Doesn’t work in Tax Court, especially if you sent the fax to the IRS and not to the Glasshouse at 400 Second Street, NW. And even if you did send a fax Glasshouse-ward, that’s no good. Only manually-signed “hard copy” need apply.

So Ch J Michael B. (“Iron Mike”) Thornton sends off Veronica Marcardo, Docket No. 26295-14, filed 5/4/15. And Ch J Iron Mike doesn’t even bother with the “pay the tax and sue” language.

Veronica sent a fax from the public library on day 90, and IRS graciously sent her a Letter 4313C, acknowledging receipt thereof.

That doesn’t get it. “She points out that she received a notice (Letter 4313C) … from the Internal Revenue Service thanking her for correspondence…. The Tax Court is separate and independent from the Internal Revenue Service. Thus, the fact that the IRS received correspondence from petitioner… does not establish that petitioner timely mailed her petition to the Tax Court. Also, petitioner’s motion for continuance is in fact a copy of a ‘successful fax transmission’ … purporting to show that 6 pages were sent by fax transmission to 1-877-477-9599…. Consistent with petitioner’s representations, the record reflects that the petition was initially faxed, although the number on the ‘successful fax transmission’ is a fax number for the IRS, not the Tax Court.” Order, at p. 2.

And of course there’s this: “The Court does not accept for filing petitions submitted by fax or other electronic means. Rather, a petition must be filed with the Court in paper form. See Rule 26(b)(1), Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure. Moreover, the petition was apparently faxed to the IRS, not the Tax Court.” Order, at p. 2.

It’s a many-times-told tale, and of course it’s usually told too late to those who need it, and uselessly to those who don’t.

As the old “tombstone” ads in the Wall Street Journal used to say, “This announcement appears as a matter of record.”