Where will your Tax Court trial be held?

Your Tax Court trial is held in the city you request on Form 5 when you file your petition, chosen from the court's list of trial cities; you may pick any listed city that is convenient, not only one in your state. For the Washington, D.C. area, trials sit at the Tax Court itself, 400 Second Street NW; Virginia's trial cities are Richmond and Roanoke; and California's are Fresno, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco. The judge may also allow a remote trial on motion.

The choice matters for cost and convenience more than for the law, because the place of trial does not decide which court of appeals hears an appeal. It is one of the practical decisions in Kathryn Meyer's tax litigation practice.

How the place of trial is set, step by step

1. You request a city when you file. Tax Court Rule 140(a) requires a separate request for place of trial with the petition, using Form 5 or another writing. Form 5 (Rev. 09/26) tells you to select one location and says "You may choose any location that is convenient to you."
2. If you do not, the IRS does. Under Rule 140(a), if the petitioner files no request, the IRS must file its preferred place of trial no later than the date its answer is due.
3. The court tries to honor the request. It "will make reasonable efforts to conduct the trial at the location most convenient to that requested if suitable facilities are available."
4. The case is calendared. When a case is at issue, it is placed on a trial calendar for that city, and the Clerk notifies the parties of the place and time (Rule 131(a)). The notice of trial comes with a Standing Pretrial Order or other trial instructions (Rule 131(b)).
5. For cities without a permanent courtroom, the court's Places of Trial page says to "See notice of trial for address."
6. Calendar call. On the first day of the session the cases are called, the parties estimate trial time, and cases are tried in due course, not necessarily in the order listed (Rule 131(c)).

Form 5 is filed alongside the petition and Form 4; the full filing package is described in how to file a petition in the U.S. Tax Court.

Trial cities for Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland and California

The court stresses that these "Addresses are trial locations only." Every filing and letter still goes to the United States Tax Court, 400 Second Street NW, Washington, DC 20217-0002. The full list runs by state, from Birmingham, Alabama to Cheyenne, Wyoming, and the court keeps it current on its website.

Washington is the one nearby city where trials are held in the court's own building; the building, hours and calendar call are described in what to expect at the U.S. Tax Court in Washington, DC.

Can you change the place of trial or appear remotely?

• Changing cities. A party who wants a different city files a motion stating the reasons (Rule 140(b)). A motion filed after the notice setting the case for trial "may be deemed dilatory and may be denied" unless the reason arose during that period or there was good reason for not filing sooner. If you move after filing, the court's guidance suggests a Motion to Change Place of Trial along with a notice of change of address.
• Remote trial. The court accepts a Motion to Proceed Remotely from the time the petition is filed until 31 days before the first day of the trial session. Granting it is at the judge's discretion; if granted, the parties receive instructions and Zoomgov information.
• Postponing. Under Rule 133, continuances are granted "only in exceptional circumstances," and a motion filed 30 days or less before the trial date ordinarily will be treated as dilatory and denied unless the reason arose in that period.

What to expect when you reach the courtroom

A Tax Court trial is heard by a judge; there is no jury. In a regular case, evidence comes in under the Federal Rules of Evidence (Rule 143(a)), and witnesses generally testify in open court, although for good cause in compelling circumstances the court may allow testimony by contemporaneous transmission from another place (Rule 143(b)). In a small case, the court may admit any evidence it finds to have probative value (Rule 174(b)).

All proceedings are conducted in English. The court's guidance says it does not provide interpreters for petitioners, so a party must arrange and pay for any interpreter needed for conference calls, hearings or trial, and should do so early. Bring the documents the pretrial order calls for, organized by issue; the kinds of records that support business deductions are described in what records the IRS requires to support business deductions.

The deadlines that run once a trial city and session are set are laid out in what happens before a Tax Court trial.

What changes the answer

• Small or regular case. Small cases follow Rule 174(a), which also asks for a place of trial with the petition and uses the same "reasonable efforts" standard; the procedures are compared in small tax case or regular case.
• Where witnesses and records are. A city near the people who must testify, or where the business records are, can lower the cost of trial.
• Courtroom availability. Cities with a permanent courtroom have a fixed address; others use space announced in the notice of trial.
• Settlement timing. Most cases settle, and in docketed cases IRS Appeals returns unsettled cases to counsel on a schedule tied to the calendar call; see whether a Tax Court case can settle before trial.
• Appeal venue is separate. The court of appeals is set by your legal residence when you filed, not the trial city (IRC 7482(b)); see whether you can appeal a Tax Court decision.
• Collection cases. A petition from a Collection Due Process determination also needs a place of trial, though many of those cases are decided on the Appeals record; see how the Tax Court reviews a Collection Due Process decision.

For example: an Arlington resident choosing a city

For example, imagine an Arlington, Virginia resident who petitions the Tax Court over a notice of deficiency. Her Virginia options are Richmond and Roanoke, neither of which has a permanent Tax Court courtroom, but Form 5 lets her pick any convenient city, so she requests Washington, D.C., where the court sits at 400 Second Street NW, a short trip from home. Her case is later placed on a Washington trial calendar, and the notice of trial arrives with the Standing Pretrial Order. Because she lived in Virginia when she filed, any appeal in her regular case would go to the Fourth Circuit regardless of the trial city. If her key witness, a former bookkeeper, had moved to San Diego, she could weigh asking for a remote appearance for that witness or a change of place, keeping in mind the deadlines in the rules. This is a hypothetical, not a real case.

Common mistakes about the place of trial

• Forgetting Form 5. If you do not ask, the IRS names the city.
• Mailing papers to the trial city. Trial addresses are not mailing addresses; everything goes to Washington.
• Waiting to move for a change. After the notice of trial, a change motion may be deemed dilatory.
• Asking for a remote trial too late. The cutoff is 31 days before the session begins.
• Ignoring the Standing Pretrial Order. Unexcused failure to comply can bring sanctions (Rule 131(b)).
• Not showing up. Under Rule 149(a), an unexcused absence is not grounds for delay, and the case may be dismissed or decided without you.

What to do this week

1. List the trial cities nearest to you, your witnesses and your records.
2. Check the court's Places of Trial page for whether each has a permanent courtroom.
3. Complete Form 5 with one city and file it with the petition.
4. If remote participation might help, note the 31-day cutoff before the trial session.
5. When the notice of trial arrives, read the Standing Pretrial Order and calendar its deadlines.

Frequently asked questions

Do you have to choose a city in your own state?

No. Form 5 says you may choose any location that is convenient to you.

Is a trial in Washington, D.C. different from one elsewhere?

The rules are the same everywhere; Washington simply has the court's own building as a permanent courtroom.

What happens at the calendar call?

The cases on the calendar are called, the parties estimate how long trial will take, and the cases are tried in due course, not necessarily in listed order (Rule 131(c)).

Who has to bring the evidence to trial?

The party with the burden of proof on each issue; Rule 149(b) lets the court decide an issue against a party who fails to produce evidence on it. See who has to prove what in a Tax Court case.

Can you change cities if you move?

Yes, by motion, and the court's guidance suggests filing a notice of change of address at the same time.

Does the trial city affect which law applies?

No. The court of appeals for review is set by residence or place of business when the petition was filed (IRC 7482(b)), not by where the trial is held.

Are refund suits tried in the same cities?

No. Refund suits go to the federal district court where you reside or to the Court of Federal Claims; see Tax Court, district court or the Court of Federal Claims.

Choosing where your case is heard

The place of trial is a small box on a short form, but it affects travel, witnesses and preparation. Kathryn Meyer's office is in Alexandria, Virginia, and she spent more than two decades in the IRS Office of Chief Counsel before representing taxpayers in the Tax Court. If you are preparing a petition, contact the firm or call (571) 560-8674.

Sources

• U.S. Tax Court, Places of Trial
• U.S. Tax Court Form 5, Request for Place of Trial (Rev. 09/26)
• Tax Court Rule 140, Place of Trial
• Tax Court Rule 131, Trial Calendars
• Tax Court Rule 133, Continuances
• Tax Court Rule 143, Evidence
• Tax Court Rule 149, Failure to Appear or to Adduce Evidence
• Tax Court Rule 174, Trial (small tax cases)
• U.S. Tax Court, Guidance for Petitioners: Starting a Case
• 26 U.S.C. 7482, Courts of review