by a decision of the United States Tax Court, but deficiency dividends have not been paid and a Form 976, Claim for Deficiency Dividends Deductions by a Personal Holding Company, Regulated Investment Company, or Real Estate Investment Trust, has not been filed, the ATE will explain to the taxpayer the actions to be taken to assess the tax and how to secure the benefits of IRC 547.

Appeals is not responsible for Joint Committee reports in docketed cases under Counsel's sole jurisdiction. Such reports are prepared and processed by Counsel. Appeals furnishes Counsel additional information with respect to issues on which Appeals obtained agreement. To the extent such information can only be furnished by Compliance, Appeals will so advise Counsel.

For information concerning agreed and unagreed docketed cases that require Joint Committee handling, see IRM 8.7.9, Joint Committee (JC) Cases.

An abatement claim filed on a docketed case will not protect the petitioner unless the issue in the claim is included in the petition.

If an issue on a claim is not included in the petition, advise the petitioner to amend their pleadings to get the issue before the Tax Court.

Do not secure Form 2297, Waiver of Statutory Notification of Claim Disallowance, or issue a notice of claim disallowance on a claim for a year docketed before the Tax Court unless the issue raised in a claim pertains to a carryback which was not put in issue before the Tax Court. In that case, secure a Form 2297 or issue a notice of claim disallowance.

The ATE explains to the taxpayer what is to be done on the claim. They are not required to notify the taxpayer in writing of the disposition.

See IRM 8.7.7, Claim and Overassessment Cases.

Issues docketed under the declaratory judgment provisions of IRC 7476 or IRC 7428 are under Counsel's exclusive jurisdiction, regardless of whether TE/GE or an Appeals office issued the final adverse letter that is being petitioned.

Appeals does not accept cases after certified/registered adverse determination (application denied) letters are issued. Nor does Appeals accept cases that are docketed under Declaratory Judgment procedures, which are identified by the letter "X" for Exempt Organization (EO) cases and "R" for Employee Plan (EP) cases after the docket number. Such cases are under Counsel’s jurisdiction.

See IRM 8.7.8, Tax Exempt and Government Entities (TE/GE) Cases, for additional information when a TE/GE case is docketed.