How to File a Tax Court Petition

Before you start: confirm you can petition and when it's due

You need a notice that gives you the right to petition, most often a notice of deficiency (Letter 3219, Letter 531 or CP3219A). A collection-case Notice of Determination has a shorter window: the court says that petition should be filed within 30 days of mailing. Count your date with the deadline calculator, then use the earlier of that date and anything printed on the notice as your target.

Two things that don’t stop the clock: talking to the IRS examiner or Appeals, and believing you have already settled. The court advises that if the IRS sends a notice anyway, “you should file a petition within the period set forth in the notice” to protect yourself.

Three ways to prepare the petition

A Tax Court case starts only when a petition is filed (Tax Court Rule 20). You can file on paper or electronically through DAWSON (Docket Access Within and Secure Online Network), the court’s filing and case system. The court says DAWSON’s petition generator “is the most efficient way to file.”

Choose one route. The court says: “File once. Do NOT file a Petition both electronically and by mail.”

What goes in the petition, line by line

Form 2 (Rev. 11/25) follows the same order the court’s instructions use:

• Your name at the top. For a joint petition, both spouses’ names.
• Line 1: the IRS action. Check the box for the notice you received, such as Notice of Deficiency.
• Line 2: the notice date and the city and state of the IRS office that issued it.
• Line 3: the tax years or periods in the notice.
• Line 4: small or regular case. The small tax case option is open if the deficiency in dispute, including penalties, is $50,000 (IRS.gov, 2026) or less for each year. It cannot be appealed. If you check no box, the court files a regular case. See the small tax case guide.
• Line 5: why you disagree. List each IRS error separately, lettered or numbered.
• Line 6: the facts you rely on, in the same order as line 5.
• Signature, mailing address, phone and email. On a joint petition both spouses sign. There is also a line for your state of legal residence if it differs from your mailing address.

Be complete on line 5. Rule 34(b) requires “clear and concise assignments of each and every error” and says “any issue not raised in the assignments of error will be deemed conceded.” If you leave something out, you may need the court’s permission to file an amended petition.

What to leave out: your Social Security number or other taxpayer ID, names of minor children, financial account numbers, and evidence. The court says not to attach tax returns, receipts or other evidence to the petition. The petition and the attached notice become part of the court’s public record.

What to include with the petition

All of these forms are on the court’s case-related forms page. If you would rather appear by video, a Motion to Proceed Remotely can be filed with the petition or up to 31 days before the first day of the trial session; the judge decides.

The filing fee and the fee waiver

The fee is the same for small and regular cases. Ways to pay:

• Pay.gov. If you e-file, DAWSON asks you to pay after you submit the petition. You’ll need your docket number, entered without any letter suffix (for example 12345-20, not 12345-20S).
• Check or money order payable to “Clerk, United States Tax Court,” with your name and docket number on it. The court converts checks into electronic debits.

If you can’t afford it, file the court’s Application for Waiver of Filing Fee. It asks about your monthly income by source, cash and bank accounts, property and its value, people who depend on you, and other obligations, and you sign it under penalty of perjury. A married couple filing jointly can file one application signed by both. If you e-filed, upload the application once the court has processed your petition. If the court denies the waiver and you don’t pay, the case may be dismissed.

Getting the petition there on time

• E-filing. In most cases the court must receive an electronic petition by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the last day, and DAWSON logs filings in Eastern time.
• U.S. mail. The court says a petition is generally treated as timely if it arrives in an envelope with a legible U.S. Postal Service postmark dated within the filing period (IRC 7502(a)). Certified or registered mail with a postmarked receipt gives you strong proof of the mailing date.
• Private carriers. Only designated private delivery services count, and not every service a carrier sells is designated (IRC 7502(f)). Check the IRS list of designated private delivery services before you ship.
• Postage you print yourself. The court warns that a private meter stamp or a postmark from an online postage service “will not prove that the petition was timely mailed.”
• Weekends and holidays. If the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or District of Columbia holiday, you have until the next business day.
• The address. United States Tax Court, 400 Second Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20217.

If your petition is due today, the court’s answer is that it is not too late: you can e-file, mail it or hand deliver it today.

Filing your petition step by step

1. Find your deadline. Look for the last day to file a petition printed on your notice. For a notice of deficiency it is 90 days after mailing, or 150 days if the notice was addressed to you outside the United States. The court cannot extend it.
2. Choose how to file. File electronically in DAWSON (the petition generator or an uploaded Form 2), or on paper by mail or hand delivery. File only once.
3. Complete the petition. Name the notice type, its date and the years involved, choose small or regular procedure, then list every IRS error you dispute and the facts behind each one. Issues you leave out are treated as conceded.
4. Prepare the attachments. Attach a complete copy of the notice with your Social Security number blacked out. Fill in Form 4 (the only document with your taxpayer ID) and Form 5 to pick a trial city.
5. Pay the fee or ask for a waiver. Pay the $60 filing fee through Pay.gov, or by check or money order to Clerk, United States Tax Court, or file an Application for Waiver of Filing Fee.
6. File on time and keep proof. E-filed petitions must reach the court by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the last day. If you mail it, use certified or registered mail or a designated private delivery service and keep the receipt.
7. Watch for the docket number and the IRS answer. You receive a docket number when the petition is filed. The IRS then files an Answer naming its attorney; send that attorney a copy of anything you later file with the court.

What happens after you file

A paper filer receives a Notice of Receipt of Petition with the docket number; an e-filer sees it in DAWSON. If the court grants small case status, the docket number ends in “S.” Put the docket number on everything you send the court or the IRS, and never your Social Security number except on Form 4.

• The IRS Answer. The IRS has 60 days after service of the petition to answer (Tax Court Rule 36). The Answer admits or denies what you said and names the IRS attorney on your case. From then on, send that attorney a copy of everything you file.
• Contact from the IRS. An IRS employee will contact you to schedule a conference. Expect a request to exchange documents, often called a Branerton letter, and talk of a stipulation of facts.
• Collection pauses on the disputed amount. In a deficiency case the IRS generally may not try to collect the amount in dispute while the case is pending. If you get a collection letter for the same year, the court says you may file a Motion To Restrain Assessment and Collection.
• Settlement talks. If you didn’t appeal within the IRS first, Publication 5 says you will normally get a chance to settle with Appeals while waiting for trial. See settling a Tax Court case.
• Moving? File a Notice of Change of Address (Form 10) and send a copy to the IRS attorney.

Interest keeps running on any tax you end up owing, at the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points, reset quarterly (7% (IRS.gov, Jul-Dec 2026) this quarter). The full sequence of the case is on the Tax Court overview.

Filing on your own, free help, and when to hire someone

Many people file their own petition, especially in small, well-documented cases. The court sends information about tax clinics when you file and again with the notice of trial. Low Income Taxpayer Clinics represent eligible taxpayers for free or a small fee, and the court lists clinics and pro bono programs by city. For procedural questions, the clerk’s office is at help@ustaxcourt.gov or 202-521-0700, and DAWSON help is at dawson.support@ustaxcourt.gov.

Get help when the amount is large, several years are in dispute, fraud penalties are proposed, or you aren’t sure the petition covers every error. Anyone who signs the petition for you must be admitted to practice before the Tax Court; ask for their Tax Court bar number. Global Gate Tax Relief offers a free consultation, reviews your notice and IRS transcripts, and tells you if you can file on your own. If we take the case, the fee is flat and quoted upfront, and no outcome is promised. Request a free case review or call 1-877-800-8180.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading in the IRS Audit Guide

• U.S. Tax Court: how a case worksThe full path from petition to decision.
• Notice of deficiency (90-day letter)The notice behind most petitions and its deadline.
• Tax Court small case (S case)Whether to check the small case box.
• Audit deadline calculatorCount your 90-day or 150-day petition date.
• The Branerton letterThe IRS attorney's first request after you file.