Discussion:Tax Court Case
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Discussion Forum Index --> Tax Questions --> Tax Court Case
Www.cpa1.biz (talk|edits) said: | 26 June 2007 |
| Do any of you know if someone else other than a lawyer can represent someone in tax court case such as a CPA or an EA?
I just wanted to find this out. Thx | |
| 26 June 2007 | |
| The client can represent him or herself.
There are tax clinics (authorized reps) that will represent lower income taxpayers on a sliding scale. Otherwise, the representative must be admitted to practice before the Tax Court. | |
| 26 June 2007 | |
| You need to be able to practice in tax court. As a CPA, you can further your ability by taking an exam to be able to practice in tax court. As far as I know an EA also can take this exam.... | |
| 26 June 2007 | |
| You don't even have to be a CPA or EA, just pass the tax court exam . In the history of the US, only about 457 people have passed this. | |
| 26 June 2007 | |
| Really Kevin? I thought you had to be able to practice before the IRS to be able to take the exam. The exam is brutal I hear, but very inexpensive....wow you teach me so much!!! | |
| 26 June 2007 | |
| It is the ONLY exam I have ever not passed on the first attempt in my life. I got a passing score on all parts but the ETHICS part. HA. This was 8 or 9 years ago. Haven't tried again because my practice went in another direction (people with money rather than people with problems).
The EA Journal just had an article, only 6 or 7 people passed this past year (exam only given every other year)- about a 2% or 3% passing ratio | |
| 26 June 2007 | |
| hehehehe; don't people with money have problems because they want to keep their money? I have heard that the exam is only $25.00 but again I have heard it is brutal. If anyone can do this with no experience in taxes, what in the world is our tax system going to go to? hehehe | |
| 26 June 2007 | |
| It is highly unlikely that anyone without tax experience could ever pass. I usually ace all tests I've ever taken and I only barely passed 3 parts of this (it was a 4 part test when I took it) and missed the 4th part by 2 or 3 points.
Most are essay questions. You have to know the stuff down pat, you don't have time to look anything up in the IRC - but they give you the IRC just so you can look busy while everyone else is writing from memory. Just because a person is admitted to practice before the tax court doesn't mean you want them to represent you. You only want someone who does it regularly so they will be up on what to do. the cost of the exam is pennies. I spent thousands that year travelling to the various CPE I needed to even get close to passing. | |
Death&Taxes (talk|edits) said: | 26 June 2007 |
| There may be more people in the Baseball Hall of Fame than qualifiers for practice before Tax Court. I admire anyone who made the grade.
Many years ago, I spent several days listening to cases being tried in Tax Court. I also prepared several cases for my boss to argue. What I saw of the members of District Counsel staff was not impressive when arguing before the judges, but my boss also delegated me to talk with them to see if settlement could be reached, and there my impression was different. I suppose the difference was ability to think on your feet. To practice before Tax Court, an attorney must be licensed to practice before the highest court in his state, or at least that is what I recall in the mid-1980s. | |
| 26 June 2007 | |
| Yeah D&T; attorney's have a tougher time applying to practice before tax court than the poor old slob here in real life.
THE MORE I KNOW, THE MORE I KNOW THAT I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING....that is scary!!! | |
Www.cpa1.biz (talk|edits) said: | 26 June 2007 |
| Interestin stuff almanacers. Thanks for the info. | |
| 26 June 2007 | |
| In other words, if you want to represent others before the Tax Court, the easiest route is to go to law school, pass the state bar, and be licensed by the highest court within your state...
Interestingly, the bar exam passing rate in my particular class was about 90-something %. | |
| 27 June 2007 | |
| IRC §7452 says that no one shall be denied admission to practice before the Tax Court because of his/her failure to be a member of any profession or calling.
The exam is given every other year in November in Washington, DC . 4 hours of "terror". :) I think that actually less than 300 people have passed since 1942 when the exam went into effect. Two members of NAEA offer courses in preparing for the exam. There may be others who also offer preparation for the test???? | |
Death&Taxes (talk|edits) said: | 27 June 2007 |
| Then your Dad belongs in a Hall of Fame!!!! | |
| 27 June 2007 | |
| Discussion:Tax court examination for admissions. As I recall, Riley has done much representation in TC. | |
| 27 June 2007 | |
| After reading the info on this website, I'm pretty sure I'd fail the Tax Court exam miserably with my current knowledge. | |
Death&Taxes (talk|edits) said: | 27 June 2007 |
| Even if I could answer every question, without a laptop to use, no one would be able to read my answers. I can't read my own handwriting; how could I expect anyone else to do so. | |
| 27 June 2007 | |
| haha...Well D&T, if there's any truth to the rumor you'll have a bunch of Georgetown LLM students grading your exam. | |
Death&Taxes (talk|edits) said: | 27 June 2007 |
| Seriously, back when we did them by hand, a client called me from IRS Office Audit. He went in himself, but neither he nor the auditor could read many of my words, and were unsure about some numbers in a long list. "Is this word 'parking?' "No sir, it looks like painting." | |
| 27 June 2007 | |
| I guess you must have missed your true calling of medicine!
BTW, I have total respect for all of you who learned your trade before widespread use of computers and online research. I can't imagine not being able to use Checkpoint etc. | |
| 27 June 2007 | |
| No person can read my writing either D&T. I took Russian in high school and lo and behold after 3 years of this language, I tend to write in a hybrid form. My n's look like r's and my s's look like God only knows what!!
Funny how I have even written letters to my bf and even my own family and they can't read them!! So now I use notepad or word to type letters...hehehe | |
| 27 June 2007 | |
| What most practitioners don't realize is that MANY tax pros regularly prepare Tax Court petitions for their clients and you do NOT have to be a Tax Court practitioner or an attorney to handle a Tax Court case before the IRS Appeals division. I have handled at least 50 cases that could have gone to Tax Court had we not settled with Appeals and IRS wants to settle these cases in Appeals. In other words, read this article by CPA Jay Starkman:
http://www.starkman.com/taxcourt/petition.html Jay also rhetorically asks "Is filing a Tax Court petition considered unauthorized practice of law? Probably not, for the limited purpose of preserving a client’s appeal rights when the nonattorney will not represent his client in court." I concur with his opinion. | |
| 28 June 2007 | |
| I thought the article was very one sided toward CPAs, but considering where it was published one can understand the bias. | |
Death&Taxes (talk|edits) said: | 28 June 2007 |
| I have prepared a number of Tax Court petitions also, and have worked with a probate lawyer who can practice before Tax Court on several. The cases were all settled before date of trial. My lawyer friend knows little tax, but serves as recipient for mail and a contact. Last time we did this was six or seven years ago. All of these were small cases. In complex matters, I send clients to a tax attorney. | |
