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Why do taxpayers only win 14% of tax cases in court?

January 14, 2010

The Legal Times blog reports that the IRS wins 86% of cases that end up in court. Is it because the IRS has home field advantage? That might be part of it, but the main reason is that so many taxpayers litigate dumb cases.

People who have already lost their case try to fight it again in collection, making "collection due process" cases the most litigated issue. People litigate tax protest cases, thinking that they have figured out a way to win where thousands before have lost.

If you have a real tax issue, your odds are much better. If you want to argue that wages aren't income, your odds are much worse.

Via the TaxProf. Peter Pappas has more.