Boechler v. Commissioner

The thirty-day limit to file a petition for review of a collection due process determination pursuant to 26 U. S. C. § 6330(d)(1) is non jurisdictional and subject to equitable tolling.

 After Petitioner failed to respond to an IRS notice regarding a discrepancy with Petitioner’s tax filing, the IRS put a levy on Petitioner’s property. Petitioner sought a collection due process hearing to which the levy was sustained. Pursuant to 26 U. S. C. § 6330(d)(1), Petitioner had thirty days to petition for review of the determination, but Petitioner filed the petition late. The tax court dismissed the petition for lack of jurisdiction and the court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court held the thirty-day limit to file a petition for review of a collection due process determination pursuant to §6330(d)(1) is non jurisdictional and subject to equitable tolling. The Court reasoned that a procedural requirement is only jurisdictional if clearly stated by Congress but based on the statutory construction it is not clear that Congress intended the procedural requirement to be jurisdictional as there are multiple interpretations of the statute.  The Court court found there is no clear tie between the jurisdictional grant and the deadline, and the statute does not explicitly prohibit equitable tolling. Therefore, §6330(d)(1) is non jurisdictional and subject to equitable tolling. REVERSED AND REMANDED.