No, Take 15

See my blogpost “Take Two,” 11/22/23. The Glasshouse in The Stateless City shut its doors for Thanksgiving Day and, as an administrative bonus, kept it shut the Friday, as they did last year. Hence, although unnoticed by all but the fewest, Section 7451(b) gave an early present to Madiodio Sall, 161 T. C. 13, filed 11/30/23.

Even though Madiodio’s unadmitted representative caved when IRS claimed the 90-day cutoff, Judge Ronald l. (“Ingenuity”) Buch investigated Tax Court’s jurisdiction and finds Madiodio’s petition timely.

“Mr. Sall’s deadline for filing a petition would have fallen on Friday, November 25, 2022. The 90th day after the Commissioner mailed the notice of deficiency was Thanksgiving Day, a legal holiday. Section 7503 operates to automatically extend the due date to the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. In this case the resulting deadline would be Friday, November 25, 2022. But we need not resort to section 7503, because the face of the notice of deficiency listed November 25, 2022, as the last day to petition the Court.” 161 T. C.13, at p. 3.

Madiodio missed the 11/25/22 cutoff. But Tax Court took that day off, and the Clerk’s office at 400 Second St., NW, location is a “filing location” within the meaning of Section 7451(b).

“The Petition was due to be filed on Friday, November 25, 2022. The Tax Court building in Washington, D.C., which houses the office of the clerk of the Court, was closed that day. Thus, a filing location was inaccessible that day; the availability of the Court’s electronic filing system is immaterial. The period of inaccessibility was one day. Adding that one day to the additional 14-day tolling period required by section 7451(b)(1) results in extending Mr. Sall’s petition deadline by 15 days from the original due date of his Petition. This shifts the petition due date to no earlier than December 10, 2022. Because that day was a Saturday, the petition deadline shifted even further, to Monday, December 12, 2022. The Court received Mr. Sall’s Petition on December 1, 2022, i.e., before that filing deadline. Thus, his Petition was timely.” 161 T. C. 13, at p. 4.

Poor Antawn Jamal Sanders, 160 T. C. 16, was tossed, because his e-filing was eleven (count ’em, eleven) seconds late, and DAWSON was then working. Madiodio got fifteen (count ’em, fifteen) days for his snailmailer, and who cares if DAWSON was working?

Hey, Supremes, time for some “discipline”?