Gwendolyn A. Ewing - Page 6




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          liable for any unpaid tax or any deficiency (or any portion of              
          either)”.  (Emphasis added.)  Congress did not limit equitable              
          relief under section 6015(f) to situations where a deficiency has           
          been asserted.  H. Conf. Rept. 105-599, at 254-255, 1998-3 C.B.             
          747, 1008-1009.  However, a prerequisite for relief under section           
          6015(f) is that relief is not available under section 6015(b) or            
          (c), which deal with deficiency situations.  Sec. 6015(f)(2);               
          Fernandez v. Commissioner, 114 T.C. at 330-331.  Thus, in every             
          case where the taxpayer submits a request to the Commissioner for           
          relief under section 6015, and such request includes a claim for            
          relief under section 6015(f), the Commissioner must first examine           
          both subsections (b) and (c) to determine whether relief is                 
          available under those subsections before determining whether                
          relief is available under section 6015(f).  Respondent therefore            
          treated petitioner’s request for relief under section 6015 as an            
          election under section 6015(b), (c), and (f).4                              






               4Respondent’s position is that our holding in Fernandez v.             
          Commissioner, 114 T.C. 324, 331 (2000), requiring an election               
          under sec. 6015(b) or (c), is satisfied by the statutory                    
          requirement that an individual must fail to qualify for relief              
          under sec. 6015(b) and (c) as a prerequisite to being eligible              
          for relief under sec. 6015(f).  Respondent recognizes that                  
          taxpayers who have correctly reported but not paid their tax                
          liabilities can request relief under either sec. 6015(b) or (c)             
          despite the fact that they do not qualify for relief under those            
          subsections.                                                                





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