Recently I assisted a client in preparing his paperwork to file a petition at the U.S. Tax Court. In my emails and letters to him, I emphasized,
Make sure you mail the petition and accompanying documents by the deadline using certified mail, return receipt requested.
He did, and even if somehow his petition gets lost, he will have a valid Tax Court petition.
The TaxProf Blog has another story of a taxpayers who was a day late and a dollar (or, in this case, potentially $50,000) short. The taxpayer had a deadline for his Tax Court filing of October 5th. He used UPS to send his petition, but the tracking receipt shows he sent it on October 6th. The petition is dated October 6th.
The IRS petitioned the Tax Court to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction. The taxpayer contended that he dropped the petition off at a mail store on the evening of October 5th. The Tax Court noted that it doesn’t matter; it didn’t enter the UPS system until the 6th, and the Tax Court no longer has jurisdiction.
So if you’re approaching the deadline and you’re going to be after the post office closing hours, find a post office that’s open late (in the Los Angeles area, the LAX branch is open late) or find a FedEx office that’s open late (various offices are open to 6:30pm in the L.A. area). But whatever you do, make sure it gets picked up by the deadline or you have just lost your case.
Hat Tip: TaxProfBlog