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section 7502. Section 7502(a)(1) provides that if a document is
delivered to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at the proper
address after its due date by U.S. mail, then in certain
circumstances the date of postmark shall be the date of delivery.
Section 7502(c) and accompanying regulations provide that use of
registered mail or certified mail provides prima facie evidence
that the document was delivered, and that the date of
registration or the date of the U.S. postmark on the certified
mail receipt is the postmark date. Here, petitioner has not
offered any evidence of postmark. In addition, petitioner did
not take the added and, in this case, necessary precaution of
having it sent by registered or certified mail.3
Notwithstanding section 7502, when a taxpayer does not have
documentary evidence that a form was mailed, we, and certain
other federal courts, have in particular circumstances allowed
indirect evidence to prove that the form was mailed. See Estate
of Wood v. Commissioner, 92 T.C. 793 (1989), affd. 909 F.2d 1155
(8th Cir. 1990); see also Anderson v. United States, 966 F.2d 487
(9th Cir. 1992). It is well settled that pursuant to the common
law mailbox rule, proper mailing of an envelope creates a
rebuttable presumption of receipt. Rosenthal v. Walker, 111 U.S.
3 Petitioner did provide a certified mail receipt dated
June 23, 1992, for a document sent to the IRS in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, a year later than petitioner claims he filed his
original return.
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