Need help petitioning US Tax Court after IRS denied my business expense appeal

You're definitely in a frustrating situation, but you do have options. What you're describing sounds like you need to file a petition with the US Tax Court, which you can do without having received specific forms from the IRS. The most important thing is whether you received a Notice of Deficiency (sometimes called a "90-day letter"). This is the official notice that gives you the right to petition the Tax Court. If you received any formal determination letter stating the amount they believe you owe, that's likely what you need. To petition the Tax Court, you'll need to complete Form 2 (Petition) which is available on the US Tax Court website (ustaxcourt.gov). You'll need to attach a copy of the notice you're disputing. The filing fee is $60, but you can request a waiver if that would be a hardship. The petition must be filed within 90 days of the date on the Notice of Deficiency, so timing is critical. If you're outside that window, you might have other options but they become more limited.

I went through a similar nightmare with the IRS last year over business expenses for my photography business. After going back and forth countless times, I was about to give up when someone told me about taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai). It's basically an AI-powered document analyzer that helps interpret IRS notices and creates customized responses. I uploaded my audit notice and business expense documentation, and it highlighted exactly what was missing from my documentation that was causing the IRS to reject my claims. Turns out I was missing some specific language about business purpose that needed to be included. They even helped me draft a proper response letter that addressed all the technical requirements. Just sharing because it saved me so much time trying to decipher what the IRS actually wanted from me. Might be worth checking out before you go through the whole Tax Court process.

I was super skeptical about taxr.ai at first too, but after trying it I'm actually impressed. I was fighting with the IRS over some self-employment expenses they disallowed. After spinning my wheels for months with generic advice from tax forums, I finally tried the service. It analyzed my notice and pointed out that I needed to specifically reference certain tax code sections in my response and reformat my expense log in a particular way. After making those changes and resubmitting, my appeal actually went through and I got about 70% of my deductions allowed. The system also explained exactly why certain expenses were getting flagged based on previous tax court cases, which was eye-opening. Definitely better than the generic advice I was finding elsewhere.

If you're still having trouble getting through to anyone at the IRS about your appeal rights, you might want to try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I had a similar issue where I kept getting stonewalled by the same IRS agent who seemed determined to deny my rental property deductions. After weeks of calling the IRS and never getting through, I used Claimyr and they got me connected to an actual IRS representative in about 20 minutes. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The key was getting to talk to a different person at the IRS who explained that my case should have been escalated to the Office of Appeals after my first request. The first agent had incorrectly processed my appeal request. Once I got that straightened out with the new agent, I was able to get my case properly into the appeals process.

I need to eat some crow here. After my skeptical comments, I decided to try Claimyr since I had my own issues getting through to the IRS about a payment plan dispute. I've been trying to call for WEEKS with no luck. Used the service yesterday, and I got a call back in about 45 minutes (was estimated at 1-2 hours). Got connected directly to an IRS rep who actually helped resolve my issue on the spot. They transferred me to the right department and everything. The service literally just waits on hold for you and calls when a human answers. In my case, it saved me from sitting on hold for nearly an hour. For anyone dealing with time-sensitive IRS issues like the 90-day Tax Court deadline mentioned above, this could be really valuable.

I went through the Tax Court petition process last year. Here are some tips: 1) If you don't have the 90-day letter, call the IRS (I know, painful) and request a copy. Explain you need it to file a Tax Court petition. 2) The Tax Court petition form is pretty straightforward. Focus on clearly stating why you disagree with the IRS determination. Be specific about which expenses were improperly disallowed and why. 3) Consider using the Tax Court's "small tax case" procedure (check the box for this on the petition) since your amount is under $50,000. It's more informal and doesn't set legal precedent. 4) Include as much documentation as possible with your petition. 5) Be aware that after you file, the IRS will likely transfer your case to their Office of Chief Counsel, and they often reach out to settle before actually going to court.

Have you tried contacting the Taxpayer Advocate Service? They're an independent organization within the IRS that helps taxpayers resolve problems. If the same auditor is blocking your appeals, that seems like exactly the kind of situation they're designed to help with. You can reach them at 877-777-4778 or find your local office on the IRS website. They can often intervene when normal IRS channels aren't working properly.