Qualified Offers and the Recovery of Administrative and Litigation Costs from the IRS

Taxpayers and taxpayers’ counsel may be able to proactively fit within the net worth requirements set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(B), which sets forth the standard applicable to both recovery of litigation costs and shifting the burden of proof to the government in tax cases. For example, a taxpayer may be able to successfully fit within net worth requirements by making distributions at any time before the date the case is filed. The following discussion provides a summary of this taxpayer position in recent litigation, the government’s opposition to this position, and the taxpayer’s appropriate—and successful—reply. In addition, relevant portions of the court’s holding and the case law the Government relied upon is also attached for the convenience of the reader. This discussion contains excerpts from Southgate Master Fund, LLC v. United States, 651 F. Supp. 2d 596 (N.D. Tex. 2009).

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