- 5 -
in the oil well. Accordingly, the 1980 return reflected a net
loss and also contained a claim for a credit or overpayment of
$41,071.72, composed of $2,777.29 withheld from 1980 wages,
$7,294.43 claimed overpayment for 1979, and the $31,000 1980
remittance. Petitioner's 1981 return reflected $3,300 of income,
no tax liability, and overpayment of the same $41,071.72 as
claimed for 1980 and 1982.
OPINION
Although the 1982 taxable year is the one before the Court,
the principal question we must answer is whether petitioner's
$31,000 check remitted to respondent during 1980 was a payment or
deposit. If it was a payment, we are without jurisdiction to
apply it to the 1982 taxable year, over which we have
jurisdiction. If, however, it was made as a deposit during 1980,
then we have jurisdiction to decide whether it can be applied to
the 1982 tax year.
This Court’s jurisdiction is limited to determining the
correct amount of a deficiency for the year(s) before the Court.
Sec. 6214(a); Murphree v. Commissioner, 87 T.C. 1309, 1311
(1986). Section 6214(b), in pertinent part, provides:
The Tax Court in redetermining a deficiency * * * shall
have no jurisdiction to determine whether or not the
tax for any other year or calendar quarter has been
overpaid or underpaid.
We have no jurisdiction to find an overpayment in a year that is
not before the Court.5 Commissioner v. Gooch Milling & Elevator
5 Even assuming, arguendo, that we had jurisdiction over
overpayments in years not before the Court, if the $31,000
(continued...)
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