- 10 - liable for any unpaid tax or deficiency and he does not qualify for relief under section 6015(b) or (c). The Court reviews the IRS’s denial of innocent spouse relief under section 6015(f) for abuse of discretion. See Butler v. Commissioner, 114 T.C. 276, 292 (2000). Under the abuse of discretion standard, the Court must determine whether the IRS exercised its discretion arbitrarily, capriciously, or without sound basis in fact when it denied the requested relief. Id. The Court’s review is limited, and the Court cannot substitute its judgment for that of the IRS and determine whether in the Court’s opinion it would have granted relief. See Patton v. Commissioner, 116 T.C. 206 (2001); Collectors Training Inst., Inc. v. United States, 96 AFTR 2d 2005-6522, 2005-6526, 2005-2 USTC par. 50,626, at 89,727 (N.D. Ill. 2005) (stating that an abuse of discretion “‘means something more than’ the court’s belief that it would ‘have acted differently if placed in the circumstances confronting the’” Appeals officer) (quoting Johnson v. J.B. Hunt Transp., Inc., 280 F.3d 1125, 1131 (7th Cir. 2002)). To guide IRS employees in exercising their discretion, the Commissioner has issued revenue procedures that list the factors they should consider; the Court also uses the factors when reviewing the IRS’s denial of relief. See Washington v. Commissioner, 120 T.C. 137, 147-152 (2003); Rev. Proc. 2003-61,Page: Previous 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 NextLast modified: March 27, 2008