IRS and tax controversy lawyer in Alexandria, Virginia

Kathryn Meyer Law PC is a federal tax practice with its office at 211 N. Union St, Suite 100, in Alexandria, Virginia. It represents individuals and businesses in IRS audits, collection matters and federal tax litigation. Most of those disputes run through federal forums within a short drive of the office.

The practice is federal tax law: matters before the IRS and the federal courts that hear tax cases, not Virginia state tax. This page explains which agency offices and courts handle a federal tax dispute for someone in Northern Virginia, and how the firm's tax litigation, audit and collection work fits around them.

How a federal tax dispute moves through the local forums, step by step

1. The IRS letter. Most disputes start with an audit letter or a notice proposing changes. Federal law, not your state, sets how far back the IRS can look and how long you have to answer.
2. The audit and the 30-day letter. At the end of an examination the IRS proposes adjustments and offers a route to its Independent Office of Appeals, which reviews disputes before any court case.
3. The notice of deficiency. If the dispute is not resolved, the IRS sends a notice of deficiency, and you have 90 days to petition the U.S. Tax Court, whose own building is at 400 Second Street NW in Washington.
4. Or pay and sue for a refund. If you pay first and the IRS denies a refund claim, a suit can be filed in the federal district court where you live; for most of Northern Virginia that is the Alexandria Division of the Eastern District of Virginia.
5. Collection. If tax is assessed and unpaid, lien and levy notices carry their own 30-day hearing rights, with Tax Court review afterward.
6. Appeal. Decisions in regular Tax Court cases and in district court refund suits for Virginia residents are reviewed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond.

The first step often raises the question of how far back the IRS can audit your tax returns. The end of an audit brings the choices described in what to do with an IRS 30-day letter.

What the firm handles for Northern Virginia taxpayers

The work falls into five federal areas, each with its own page. Audits and examinations come first for most clients: preparing records, answering document requests and taking disputes to IRS Appeals, as described on the IRS audits and examinations page. When tax is already assessed, the questions turn to liens, levies, payment plans and offers, covered on the IRS collections and enforcement page. Disputes that cannot be settled go to the Tax Court or, after payment, to a refund suit. The firm also advises solo and small law firms on their own taxes, and individuals and businesses on planning and on correcting past filings before the IRS finds a problem.

None of that work depends on Virginia law. Federal statutes and IRS procedures are the same for a taxpayer in Fairfax as for one in Fresno; what differs locally is which courthouse hears a refund suit, which trial city is closest and which court of appeals reviews a decision.

The federal tax forums near Alexandria

Which court fits a Northern Virginia case

The choice between the Tax Court and a refund suit turns mostly on whether you can pay first. The Tax Court lets you dispute the tax before paying it, which is why most taxpayers use it. A refund suit requires full payment and a refund claim, but it can be heard in Alexandria, and in district court either side may ask for a jury (28 U.S.C. 2402). The trade-offs, including deadlines and appeals, are compared in Tax Court, district court or the Court of Federal Claims.

For a Tax Court case, the trial city is requested on Form 5 when the petition is filed. Washington is the nearest trial city to Alexandria and the only one in the area with the court's own permanent courtroom, as explained in where your Tax Court trial will be held. What happens inside that building is described in what to expect at the U.S. Tax Court in Washington, DC.

For a refund suit, the venue statute, 28 U.S.C. 1402(a)(1), puts an individual's case in the judicial district where the plaintiff resides. The local procedure, from the complaint to a jury demand, is set out in filing a tax refund suit in federal court in Alexandria.

What changes the answer

• Where you live when you file. Venue for a refund suit follows residence (28 U.S.C. 1402(a)(1)), and the court of appeals for a regular Tax Court case follows your legal residence when the petition is filed (IRC 7482(b)(1)(A)). A taxpayer in the District of Columbia appeals to the D.C. Circuit, not the Fourth.
• Whether the taxpayer is a business. A corporation's refund suit goes where its principal place of business is (28 U.S.C. 1402(a)(2)), and its appeal follows its principal place of business or office (IRC 7482(b)(1)(B)).
• Which county. Within the Eastern District, Local Civil Rule 3 assigns Alexandria, Loudoun, Fairfax, Fauquier, Arlington, Prince William and Stafford to the Alexandria Division; other parts of Virginia belong to the Richmond, Norfolk or Newport News Divisions or to the Western District (28 U.S.C. 127).
• The kind of tax matter. Collection notices lead to IRS Appeals and then the Tax Court, not the district court; see what a Collection Due Process hearing is and when to ask for one.
• Who represents you where. Practice before the IRS is governed by Treasury's Circular 230 (31 CFR 10.3(a) lets an attorney not suspended from IRS practice represent taxpayers there), the Tax Court admits its own bar (Rule 24), and the Eastern District's Local Civil Rule 83.1 admits members of the Virginia State Bar, with others appearing pro hac vice alongside local counsel.

For example: an Arlington couple after an audit

For example, imagine a married couple in Arlington whose joint return was audited and who received a notice of deficiency for $38,000 of tax and a penalty after they disagreed with the examiner about a rental property. They cannot pay the full amount, so a refund suit in the Alexandria Division is not practical. They petition the Tax Court within 90 days, request Washington as the place of trial on Form 5, and consider the small case procedure because less than $50,000 is in dispute for the year. If they chose a regular case instead and lost, any appeal would go to the Fourth Circuit in Richmond because they live in Virginia. If the case ends with tax owed, collection notices would follow, with their own hearing deadlines. This is a hypothetical, not a real case.

Common mistakes in Northern Virginia tax disputes

• Assuming a local court can stop an IRS notice. Only a timely Tax Court petition stops assessment of a deficiency; the district court hears refund suits after payment.
• Mailing papers to the trial location. The court's guidance says all mail goes to its Washington address, and that mail sent within a week of the trial session may not arrive in time.
• Waiting for a reply from the IRS before acting on a notice. The 90-day and 30-day periods keep running; see what to do when you receive a notice of deficiency.
• Paying part of the tax and suing in Alexandria. A refund suit generally requires full payment of the assessment first.
• Mixing state and federal problems. A Virginia tax notice is a separate matter under state law; this practice handles the federal side.
• Ignoring the Taxpayer Advocate. When an IRS problem is causing hardship, the Richmond TAS office is a free resource alongside representation.

What to do this week

1. Identify the IRS notice you hold and its deadline.
2. Write down your county or city of residence, which decides venue and the appeal circuit.
3. Decide whether paying the tax in full is possible, which keeps the refund route open.
4. Gather the audit letters, reports and returns for each year involved.
5. If a balance is due, review the IRS payment plan options and what they cost before collection notices escalate.
6. Book a consultation well before the earliest deadline.

Frequently asked questions

Do the IRS or the Tax Court require you to appear in person?

Usually not before trial. A representative can deal with the IRS under a Form 2848, and the Tax Court accepts electronic filing through its DAWSON system and holds some proceedings by Zoomgov. Whether to meet at the Alexandria office is something to settle with the firm.

Does the firm handle Virginia state tax?

No. The practice is federal tax: IRS audits, collections, Tax Court and other federal tax litigation, planning for law firms and strategic tax counsel. You can see the full list on the services page.

Where is the nearest Tax Court trial city to Alexandria?

Washington, D.C., where trials are held in the court's own building at 400 Second Street NW. In Virginia, the court also sits in Richmond and Roanoke, without a permanent courtroom.

Can a Tax Court case from Virginia be appealed?

Yes, in a regular case. For a Virginia resident the appeal goes to the Fourth Circuit; the deadline and bond rules are in whether you can appeal a Tax Court decision, and to which court.

What does the Taxpayer Advocate Service do?

It is an independent office inside the IRS that helps taxpayers whose problems cause financial difficulty or are not being resolved. Virginia's office is in Richmond; it does not replace a representative in an audit or a court case.

Does the firm work with law firms in the area?

The tax planning practice serves solo and small firms in any state, on questions such as how much salary an S corporation owner should take. That work is described on the tax planning for law firms page.

Talk to a federal tax lawyer in Alexandria

Kathryn Meyer spent more than two decades in the IRS Office of Chief Counsel before representing taxpayers from her office at 211 N. Union St, Suite 100, Alexandria, VA 22314. If you have an IRS notice, audit or tax case, contact the firm or call (571) 560-8674.

Sources

• U.S. Tax Court, Places of Trial
• U.S. Tax Court, Court Information
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria
• E.D. Va. Local Rules (Local Civil Rules 3 and 83.1)
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• U.S. Court of Federal Claims
• Taxpayer Advocate Service, Contact us (Virginia office)
• 26 U.S.C. 7482, Courts of review
• 28 U.S.C. 1346, United States as defendant
• 28 U.S.C. 1402, United States as defendant (venue)
• 28 U.S.C. 127, Virginia
• 28 U.S.C. 173, Times and places of holding court (Court of Federal Claims)
• 28 U.S.C. 41, Number and composition of circuits
• 28 U.S.C. 2402, Jury trial in actions against United States
• 31 CFR 10.3, Who may practice before the IRS (Circular 230)