In most instances, you may be eligible to take your case to Tax Court if you don’t reach an agreement at your Appeals conference, or if you don’t want to appeal your case to the IRS Office of Appeals.
If your disagreement with the IRS is over whether you owe additional income tax, estate tax, gift tax, certain excise taxes or penalties related to these proposed liabilities, you can go to the United States Tax Court. You can do this after the IRS issues a formal letter, stating the amounts that the IRS believes you owe. This letter is called a notice of deficiency. You have 90 days from the date this notice is mailed to you to file a petition with the Tax Court (or 150 days if the notice is addressed to you outside the United States). The last date to file your petition will be entered on the notice of deficiency issued to you by the IRS. If you don’t file the petition within the 90-day period (or 150 days, as the case may be), the IRS will assess the proposed liability and send you a bill.
If you don’t choose to go to the IRS Appeals Office before going to court, normally you will have an opportunity to attempt settlement with Appeals before your trial date.
