T.C. Memo. 2012-216
UNITED STATES TAX COURT
JOSIE SANCHEZ, Petitioner v.
COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
Docket No. 8925-11L. Filed July 30, 2012.
Josie Sanchez, pro se.
Kimberly A. Kazda, Matthew D. Carlson, and John Chinnapongse, for
respondent.
MEMORANDUM FINDINGS OF FACT AND OPINION
COHEN, Judge: This case was commenced under section 6330 in response
to a notice of determination concerning collection action sustaining a Federal tax
lien with respect to petitioner’s unpaid income tax liabilities for 2001, 2003, 2004,
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2005, 2006, and 2008. The issue for decision is whether sustaining the lien was an
abuse of discretion. All section references are to the Internal Revenue Code.
FINDINGS OF FACT
Some of the facts have been stipulated, and the stipulated facts are
incorporated in our findings by this reference. Petitioner resided in California at the
time she filed her petition.
In 2006 petitioner entered into an installment agreement to pay overdue tax
liabilities, but she was unable to make the agreed payments and defaulted. On
October 6, 2009, respondent sent petitioner a Letter 3172, Notice of Federal Tax
Lien Filing and Your Right to a Hearing Under IRC 6320. Petitioner requested a
hearing and raised as issues an offer-in-compromise, hardship, and an installment
agreement. Petitioner did not dispute the underlying liabilities.
In her first contact with a settlement officer conducting a hearing, petitioner
stated that she had previously submitted an offer-in-compromise. The settlement
officer informed petitioner that Internal Revenue Service (IRS) records did not show
any offer-in-compromise.
Petitioner’s case was transferred to a second settlement officer for a face-to-
face hearing. The second settlement officer confirmed that IRS records did not
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reflect a prior offer-in-compromise. Petitioner acknowledged that she had not
maintained a copy of the offer.
Petitioner requested an installment agreement in the amount of $95 per
month. She presented a Form 433-A, Collection Information Statement for Wage
Earners and Self-Employed Individuals. However, the settlement officer concluded
that the Form 433-A omitted some of petitioner’s income and accordingly adjusted
the amount reported by petitioner. After discussing the Form 433-A with petitioner,
the settlement officer increased the amount of allowable monthly expenses to reflect
petitioner’s expenses in relation to caring for her mother, who suffers from
Alzheimer’s disease, and dental expenses not previously listed on the Form 433-A.
The settlement officer determined that petitioner could pay $600 per month.
Petitioner did not submit an offer-in-compromise during the hearing. The
settlement officer verified that the requirements of applicable law and administrative
procedure had been met. The settlement officer concluded that no hardship was
created by the lien. Because petitioner and the settlement officer could not reach an
agreement with respect to an installment agreement, a notice of determination
sustaining the lien was sent to petitioner.
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OPINION
Section 6321 imposes a lien in favor of the United States on all property and
property rights of a taxpayer liable for taxes after a demand for the payment of the
taxes has been made and the taxpayer fails to pay. The lien arises when the
assessment is made. See sec. 6322. The IRS files a notice of Federal tax lien to
preserve priority and put other creditors on notice. See sec. 6323. Section 6320(a)
requires the Secretary to send written notice to the taxpayer of the filing of a notice
of lien and of the taxpayer’s right to an administrative hearing on the matter.
The hearing generally shall be conducted consistent with procedures set forth
in section 6330(c), (d), (e), and (g). See sec. 6320(c). Under section 6330(c)(2)(A)
a taxpayer may raise any relevant issue at a CDP hearing, including “challenges to
the appropriateness of collection actions”, and may make “offers of collection
alternatives, which may include the posting of a bond, the substitution of other
assets, an installment agreement, or an offer-in-compromise.” A taxpayer is
expected to provide all relevant information requested by the Appeals Office for its
consideration of the facts and issues involved in the hearing. See secs. 301.6320-
1(e)(1), 301.6330-1(e)(1), Proced. & Admin. Regs.
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Although petitioner has consistently maintained that she previously submitted
an offer-in-compromise to the IRS, neither she nor the IRS has a copy of such an
offer. (Possibly she confuses an offer-in-compromise with the installment
agreement that she previously entered into.) She declined to propose a new offer
and insists that she cannot pay the amount determined by the settlement officer
because of the expenses associated with caring for her mother. She also argues that
she no longer has as much income as she had at the time of the hearing.
Our role in this case is to review the determination of the Office of Appeals
for abuse of discretion, to wit, we decide whether the determination was arbitrary,
capricious, or without sound basis in fact or law. See, e.g., Murphy v.
Commissioner, 125 T.C. 301, 313, 320 (2005), aff’d, 469 F.3d 27 (1st Cir. 2006);
Woodral v. Commissioner, 112 T.C. 19, 23 (1999). We do not consider issues that
were not properly raised in the Appeals hearing. Giamelli v. Commissioner, 129
T.C. 107, 113 (2007). We do not independently calculate the amount that petitioner
is able to pay. See Murphy v. Commissioner, 125 T.C. at 320; Speltz v.
Commissioner, 124 T.C. 165, 179-180 (2005), aff’d, 454 F.3d 782 (8th Cir. 2006);
Shaw v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2010-210. Petitioner’s circumstances were
considered in the settlement officer’s calculation of her ability to pay, and
adjustments were made when petitioner provided new information. Petitioner has
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not shown that either the determination of her ability to pay or sustaining the lien
filing was arbitrary, capricious, without sound basis in fact or law, or otherwise an
abuse of discretion.
Decision will be entered for
respondent.