2025-08-13
In July 2025, the Tax Court published 23 opinions, which included a total of 460 pages. Below are graphs for the month showing: (i) the top 14 code sections referenced, (ii) cases cited 5 or more times, (iii) the number of opinions by judge, and (iv) the number of pages by judge.
I am always interested in learning well-established tax principles. Often, court cases will explicitly indicate that a tax principle is well established or well settled. Or the court may concisely state the holding of a prior case in a parenthetical. Below are excerpts from the July 2025 Tax Court cases referring to these types of principles or holdings.
Arden Row Assets, LLC v. Commr., T.C. Memo. 2025-71. (Goeke)
Dutton v. Commissioner, 122 T.C. 138, 189 (2004) ("A mutual mistake exists where there has been a meeting of the minds of the parties and an agreement actually entered into but the agreement in its written form does not express the actual intention of the parties.")
Davis v. Commr., T.C. Memo. 2025-72. (Fung)
Gyorgy v. Commissioner, 779 F.3d at 477 (rejecting a taxpayer's testimony that he submitted a change-of-address form each time he moved because he failed to provide documentation)
Davis v. Commr., T.C. Memo. 2025-72. (Fung)
Gyorgy v. Commissioner, 779 F.3d at 477 ("[T]he last-known-address inquiry focuses on the information the IRS possessed at the time of mailing.")
Jefferson Property Holdings, LLC v. Commr., T.C. Memo. 2025-75. (Lauber)
It is well established that it is among the duties of Chief Counsel attorneys to advise revenue agents and review their work. See Internal Revenue Manual 33.1.2.7.4 (June 2, 2014) (dealing with Chief Counsel's authority in reviewing notices of deficiency)
Kadau v. Commr., T.C. Memo. 2025-81. (Weiler)
Clougherty Packing Co. v. Commissioner, 811 F.2d 1297, 1300 (9th Cir. 1987) ("In lieu of purchasing insurance, one may elect to self-insure, paying off claims as they arise or setting aside fixed sums into a reserve account to pay off intermittent losses. While insurance premiums are deductible, amounts placed into self-insurance reserves are not . . . . The appropriate starting point of our analysis is the meaning of 'insurance.'")
Kadau v. Commr., T.C. Memo. 2025-81. (Weiler)
Rsrv. Mech. Corp. v. Commissioner, 34 F.4th at 913-16 (upholding finding that microcaptive insurance policies "did not satisfy the requirement that they be insurance in the commonly accepted sense")
Kadau v. Commr., T.C. Memo. 2025-81. (Weiler)
Beech Aircraft Corp. v. United States, 797 F.2d 920, 922 (10th Cir. 1986) (holding that risk shifting occurs only if a party transfers a risk of loss to another party, and if the insured retains the risk of his own loss, the arrangement is self-insurance, which "is not the equivalent of insurance")
Mackland v. Commr., T.C. Memo. 2025-69. (Jenkins)
Scanlon v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2018-51 (collecting cases and concluding that it was not an abuse of discretion to reject an installment agreement on the basis of a lack of financial information)
Mennemeyer v. Commr., T.C. Memo. 2025-80. (Jones)
Harber v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1992-707 (observing that the burden of proof in establishing that the limitation period has expired rests with the taxpayer)
Moxon Corp. v. Commr., 165 T.C. No. 2 (2025). (Goeke)
Laing v. United States, 423 U.S. 161, 170 n.13 (1976) (describing an assessment as "essentially a bookkeeping notation" regarding a taxpayer's account)
Muse v. Commr. (Bench) (Buch)
Steffke's Estate v. Commissioner, 64 T.C. 530 (1975) ("Marriage, its existence and dissolution, is particularly within the providence of the States.")
Rock Cliff Reserve, LLC v. Commr., T.C. Memo. 2025-73. (Nega)
Estate of Newberger v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2015-246, at *6 (observing that no evidence is more probative of a donated property's FMV than its direct sale price)
Rock Cliff Reserve, LLC v. Commr., T.C. Memo. 2025-73. (Nega)
Wortmann v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2005-227 (finding that the most persuasive evidence of the property's FMV was the actual sale of the property 17 months before the contribution)
Estate of Rowland v. Commr., T.C. Memo. 2025-76. (Urda)
Estate of Anenberg v. Commissioner, 162 T.C. 199, 206 (2024) ("The marital deduction does not eliminate or reduce the tax on the transfer of marital assets out of the marital unit, but instead permits deferral until the death of or gift by the surviving spouse.")
Estate of Rowland v. Commr., T.C. Memo. 2025-76. (Urda)
We previously have applied the doctrine of substantial compliance to regulations and other IRS guidance, including revenue procedures. * * * We have cautioned, however, that "the substantial compliance doctrine should not be liberally applied."
In July 2025, the IRS published 8 Announcements, Notices, Revenue Procedures, and Revenue Rulings, which included a total of 88 pages.
In July 2025, the IRS published 91 Written Determinations, which included a total of 571 pages.
