- 8 - status of constituting a binding agreement between petitioners and respondent. Nor did these events provide the basis for an estoppel that would have affected the parties’ rights. Section 71212 permits the Commissioner to enter into binding closing agreements regarding the amount of a taxpayer’s income tax liability. A closing agreement, as provided in section 7121, is the prescribed method for the Commissioner to bind himself to a particular tax liability, and other approaches are generally not approved by the courts. See, e.g., Estate of Meyer v. Commissioner, 58 T.C. 69 (1972); see also sec. 301.6213-1(b)(3), Proced. & Admin. Regs. Respondent’s error in the 30-day letter, followed by petitioners’ payment, by itself did not result in a meeting of the minds or formal agreement. This is especially so here, where respondent clearly communicated the correct amount of the income tax deficiency in subsequent, but contemporaneous, correspondence and in the notice of deficiency. Accordingly, we hold that respondent is not contractually bound to the lesser amount shown on the first page of the 30-day letter. Petitioners’ final argument, in essence, is that the software manufacturer that produces and sells Turbotax is at fault for any tax deficiency determined in this case. 2 Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code as amended and in effect for the period under consideration.Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011