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12-month period. Sec. 6015(c)(3)(A)(i). Relief under section
6015(c), like relief under section 6015(b), requires an
affirmative election by the taxpayer, sec. 6015(a)(2), and the
presence of a deficiency, e.g., sec. 6015(c)(1) (an individual
who makes the separate liability election is liable for a
“deficiency which is assessed with respect to the [joint] return
* * * [in an amount not to exceed] the portion of such deficiency
properly allocable to the individual”). Third, section 6015(f)
authorizes the Secretary to grant equitable relief from joint
liability when neither of the first two types of relief is
available. Relief under section 6015(f), which the conferees
referred to as “equitable relief”, H. Conf. Rept. 105-599, supra
at 251, 1998-3 C.B. at 1005, was not available under former
section 6013(e). In contrast with the other two types of relief,
equitable relief does not require the presence of a deficiency.
Petitioner’s petition to this Court is a “stand alone”
petition, Fernandez v. Commissioner, 114 T.C. 324, 329 (2000),
that was filed under section 6015(e)(1) seeking only equitable
relief under section 6015(f). By virtue of the fact that her
1995 joint return did not generate a deficiency, petitioner does
not qualify for, nor has she ever sought, modified innocent
spouse relief or the separate liability election under section
6015(b) and (c), respectively. This case is the first instance
where this Court has decided whether section 6015(e) allows the
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