## Facts

- Linwood and Barbara Blackston filed timely joint federal income tax returns for 1979–1981.
- After a deficiency notice for 1977–1981, the parties resolved the Tax Court case by stipulation, agreeing to deficiencies and negligence penalties for 1979–1981 (plus interest).
- The IRS assessed the agreed 1979–1981 liabilities on January 28, 1985.
- Federal law required the IRS, within 60 days after assessment, to give each liable person notice stating the amount due and demanding payment.
- IRS transcripts reflected a notice and demand on or about January 28, 1985 and a later notice dated May 31, 1985.
- The Blackstons asserted they did not receive any notice and demand within 60 days of assessment and that the May 31 notice was the first they received.
- The Blackstons paid the 1979 liability in full on March 18, 1988, filed a refund claim the same day, and the IRS denied the claim on May 4, 1988.
- The Blackstons sued for a 1979 refund; the United States counterclaimed to reduce to judgment the unpaid 1980 and 1981 assessments.

## Issues

1. Whether the IRS gave the Blackstons notice and demand within 60 days of the January 28, 1985 assessments as required by I.R.C. § 6303(a).
2. If the IRS failed to comply with § 6303(a), whether that failure prevented the government from enforcing the assessments in the refund suit and on its counterclaims.

## Decision

- The court entered judgment for the Blackstons on the 1979 refund claim.
- The court denied the government’s counterclaim for the 1980 and 1981 assessments.
- The court held the IRS did not adequately prove it gave timely notice and demand under § 6303(a).
- The court rejected the government’s position that IRS computer transcripts created an irrebuttable presumption of mailing, finding the records insufficiently reliable given identified irregularities and lack of corroboration.
- Because the IRS failed to establish § 6303(a) compliance, the court treated the assessments as unenforceable against the Blackstons in this proceeding.

## Legal Principles

- I.R.C. § 6303(a) requires the IRS, within 60 days after assessment, to give the taxpayer notice stating the amount due and demanding payment.
- In litigation to collect or defend an assessment, the government bears the burden to show compliance with § 6303(a) when timely notice is disputed.
- IRS computer-generated transcripts may support an inference of mailing, but they are not conclusive where irregularities and missing corroboration undermine their reliability.
- A Tax Court stipulated decision may fix the amount of a deficiency, but it does not eliminate the IRS’s post-assessment obligation to provide notice and demand under § 6303(a).
- Failure to prove timely notice and demand can bar enforcement of the assessment in a refund action and defeat government collection claims based on that assessment.

## Conclusion

The court held that the IRS failed to prove it provided timely notice and demand after assessment as required by § 6303(a), granted the taxpayers a refund for 1979, and denied the government’s counterclaim to collect 1980 and 1981 liabilities because the assessments were unenforceable in the absence of proven statutory notice and demand.


Blackston v. United States, 778 F. Supp. 244 (D. Md. 1991)