We’ve seen plenty of cascade cases, where credit elects roll down and down. But Elizabeth White, T. C. Memo. 2024-53, filed 4/29/24 (The End of Palindrome Week), has a cascade of unpaid years, to which were applied the entire payment she now seeks to apply to the year for which she petitions the NITL.

The NITL arises from a Section 6213(b)(1) “math error” notice. So Elizabeth had no opportunity to contest her miscalculation of taxable Social Security (no easy task for a pro se) and overstated withholding for the one year at issue. IRS had told her the $7K she’d previously paid was applied to wipe out one past year and partially-pay another, but left year-at-issue unpaid.

Her petition says she wants to contest all three (count ’em, three) years, but only the last of these is at issue, as IRS has taken no collection action for the others.

Judge Albert G. (“Scholar Al”) Lauber has this one.

There’s no deficiency jurisdiction for a math-error, but a petitioner can backdoor this in a CDP. For more, see my blogpost “Searchin’, Searchin’,” 6/19/17.

However, Elizabeth said at first she didn’t want a collection alternative, but wanted to fight about what payments were applied to all years.

“In sum, petitioner did not properly raise an underlying liability challenge to her [year at issue] tax liability during the CDP hearing. Rather, she contended that her tax for [year at issue] had been paid. That contention did not constitute a challenge to her underlying liability, and the contention in any event was incorrect.” T. C. Memo. 2024-53, at p. 6.

Elizabeth finally said at the CDP she wanted an OIC, but put in no offer.

No abuse of discretion.