The trust in the case of Alterman Trust v. Commissioner, 146 TC No. 14 had prevailed in its case against the IRS in its previous case (TC Memo 2015-231) and now sought an award of attorney’s fees under Section 7430.

The issue to be decided was when the trust’s net worth was to be measure to determine if the trust was simply “too large” to be awarded the fees under IRC Section 7430.  While Section 7430 allows for an award of costs if the taxpayer is the prevailing party, has exhausted administrative remedies, has not unreasonably protracted the proceedings and has claimed reasonable costs, Section 7430(c)(4)(A)(ii) imposes an interesting quirk in the definition of “prevailing party.”

An IRS full unilateral concession of the case is not a settlement, per the Ninth Circuit, and thus the taxpayer was prevailing party for purposes of Knudsen v. Commissioner, No. 13-720077, 2015 TNT 136-13 reversing the Tax Court’s contrary holding in an earlier ruling in the same case (TC Memo 2013-87).

IRC §7430 is a provision in the tax law meant to allow taxpayers to recover costs when the IRS acts unreasonably.  However, not all unreasonable conduct by the IRS that results in costs to the taxpayer will find redress in the provisions of IRC §7430, as the taxpayer in the case of Milligan v. Commissioner, TC Memo 2014‑259 discovered.