Short Summary: The IRS filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction a petition timely filed by taxpayers using the Tax Court’s online petition generator. Petitions filed using the Tax Court’s online petition generator do not bear handwritten signatures and instead include a signature block with a taxpayer’s typewritten name and contact information. In this case, the IRS took the position that the petition was not properly signed by the taxpayers, and the Tax Court therefore lacked jurisdiction. Ultimately, the Tax Court disagreed with the IRS, denied its motion to dismiss, and concluded that the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure do not require handwritten signatures on electronic filings.
Key Issue: Whether an electronically filed petition containing a taxpayer’s typewritten signature is properly signed.
Primary Holdings: The Tax Court held that a person’s name on a signature block on a paper that the person authorized to be filed electronically constitutes the person’s signature, and therefore, the taxpayers’ petition was properly signed. The Tax Court also held that it has jurisdiction over electronically filed petitions containing such a signature.
Key Points of Law:
Tax Court rules addressing the allowance of electronic signatures:
- Tax Court Rule of Practice and Procedure 34(e), which governs petitions, states that “[f]or the signature requirement of petitions filed electronically, see Rule 23(a)(3) and the Court’s electronic filing instructions on the Court’s website.”
- Tax Court Rule of Practice and Procedure 23(a)(3) states that “[a] person’s name on a signature block on a paper that the person authorized to be filed electronically, and that is so filed, constitutes the person’s signature.”
- Further, page 42 of the Self-Represented (Pro Se) Electronic Filing Instructions, found on the Tax Court’s website here, states that “[i]f the document you are filing requires a signature: The combination of DAWSON username (email address) and password serves as the signature of the individual filing the document.” The same page also states: “Documents that require a signature in addition to that of the eFiler, e.g. both spouses are petitioners: . . . If you chose to auto-generate a Petition in DAWSON and your spouse has authorized you to file an electronic petition, then the signature block on the petition auto-generated by DAWSON will serve as your spouse’s signature.”
Other authority addressing the allowance of electronic signatures:
- Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5(d)(3)(C) states that “[a] filing made through a person’s electronic-filing account and authorized by that person, together with that person’s name on a signature block, constitutes the person’s signature.”
- Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 25(a)(2)(B)(iii) states that “[a] filing made through a person’s electronic-filing account and authorized by that person, together with that person’s name on a signature block, constitutes the person’s signature.”
- The IRS, as required by law, accepts electronic signatures. SeeR.C. § 6061(b)(1); see also IRM 10.10.1 (Aug. 12, 2024) (“IRS Electronic Signature (e-Signature) Program”).
Insights: Because such a large number of taxpayers petitioning the Tax Court represent themselves, the Tax Court provides on its website Form 2, a simplified petition template, that they may use to initiate their case. Additionally, on July 31, 2024, and September 15, 2024, the Tax Court released online petition generators for use by pro se taxpayers and practitioners, respectively. In all material aspects, Form 2 petitions and those created with the online petition generator are identical; however, the two petitions look different upon their completion. Specifically, Form 2 petitions include a box for a traditional, handwritten signature, and generator-created petitions include a signature block containing a taxpayer’s typewritten name and contact information. In sum, the Tax Court’s rules “deem a taxpayer’s name on a signature block of a document that the taxpayer authorized to be filed electronically to be the taxpayer’s signature,” and thus, petitions created using the Tax Court’s online petition generator are properly signed.
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