New Tax Court Location in Orlando
This week, the United States Tax Court announced that they are adding five new locations for the Tax Court. For tax practitioners in central Florida, we are happy to see that one of the new locations will be here in Orlando! The Tax Court has already updated their Form 5 to reflect that Orlando is available as a choice for place of trial. Although most of the work for a Tax Court case is done remotely, there is still the potential that a case may require an in-person trial. It is much easier for people who live in Orlando and the surrounding counties to attend a trial in downtown Orlando than to travel to Tampa or Jacksonville.
Having a Tax Court location here in Orlando will help many taxpayers have more access to the Tax Court. I receive many calls from people who are unsure about filing a case in Tax Court because of the resources that may be required to pursue the case. I have encountered many taxpayers who did not realize that filing a Petition in response to a Notice of Deficiency is their most cost effective way to contest a tax assessment from the IRS. After they miss the filing deadline, they end up spending more time and money trying to work through the administrative processes to correct the tax they owe. I hope that taxpayers in Orlando seize the opportunity to file a Tax Court Petition and have their case heard in their hometown.
In addition, Orlando was a wise choice for a new Tax Court location because it is one of the five locations where the IRS holds its annual Nationwide Tax Forum. The Nationwide Tax Forum provides tax practitioners with three to four days of continuing education courses, as well as opportunities for networking and learning about new resources. I recently attended the Nationwide Tax Forum as a vendor and I had conversations with many tax practitioners from here in central Florida and from all over the country. The addition of a new location for the Tax Court here in Orlando will help Orlando become a more prominent city in the tax industry. I look forward to seeing more taxpayers have access to the Tax Court.