Tax Court Petition Form

Streamline Tax Court Petitions with Paperform

When clients receive an IRS notice of deficiency or other adverse determination, time is of the essence. Filing a petition with the U.S. Tax Court requires precision, attention to detail, and careful documentation of every disputed issue. For tax attorneys, CPAs, and enrolled agents, managing this intake process efficiently while ensuring accuracy can make or break a case.

This Tax Court Petition Form template is designed specifically for legal practices handling tax controversy matters. Instead of juggling paper forms, email chains, and phone calls to gather essential information, you can provide clients with a single, comprehensive intake form that captures everything needed to prepare and file a timely petition.

What makes this form essential for tax attorneys

The U.S. Tax Court has strict procedural requirements and deadlines—typically 90 days from the date of the IRS notice (150 days for notices sent outside the United States). Missing information or incomplete client data can delay the petition filing and potentially jeopardize your client's right to dispute the tax assessment.

This template guides clients through providing complete IRS notice details, including the notice type, date, and case or deficiency number. It captures the full scope of disputed amounts broken down by tax year, ensures clients articulate their grounds for appeal in their own words, and securely authorizes representation—all in one streamlined workflow.

Key features of this tax court petition template

Comprehensive IRS notice documentation: The form collects all critical details from the IRS notice, including notice type (Notice of Deficiency, Notice of Determination, or other), notice date, case numbers, and the IRS office that issued the determination. This ensures you have everything needed to properly caption the petition and establish jurisdiction.

Structured dispute information: Rather than attempting to parse vague client emails, the form uses conditional fields to capture tax years in dispute, the specific amounts contested for each year, and whether the client is also disputing penalties, interest, or other additions. This structured approach makes it easy to prepare accurate computations and assignments of error.

Grounds for appeal in client's voice: While attorneys will ultimately craft the legal arguments, having clients describe their understanding of why they disagree with the IRS determination provides valuable insight and helps identify factual issues early. The form includes ample space for narrative explanation and document uploads.

Seamless representation authorization: The form includes clear language authorizing your firm to represent the taxpayer before the U.S. Tax Court and to receive copies of all correspondence, creating a documented record of the attorney-client relationship from day one.

Supporting document collection: Clients can upload copies of their IRS notices, prior tax returns, supporting financial records, and any correspondence with the IRS—all in one place, eliminating the need for follow-up requests.

How law firms use Paperform for tax court matters

Tax litigation practices across the country use Paperform to modernize their client intake while maintaining the professionalism and security their practice demands. When a prospective client calls about an IRS notice, you can immediately send them a link to this form, knowing they'll be guided through every essential detail.

Because Paperform is SOC 2 Type II compliant with robust security controls, you can trust that sensitive taxpayer information is protected. Form submissions can automatically flow into your practice management system via Stepper workflows (stepper.io), creating new matters, sending internal notifications to your team, and triggering document assembly for the petition.

For firms handling high volumes of tax controversy work, Paperform's calculation fields can be used to automatically compute total disputed amounts across multiple tax years, while conditional logic ensures clients only see questions relevant to their specific notice type. This reduces confusion and incomplete submissions.

Beyond intake: connecting your entire tax controversy workflow

Once a client submits this form, Stepper can orchestrate the entire downstream workflow. Automatically generate engagement letters using Papersign (papersign.com) for electronic signature, create calendar reminders for the petition filing deadline, populate petition templates with client-provided information, and update your billing system—all without manual data entry.

For solo practitioners and small tax litigation boutiques, this means spending less time on administrative tasks and more time on substantive legal work. For larger firms, it means consistent, standardized intake across multiple attorneys and offices, with all client data captured in a structured, searchable format.

Who should use this template

This form template is ideal for:

• Tax attorneys and tax litigation practices handling U.S. Tax Court petitions and appeals
• CPA firms with tax controversy practices assisting clients with IRS disputes
• Enrolled agents representing taxpayers before the IRS and Tax Court
• Law firms with tax departments needing streamlined intake for controversy matters
• Solo practitioners who want to project professionalism and efficiency from first contact

Whether you're handling a handful of Tax Court cases each year or managing a robust tax controversy practice, this template provides the foundation for efficient, accurate client intake that protects your clients' rights and your firm's reputation.

Get started in minutes

Simply customize this template with your firm's branding, add any practice-specific questions, and share the link with clients. Every submission is automatically organized, timestamped, and ready for your team to act on. With Paperform, you're not just collecting information—you're building a modern, client-friendly intake experience that sets the tone for excellent representation.