Tax Court Lawyers in Midland
Tax Courts serve the same purpose as any other court: they're there to resolve legal disagreements in a fair and orderly fashion. Tax courts are simply specialized to oversee tax disputes.
Typically, legal issues concerning one's requirement 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 various locations in each of the larger states. This means that there is almost certainly a tax court in or near Midland, Texas
The U.S. Tax Court is where disagreements arising under federal tax law are resolved, if the tax debt in question has not already been paid. The U.S. District Court, which is the federal court of general jurisdiction, can only hear tax cases after the tax has been paid. This rule is meant to guarantee that as many tax issues as possible are directly decided in tax court, rather than the overworked District Courts.
Tax Court Procedure in Midland, Texas
Tax court claims in Midland, Texas can arise from any tax conflict, such as when a taxpayer believes that the conclusions of a tax audit were in error, or that they do not owe as much money as the IRS claims that they do.
U.S. Tax Court judges are assigned by the President. Their terms of office are legally set at 15 years. Nonetheless, the vast majority of tax court judges are simply assigned 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, thus, Tax Court judges effectively serve life terms.
U.S. tax courts are distinct in that individuals who are not licensed to practice law in Texas, or any other U.S. jurisdiction, are permitted to represent clients before tax court. Non-lawyers who want to practice before the Tax Court do have to take an exam demonstrating that they have a good familiarity of tax law. Normally, non-lawyers who practice before the tax courts are experienced accountants. However, licensed attorneys can practice before tax courts without taking the special exam.
Normally, when the IRS sends a taxpayer in Midland, 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 Midland, Texas Tax Attorney?
Federal law permits some non-lawyers to represent people before U.S. Tax Courts. Nonetheless, the tax laws are very convoluted. In fact, most tax attorneys don't practice any other area of law.
So, if you need to go to tax court, for whatever reason, you should pursue the counsel of a good tax attorney in Midland, Texas. While a non-lawyer who's licensed to practice before the tax courts may well give you perfectly competent representation, there are still advantages to hiring a lawyer. The main advantage is that lawyers are far more regulated in their profession than most non-lawyers. So, if a tax attorney severely damages your case due to negligence or incompetence, you will have substantial legal recourse against them.