Tax Court Lawyers in Friendswood

Tax Courts serve the same purpose as any other court: they're there to resolve legal disputes in a fair and orderly fashion. Tax courts are simply specialized to take tax disputes.

Normally, legal issues concerning one's obligation to pay their federal income taxes will be resolved in tax court. Because of this, the U.S. tax courts have at least one courthouse in every single state and territory in the U.S., and there are many locations in each of the larger states. This means that there is almost certainly a tax court in or near Friendswood, Texas

Federal tax court is the place to litigate all disputes arising out of tax law, if the relevant tax obligations has not already been paid. While other federal courts, such as the U.S. District Court or the Court of Federal Claims, can hear tax matters, they can only hear tax cases after the tax has been paid.

Tax Court Procedure in Friendswood, Texas

Tax law claims can arise out of any disagreement having to do with one's legal obligation to pay their taxes in Friendswood, Texas. Most often, they occur when the IRS alleges that a taxpayer has not paid all of the taxes that they owe, and the taxpayer disagrees. The court has to resolve this dispute.

U.S. Tax Court judges are appointed by the President. Their terms of office are legally set at 15 years. However, the vast majority of tax court judges are simply appointed again when their terms run out, and there is no limit on the number of 15-year terms they can serve. As a practical matter, therefore, Tax Court judges effectively serve life terms.

Tax courts in the U.S. have a few unique features. Perhaps most notably, people who are not admitted to practice law in Texas, or in any other jurisdiction, are authorized to represent clients in tax court. However, non-lawyers must take, and pass, a fairly difficult exam to demonstrate that they have an in-depth understanding of U.S. tax law. If someone is already a lawyer, however, they can practice before a tax court without taking this exam.

Usually, when the IRS sends a taxpayer in Friendswood, Texas a notice of deficiency, indicating that they owe back taxes, the taxpayer has 90 days to file a claim in federal tax court to dispute this notice. If a claim is not filed in a timely manner, the taxpayer could lose his or her right to contest the tax bill at issue.

Do I Need a Friendswood, Texas Tax Attorney?

As mentioned earlier, federal law lets some non-attorneys practice before U.S. Tax Courts. But tax law can be extremely complex, and the practice of this area of law is highly specialized - so much so that most lawyers who practice tax law do not practice in any other field.

If you have to go to tax court for whatever reason, you should almost certainly speak with a brilliant tax attorney in Friendswood, Texas. Even though some non-lawyers are technically permitted to represent you in tax court, there are distinct advantages to hiring a lawyer, even if a non-attorney can provide you with competent representation. The main advantage is the fact that all attorneys are tightly regulated by their state bar associations, and if they botch your case, you may have more legal recourse against an attorney than you would against a non-attorney.