Brian H. McLane v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

When the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) determines a taxpayer owes more than reported on a return, it may mail a notice of deficiency to the taxpayer. Upon receipt of such notice, the taxpayer may petition the Tax Court to redetermine the deficiency. If the Tax Court finds there is no deficiency and the taxpayer instead overpaid, it may determine the amount of such overpayment and ultimately order a refund to the taxpayer. When a taxpayer does not receive notice, however, the deficiency is summarily assessed by the IRS. Before the IRS collects that assessed tax liability, it must mail notice to the taxpayer who did not receive notice of the deficiency, and the taxpayer may contest the existence and amount of the “underlying tax liability for any tax period,” 26 U.S.C. § 6330(c)(2)(B), in an appeals hearing reviewable by the Tax Court. Question: In a review of an appeals hearing pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 6320 or § 6330, does the United States Tax Court have jurisdiction to determine the amount of any overpayment due a taxpayer who never received a notice of deficiency?