United States Tax Court

The United States Tax Court is a federal trial court of national reach that hears disputes between taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Service. Its present form dates from the Tax Reform Act of 1969, when Congress reconstituted the Tax Court of the United States as the United States Tax Court. Section 7441 of Title 26 of the United States Code establishes it under article I of the Constitution as a court of record that is independent of the executive branch. Its roots lie in the Board of Tax Appeals, which Congress created in the Revenue Act of 1924 as an independent agency so taxpayers could challenge tax determinations before paying; in 1942 the Board was renamed the Tax Court of the United States, though it stayed in the executive branch until 1969. Taxpayers can contest IRS determinations here without first paying the disputed tax. The court has nineteen presidentially appointed judges, assisted by senior judges on recall and special trial judges, and is based in Washington, D.C., with judges travelling nationwide to hold trial sessions at designated places of trial.